Climate-adaptive Design of Historic Villages and Dwellings in a Typhoon-prone Region in Southernmost Mainland China

This paper explores the adaptive design of historic villages and dwellings in response to the typhoon climate of the Leizhou Peninsula. A field investigation involving 917 historic villages was conducted. The physical features of the villages were superimposed with the visualized spatial trajectories of the cyclones. Case studies were also adopted to reveal their windproofing mechanisms. The results show that villages are safeguarded through systematic approaches. First, planting windbreaks with appropriate densities and locations was a first line of defence. Second, dwellings were arranged to form a dense-alley pattern, through which the windward faces were reduced and rapid drainage was achieved. Third, the courtyard layout, strengthened exterior walls, and a set of roof protection technologies were applied to increase the stability and integrity of the building. Traditional wisdom was identified in that villages and dwellings were built with the philosophy of reducing the possibility of a disaster in an ordinary windstorm situation through appropriate rather than excessive windproof construction to achieve a balance between survival and development under resource constraints. This knowledge complements the traditional technologies of wind protection developed in other regions of the world and has modern significance for building climate-adaptive and environmentally friendly settlements and buildings.