Abstract & Table Contents

1. Abstract
This paper investigates the relationship of vernacular traditional Chinese design with the
context in terms of design a contemporary building, which happens to be the Water House.
The objective is to understand the methods of integrating architectural design and research
through analysis and in-depth discussion on the selected topic chosen within the framework
of Contextual Architecture. Besides that, this paper identifies the important elements of
Contextual Architecture through studies and researches on the Water House. There are
many ways of achieving sustainability through passive designs with the knowledge of the
surrounding environment, in order to reduce the negative effects of environmental impact
towards thermal comfort. Literature review was conducted to gain a basic understanding of
the traditional Chinese spatial layout where an evaluation on how the Water House
executed the spatial arrangement in the modern context to achieve sustainability will be
proceeded. Furthermore, the design concept of the building is to be investigated, whether it
aids thermal comfort. Due to its location is in a seasonal country, an analysis and exploration
will be conducted to gain information upon the design response of the building towards the
climatic change. The features that are listed will be taken into consideration while discussing
this topic. Like for instance, the materials of the Water House used were all locally used in
that area except for the steel frames which were bought to a professional company. All
these researches are done with using the methodology of gathering information from the
internet resources and bibliography of books, magazines and dissertations. Discussions were
conducted with the tutors to be sure in case the research was done correctly and whether
any further development should be made in the research paper. Hence, this research will
conclude whether the design of the building is efficient or not in seasonal countries.

2. TABLE OF CONTENTS
Abstract 1
1.0 Research Methodology and Limitations 1
2.0 Objectives
3.0 Concept Mapping 1
4.0 Synopsis of the Water House by Lixiaodong Atelier 1
4.1 Contextual and vernacular architecture 1
4.2 How was it applied in the Water House? 1
5.0 Design Responses of the Water House based on the contextual climate 1
5.1 Site Analysis 1
5.2 Design Responses 1
6.0 Shallow Pond of the Water House 1
6.1 Cooling effect and Aesthetic 1
7.0 Sustainable Materials Used to Achieve Thermal Comfort 1
7.1 Type of Materials Used 1
7.2 Analysis and Consideration of Sustainable Materials 1
7.3 Effectiveness of the Materials Used 1
8.0 Orientation and Spatial Layout of the Water House 1
8.1 Natural Lighting 1
8.2 Air Flow and Ventilation 1
8.3 Scenery and View 1
8.4 Vegetation surrounding the Water House 1
9.0 Adaption of Vernacular Roof Construction in the Water House 1
9.1 Roof Structures and Shading Solutions 1
9.2 Utilizing Traditional Terracotta Pitched Roof 1
9.3 Factors Affecting Traditional Terracotta Pitched Roof 1
10.0Recommendation 1
11.0References 1
12.0Conclusion 1