The Chinese courtyard is so magical! Foreign media attention: Why do buildings come with their own summer protection function? Atrium | air conditioning | summer shelter

Will ancient Chinese architecture still cool down on its own? That's right! In ancient times without air conditioning, the courtyard had to be said to be a great invention of ancient architecture.

What is a courtyard? In traditional Chinese architecture, the space enclosed between houses and between houses and walls is called a courtyard. The courtyard can be traced back to the Ming and Qing dynasties. While solving the problem of daylighting, outdoor air was allowed to enter and be discharged from the courtyard, forming a natural "air conditioning system" to improve ventilation and collect rainwater.

Recently, the British Broadcasting Corporation also discovered the wisdom contained in China's "courtyard" and provided detailed reports on the concept of summer retreat and green in the "courtyard".

BBC: How ancient Chinese "courtyards" cooled down houses

How does "courtyard" cool down buildings

The exquisite tiled eaves and elegant environment of Chinese courtyards not only possess local folk characteristics, but also represent important historical and cultural characteristics. Mr. Liang Sicheng said, "At the beginning of architecture, it originated from practical needs, limited by natural physics, and not focused on innovative forms." In traditional Chinese architecture, no concept is purely for decoration, but has practical value.

The British Broadcasting Corporation interviewed a Chinese elderly man named Yu Youhong who spent more than 30 years repairing a courtyard house in Wuyuan County, Jiangxi Province. Yu Youhong stated that before the emergence of air conditioning, people designed courtyards to cool buildings. When there is wind blowing, it can enter the indoor space through the opening of the courtyard. Due to the fact that outdoor air is usually colder than indoor air, the incoming breeze blows along the walls to lower floors, replacing the warm indoor air and forming airflow, causing the warm indoor air to rise and leave through the opening.

Meanwhile, the article also analyzed two factors that affect the cooling effect of the courtyard. Firstly, in the absence of natural wind, due to the "chimney effect", air circulation still occurs within the courtyard residential area. The temperature difference between the top and bottom of the courtyard causes the hot air inside the courtyard to rise, attracting cold air from the room to the bottom of the courtyard, thereby achieving a cooling effect.

Secondly, as a transitional space between indoor living and outdoor environment, the courtyard plays an effective role in thermal buffering, protecting residents from the influence of outdoor hot air. However, the maximum part of the cooling effect of the courtyard is actually generated when there is water inside the shell. The process of evaporating water to cool hot air is called evaporative cooling.

In 2021, a study conducted on two traditional village courtyard houses found that evaporative cooling may be the main reason why the average temperature inside the courtyard is 2.6-4.3 degrees Celsius lower than the average temperature outside.

The Modern Wonderful Use of "Tianjing"

Tianjing is an example of ancient Chinese people pursuing the unity of heaven and humanity. Through the courtyard, housing interacts with nature, and people converse with heaven and earth. Nowadays, the "courtyard" in ancient architecture is also combined with modern architectural design concepts, radiating new vitality.

At present, architects are drawing on the energy-saving principles of "courtyards" when designing new buildings. For example, the National Heavy Vehicle Engineering Technology Research Center located in Jinan. This 18 story glass curtain wall tower, completed last year, has a huge indoor courtyard in the middle, extending from the 5th floor to the top floor.

Architects from Shanghai CCDI Xidi International Group said that elevators, bathrooms, and conference rooms are all located around the shaft, which helps improve the lighting and ventilation of the building and reduce overall energy consumption.

The article also points out that some skyscrapers, for practicality reasons, use the ventilation principle of courtyards to improve air circulation. For example, the 68 story Dongguan TBA Building located in Guangdong Province uses internal "air ducts" to introduce natural airflow into each floor, which functions similarly to a courtyard. The general manager of the building stated that the purpose of doing so is to use natural ventilation to maintain the comfortable temperature of the building in spring and autumn.

In Sichuan, known for its hot and humid summer, some tourist villages also have a series of circular houses with courtyards and large eaves, in order to cool down the houses.

The green concept contained in the courtyard

The article also affirmed the role of "courtyard" in the field of green development. Wang Zhengfeng, a postdoctoral researcher in environmental humanities at the Regional Institute of Leiden University in the Netherlands, said that ancient "green wisdom" such as courtyards constantly inspires today's climate adaptive design and passive cooling innovation. Passive cooling is a method that combines design and technology to cool buildings without using electricity.

Wang Zhengfeng also pointed out some challenges in introducing courtyards into modern design. She said that the mechanisms by which courtyards promote natural lighting, ventilation, and rainwater collection are well-known, but the application of these principles needs to be tailored to local conditions.

She said that with the popularization of artificial lighting, air conditioning, and water supply, we rely on these convenient technologies and rarely consider environmental costs. If we do not reflect on our current behavior and only learn from the past, achieving sustainable development is not easy.

"Tianjing" is a summer resort in ancient architecture. Do you know any other ways of avoiding heat in architecture? Welcome to leave a message to share!