"Investigation of the Bioclimatic Origins of the Diaojiaolou Form in Rural Chongqing, China"

This Masters of Architectural History Thesis Analyzes the vernacular Chinese rural residential house form known as the diaojiaolou from a bioclimatic perspective to test the validity of claims that the form's driving force is based on its climate and topography. The field work conducted for this thesis focuses on two historic towns south of the city of Chongqing; three case studies from the Historic Town of Zhongshan, Jiangjin, southwest of Chongqing, and two from the relocated city of Gongtan to the southeast on the border of Guizhou Provence. By studying these buildings' structural systems, material pallets, form, and temperature and humidity measurements made in June 2014 this thesis adds to the small body of knowledge explicitly about diaojiaolou and determines that climate and topography have a dominant role in form determination.