LAUSR

ABSTRACT This study performed field surveys and investigated the formal and technological characteristics of traditional buildings in the Southern area of Hubei province, China, and reviewed the related historical archives and literature. This study is helpful for architects or urban administrators to understand how traditional vernacular buildings contribute to energy saving. After field surveying and mapping of these traditional buildings, this study found that the materials and the constructions of traditional buildings as well as the pattern and the layout are different from current buildings, which might lead to the high effective energy saving of traditional houses. This type of architecture can effectively improve the living environment through adjusting temperature, and improve illumination and ventilation according to the conducted testing. Also, the thermal and heat environments of traditional vernacular buildings are analyzed using BIM software. The results of the analysis demonstrate that these type of buildings can maintain great thermal and heat environment by similar building structures and materials, which also could meet the current standards in Hubei. These works demonstrate that traditional vernacular buildings could be as samples for architects when they want to make an effort on green building.