A comparative case study of volcanic-rock vernacular dwelling and modern dwelling in terms of thermal performance and climate responsive design strategies in Hainan Island

Abstract

The volcanic-rock dwellings are a special kind of traditional vernacular architecture with high value of research, which located in the north of the Hainan Island in China. In order to clarify the thermal mechanism differences between volcanic-rock dwellings and modern dwellings in Haikou, the main factors affecting the thermal comfort of dwellings are analyzed through investigations of indoor thermal environment in the Yangshan lava area of Haikou. The results show that the volcanic-rock dwelling can achieve 10 h (from 23:30 to 9:30 the next day) with air temperature under 28.7°C in a comfortable thermal indoor environment without air-conditioning cooling equipment, while the rooms on the ground floor of modern dwelling can achieve 1 h around sunrise, and the room on the top floor is completely outside the thermal comfort zone. Temperature difference between exterior and interior of volcanic-rock wall and wooden window can reach a maximum of 6.7°C and 2.8°C respectively, which shows that the envelope of volcanic-rock dwelling has a good thermal insulation performance. It is necessary to inherit the space prototypes and climate-adaptive strategies of traditional residential buildings when designing a new building, which play a significant role on providing a comfortable indoor thermal environment.

Keywords

• climate-responsive design strategies
• traditional volcanic-rock dwelling
• modern dwelling
• indoor environment
• hainan island