Comparative analysis of habitation behavioral patterns in spatial configuration of traditional houses in Anhui, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang provinces of China

Abstract

This study investigated the categories of spatial characteristics of traditional houses in Anhui, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang provinces of China by applying syntactic theories and conducting a comparative analysis of their different layout configurations. Six houses in the three provinces were selected as measurement samples, and statistical analysis of their spatial variables was conducted through SPSS 22. Results showed that the correlation of depth and integration in the Zhejiang and Jiangsu samples are negative, whereas the samples in Anhui show no correlation. These results further indicated that spaces with high rates of utilization in Zhejiang and Jiangsu dwellings are located at low depths in the spatial configurations, whereas the samples from Anhui show opposite findings. Different housing spatial structures reflect various habitation behavioral patterns in this area. Zhejiang and Jiangsu residents interact more closely with outside spaces in their daily lives, whereas Anhui residents have very limited interaction with outside spaces, thereby reflecting two different modes of living behavior, namely, extroversion and introversion.

Keywords

Traditional house / Behavioral patterns / Spatial configuration / Anhui / Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces

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2019 Higher Education Press Limited Company. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of KeAi. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).