Based on our fieldwork, we have found that almost all the features of traditional cliff cave dwelling coincide with modern sustainable design principles. These cave dwellings reflect a core concept of Chinese culture?being in harmony with nature. They are the result of a people's adaptation to their environment with limited natural and technological resources. The people and their culture survived here for hundreds of years without leaving heavy marks on the environment. |
This study examines a type of traditional Chinese cave dwellings that can be seen as an example of the most elegant sustainable design solutions that have the least environmental impact. |
While we are looking for new ways of building to ensure a bright future for our planet, we may draw inspirations from the past when people had more harmonious relationship with the environment. |