Locally Based Architectural Construction Strategies in Rural China: Textual Analysis of Architects’ Design Thinking

Abstract

The distinctive constraints and opportunities present in rural China underscore the importance of exploring sustainable architectural construction models in such areas. Architects engaged in rural projects have contributed design thinking that incorporates construction operations in response to local elements, resulting in significant benefits for the sustainability of rural construction. This study investigates these design approaches as locally based architectural construction strategies and seeks to identify their latent wisdom as a reference for future practices through the textual analysis of 63 articles showcasing outstanding architectural design in rural China. By organizing related design thinking with respect to three key elements, extracting these elements, and analyzing their correlations from the textual descriptions, 14 types of locally based architectural construction strategies are identified. Via analysis and discussions of these types, this research identifies the paramount concerns in Chinese rural architectural practices as revolving around fundamental issues of technology, livability, and aesthetics. These fundamental issues emphasize different kinds of sustainability—the pursuit of sustainability in local-based rural construction activity through diverse technological explorations, environmental sustainability through special building envelope designs, and cultural sustainability through the establishment of new local rural aesthetics with material and other visible expressions.