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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Built Environ.

Sec. Indoor Environment

Volume 11 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fbuil.2025.1667859

A Study on the Survey and Evaluation of Indoor Lighting Environment and Improvement of Traditional Raw Earth Dwellings in Western Hunan Province

Provisionally accepted
Lei  ShiLei ShiZhicheng  ZhangZhicheng ZhangFupeng  ZhangFupeng Zhang*Simian  LiuSimian LiuYang  CaoYang Cao
  • Country School of Architecture and Art, Central South University, Changsha, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

As the crystallization of regional culture and ecological wisdom, the quality of the light environment of traditional native dwellings in western Hunan directly affects the physical and mental health of elderly residents. Taking Laodong Village in Fenghuang County, western Hunan as an example, this study combines parametric modelling and simulation analysis to explore the key role of light environment on the improvement of ageing suitability with respect to natural lighting and passive lighting. The three-dimensional model is constructed using the Rhino-Grasshopper platform, and Ladybug tool is used to simulate the effects of different window sizes, positions and eave configurations on the indoor lighting, and optimization strategies are proposed based on the field research data. The study shows that the design of window openings with a sill height of 1.2 m, a horizontal center and a width of ≥1.5 m can significantly improve the illuminance and uniformity and in the passive technology, the reasonable layout of open tiles and skylights can supplement the natural light by more than 30%. The results of the study provide a scientific basis for traditional village renovation and a practical path for low-carbon sustainable rural construction.

Keywords: traditional Raw Earth dwellings1, age-friendliness2, light environment optimization3, parametric simulation4, indoor environment5

Received: 26 Jul 2025; Accepted: 05 Sep 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Shi, Zhang, Zhang, Liu and Cao. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence: Fupeng Zhang, Country School of Architecture and Art, Central South University, Changsha, China

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