The Grammar of Taiwanese Traditional Vernacular Dwellings

Selected Publications

• S. Chiou. 1996. Computational Considerations of Historical Architectural Analysis: A Case Study of Chinese Traditional Architecture. Ph.D. Dissertation, Dept. of Architecture, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pa.
• S. Chiou and R. Krishnamurti. 1995. The grammar of Taiwanese traditional vernacular dwellings. Environment and Planning B: Planning and Design. 22: 689-720.
• S. Chiou and R. Krishnamurti. 1996. Example Taiwanese traditional houses. Environment and Planning B: Planning and Design.

Slide show

• Site plans of Taiwanese traditional dwellings
• Axial planning: enclosures and routes
• Spatial organization: modules and relationships
• Various types of roofs
• Rules for creating roofs
• Wood framing system
• The Zhou family house in Taipei
• Extracts from a derivation for the Zhou family house
• The Lin An-tai residence in Taipei

Site plans of Taiwanese traditional dwellings

Axial planning: enclosures and routes

Spatial organization: modules and relationships

• The unit of spatial organization


• The arrangement of purlins


• The relation among main beam, light beam, and main entrance

Various types of roofs

Rules for creating roofs

Wood framing system

The Zhou family house in Taipei

• Front elevation


• Plan

Extracts from a derivation for the Zhou family house

• Defining the scales of the building, computing the (fortunate) dimensions for the central room, and generating the central room


• Generating a courtyard


• Generating the entire forms of main building and secondary buildings

The Lin An-tai residence in Taipei

• View


• Plan


• The result of the derivation