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Construction Technologies for the Conservation and Adaptive Rehabilitation of Historic Buildings in Hainan

Author(s)

Xinyang He

Affiliation(s)

Hainan Vocational University of Science and Technology, Haikou, Hainan, China

Abstract

The historic buildings of Hainan fall into several distinct families — the arcaded Nanyang-style shophouses known as qilou, Qiong-style ancestral halls and academies, traditional Li dwellings, and ancient Confucian academies — and together they form the material record of an island culture shaped by local, maritime and minority influences. Under a climate marked by heat, high humidity, frequent typhoons and strong salt-spray corrosion, these structures commonly suffer decayed timber, weathered masonry, leaking roofs and inadequate structural stability, while conventional repair practice no longer meets the demands of modern conservation and reuse. Working from the region's climatic conditions and the actual state of the surviving stock, this paper sets out the governing principles for conserving and adaptively rehabilitating historic buildings in Hainan, reviews the key construction technologies in condition diagnosis, defect treatment, structural strengthening, façade restoration and functional renewal, and draws on local projects such as the Wenchang Confucian Academy and the Haikou Qilou Historic Street to analyse the difficulties encountered on site and the technical measures that matter. The aim is to reconcile authenticity of appearance, structural safety and contemporary usability, and in doing so to offer a construction reference for the long-term preservation, viable reuse and sustainable transmission of Hainan's historic architecture.

Keywords

Hainan; Historic Buildings; Architectural Conservation; Adaptive Rehabilitation; Construction Technology

References

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