Climate,People and Space:A Review and Perspective of Research on Transitional Spaces in Buildings

XIANG Ke; KONG Delun

doi:10.3969/j.issn.1000-0232.2024.12.006

Abstract：The space between the indoors of a building and the outdoors is known as the"transition space".Similar terms are climate space,intermediary space,buffer space,etc.Scholars'interpretation of the concept differs in different climate zones. Transition space acts as a buffer between indoor space and outdoor space.It can accommodate human behavior and activities and,at the same time,serve as an extension of the interior space or even replace part of the interior space.Throughout the ages,transition space in diverse forms has been universally used in architecture,even forming an integral part of the architectural culture of some regions.Today,the microclimate regulation and energy-saving benefits of transition space are highly significant for realizing the"double carbon"goal. In this paper,we systematically sorted the literature related to architectural transition space in the core databases of CNKI and Web of Science,the two mainstream databases at home and abroad in the 21st century.We then carried out abstracts and full-text readings to screen the related literature.Through the literature mapping analysis to define the research lineage and hotspots,we found that early research on transition space focused on its attributes and roles in promoting the vitality of public spaces and enriching the spatial vocabulary of architecture.Since then,the academic community has gradually recognized the role of transition space in regulating climate and bringing other environmental benefits.Accordingly,the research direction of transition space has diverged.At the same time,in the context of incremental construction gradually shifting to stock construction,the climate-regulation role of transition space in traditional buildings has gradually become differentiated and is receiving attention. According to inter-subjective relationships,the relevant research can be divided into the following three directions:(1)the mechanism of the microclimate's influence on the human body's thermal perception;(2)the mechanism of the spatial representation parameter's impact on the microclimate;and(3)the study of spatial behavioral vitality evaluation and the mechanism of the role of the space.These form a research system constructed by the interconnection of the three main subjects of the study:space,microclimate,and people. Relevant studies show that the microclimate around a building,the building form space,and the user's spatial behavior have two impacts on building comfort and energy consumption,in which the transition space can play an important role.These are:(1)the reasonable setting of the transition space can improve the thermal comfort of the surrounding microenvironment or indoor space;(2)for part of the time,the transition space can be adapted to suit some behavior and activities,thus replacing the indoor energy-using space and reducing the overall energy consumption of the building.This highlights the importance of space.Reducing the overall energy consumption of the building embodies the"part-time+part-space"energy use mode instead of the crude full-time and full-zone energy use mode,promoting the harmonious coexistence of people in the architectural space and the natural environment. As well as the development trend of related research studies,we excavated the following possible development trends for future studies:(1)Thermal comfort evaluation—Establish for the transition spaces thermal comfort evaluation indexes of mathematical models of physical,physiological,and psychological factors;(2)Space-behavior correlation mechanism—Attempt to use image-recognition technology based on deep convolutional networks,virtual reality technology,etc.,which have been developed for the building space of other microscopic scales;(3)Transition space optimization design research—Further integrate multiple evaluation indexes of transition space and make decisions simultaneously,conduct multi-objective oriented architectural form and body design of transition space through the hierarchical analysis method(AHP)and the fuzzy evaluation method to solve qualitative problems,and use the genetic algorithm(GA)and multi-objective particle swarm optimization algorithm(MOPSO)to solve quantitative problems;(4)Green-building form evaluation:Systematically compare and explore various comprehensive characterization indexes proposed in the relevant research through experimental quantification for specific climatic conditions,thus providing more guidance for regional climate-adaptive green-building design methods.