Prototype Translation and Spatial Quantification of the Traditional Chinese Courtyard:Insights from the Perspective of Generalized Architectural Typology

LI Huaxu; ZHU Yibing; WANG Tao; OUYANG Wen

doi:10.3969/j.issn.1000-0232.2025.10.009

Abstract：As a reference system for current architectural practice,the courtyard prototype is the core and carrier of the artistic conception of Chinese architecture.The spatial form of the traditional courtyard has not been fully interpreted,and in current translations of the courtyard prototype the generation of the form has been separated from the inheritance of its cultural context.If the constructive thinking behind the a priori form of the traditional courtyard is not addressed,the translation of courtyard prototypes will be like drawing a tiger by using a house cat as the model.Generalized architectural typology uses a structuralist research approach to explore how spatial forms are translated and generated,expanding understandings of architectural design.It lays down an important path for the continuation of traditional courtyards' architectural culture and language by building base points for design.It identifies these base points by excavating courtyards' cultural background and then abstracting a"courtyard prototype." Thirty typical courtyard buildings were selected and divided into the control group and the experimental group.Based on the theoretical perspective of generalized architectural typology,the courtyard samples were investigated using the graphical language of spatial topology;this investigation was conducted from the three perspectives of courtyard prototype analysis,quantitative methods,and translational comparative analysis.First,the study draws a planar spatial topological diagram of the courtyard sample;extracts the nodes,paths and levels;and analyzes the traditional courtyard spatial translation diagram based on a Stedman adjacency graph.Then,five spatial quantification indicators are calculated through spatial quantification methods such as spatial syntax and the CRITIC weight method,and the evaluation target of"typological matching degree"of courtyards is established.In other words,the mathematical features of analytical morphology and the self-consistency spatial evaluation mechanism of traditional courtyard prototypes are identified.Finally,the study explores the typological design rules in contemporary courtyard practice based on statistical principles by combining graphic analysis of typical cases with a radar map of the five spatial quantitative indicators and a radar map of typological matching degrees.In this connection,some translation strategies are summarized,such as plane deconstruction,streamline penetration,line of view continuation,and group isomorphism. The study produced several key findings.(1)The five indicators of courtyard centrality,boundary complexity,synergy,openness,and understandability are effective,and it is feasible to construct an evaluation system of prototype translation aiming at the typological matching degree of a given courtyard based on these indicators.(2)A theory-method-strategy translation hierarchy,which is constructed based on a prototype-deconstruction-evolution triad,can be used to explore the translation strategies for capturing the constituent spatial elements of courtyard-corridor-gate-hall.(3)The five quantitative indicators of the courtyard prototype help explain the spatial characteristics of these four constituent elements,reflecting the traditional formal value,layout logic value,and spatial artistic conception value of the courtyard prototype.They reveal spatial factors underlying consciousness of the courtyard scene. Through the inheritance and evolution of the traditional courtyard prototype,contemporary translations can balance past and present architectural elements to connect people and place in the same way traditional courtyards did.This research can thus solve the problem of"space silence,"including insufficient interpretations of traditional spatial forms and the disconnection between form generation and inherited cultural contexts.Moreover,the study results provide reference points for creating courtyard spaces with local characteristics.