Typo-Morphological Approaches for Maintaining the Sustainability of Local Traditional Culture: A Case Study of the Damazhan and Xiaomazhan Historical Area in Guangzhou

Abstract

This paper studies the spatial forms and cultural sustainability of the Damazhan and Xiaomazhan historical area, the only area that reflects the development of the assembled-clan hall culture in Guangzhou. In the face of modernization and reconstruction, traditional culture plays an increasingly crucial role in modern cities, determining the expression of architectural uniqueness and continuous development that adapts to social needs. Therefore, preserving cultural characteristics is more relevant than ever. This study combines historical literature research with typo-morphological analysis to establish analytical strategies that link cultural sustainability with spatial evolution from the perspective of sustainable development. The analytical framework consists of three parts: First of all, through historical literature research, a thorough analysis is conducted on the cultural and social influencing factors from the Dynasties of Song, Yuan, Ming, Qing and the Republic of China to the reform and opening up period. Secondly, feature elements of the location are extracted, and a typo-morphological approach is used to analyze the sustained changes in spatial forms. Finally, the relationship between changes in block form and building types and the inheritance and development of traditional culture are demonstrated. The analytical results indicate that the continuity of cultural characteristics is embodied in the continuity of the block and architectural spatial characteristics, while cultural transformation and man-made social factors affect the changes in spatial forms. This paper combines the perspective of cultural sustainability analysis with the traditional typo-morphological approaches of urban spatial analysis, supplementing the existing typo-morphological methodology. In addition, guiding the development of urban morphology from the perspective of cultural sustainability is of prominent practical significance.

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