Raw concepts of sustainability in vernacular dwellings : a case study of Kangbaiwan mansion in China

The building sector is one of the highest energy consuming sectors in the world as well as in China, it is urgent to seek an energy-saving way of sustainable architecture development. From the perspective of tradition, this paper focus on raw concepts of sustainability that contained in excellent vernacular dwellings. On the basis of analyzing an example of Kangbaiwan Mansion, it illustrates the advantage of environment ecosystem, and summarizes the physical and cultural characteristic of its buildings, which can be a fertile source of modern sustainable architecture design as well as a proper way of inheriting the outstanding traditional culture