Regional characteristics and evolution of the form of traditional courtyard houses in the coastal fishing village, Hongmao Harbour in Kaohsiung

Abstract

The courtyard house is the major construction form of the traditional folk residence in Taiwan. All the settlements, whether in the mountain area, flatland or coastal area, adopt this pattern. The reason why courtyard house has become the first choice of the form of traditional folk residence is that its spatial form satisfies the expectations for good living space and for tight relationships between family groups based on the Chinese cultural concept. However, although the construction of courtyard house has its basic spatial organization, the difference in its geographical location, climatic condition, industrial form, spatial layout, material use and way of construction may create the so-called regional characteristics. In Taiwan the courtyard houses of agricultural villages are obviously different from the courtyard houses of coastal fishing villages because of the difference in their industries and geographical environments. The effects of nature and the human environment are fully reflected in the form of courtyard houses. Taking the settlement of Hongmao Harbour as the spatial area, this paper employs the collection of archives, investigation of substantive historical material and interviews to analyze the construction form and methods of the courtyard house. Through analysis, this paper presents the regional characteristics of the traditional courtyard house and the evolution of its form, investigates the changed and unchanged in the development of traditional folk residence, proposes explanation for the phenomenon that courtyard house finally no longer become the form of folk residence of Hongmao Harbour, and clarifies the relationship among the cultural concepts, realistic conditions and spatial form of folk residences.