Courtyard Housing and Cultural Sustainability

<p>Cultural sustainability is a very important aspect of the overall sustainability framework and is regarded as the fourth pillar alongside the other three: environmental economic and social sustainability. However the concept is neither fully explored nor widely accepted or recognized. This book elicits the interplay of nature-culture-architecture and theorizes the concept of cultural sustainability and culturally sustainable architecture. It identifies four key themes in Chinese philosophy: Harmony with Heaven Harmony with Earth Harmony with Humans and Harmony with Self along with Greek philosopher Aristotle's physics: form space matter and time it sets them as criteria to evaluate the renewed and new courtyard housing projects constructed in China since the 1990s. Using an innovative architectural and social science approach this book examines the political economic social and spatial factors that affect cultural sustainability. Supported by a multiplicity of data including: field surveys interviews with residents architects and planners time diaries drawings photos planning documents observation notes and real estate brochures the book proposes new courtyard garden house design strategies that promote healthy communities and human care for one another a concept that is universally applicable. The volume is a first opportunity to take a holistic view to encompass eastern and western tangible and intangible cultures in the theorization of cultural sustainability and culturally sustainable architecture. It is a comprehensive contribution to architectural theory.</p>