Research on Architectural Art and Sustainable Design of Ginling College Historic District (Nanjing, China)

Abstract

Ginling College is the first women’s college founded by the American Christian Church in Nanjing, China, in the early 20th century. The architectural style of the school reflects the orientation of the “Chinese localization” of the Christian Church at that time. It is a representative work of the revival of traditional Chinese architecture. It is known as a “Renaissance of Chinese traditional architecture” and profoundly influenced later generations. Due to its important historical status and artistic value, the Ginling College complex has been designated by the Chinese government as a national key cultural relic protection unit and China’s 20th-century architectural heritage, and the protection scope of the Ginling College historical district has been specially designated for overall protection. Currently, little research has been conducted on this historic area, so the authors undertook this project. This paper adopts a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods for research, starting from the two aspects of architectural art and sustainable design, and analyzes in detail the artistic characteristics of the project, the structural materials obtained locally, and the sustainable design method that utilizes natural lighting and ventilation to explore a modern campus design method based on the concept of sustainable design with a “combination of Chinese and Western architectural art”. Through artistic creation and technological innovation, traditional Chinese revival architecture has realized a harmonious coexistence between man and nature, embodying the design concept of sustainable development, and promoting the development of architecture and the region.

1. Introduction

Church schools were founded by Western churches in China from 1840 to 1949. After the Opium War, the Chinese government was forced to lift the ban on religion for more than 100 years, and Western churches were able to establish churches, schools, and hospitals in China [1]. In order to ease the resistance of the Chinese people to Christianity, Western churches tended to localize the school’s architectural style and attach importance to combining it with Chinese traditional culture [2]. The exterior of the building draws on the composition elements of traditional Chinese palace architecture and blends them with Western architectural styles. It adopts the school building functions of Western countries to meet the teaching needs of new-style schools and adopts the Western architectural techniques and materials available at that time for construction. These are called “Chinese traditional architectural revival” style buildings [3]. The church schools are historical witnesses of the cultural exchanges between China and the West in modern times. They are currently listed as historical architectural heritage and have important research value.

At present, Western architectural circles have systematically studied the repair and renovation of architectural heritage from multiple perspectives. For example, David S. Watt, a British heritage protection expert, analyzed the structural, material, and performance defects of architectural heritage from the perspective of architectural pathology, and used technical interdisciplinary methods to investigate, monitor, diagnose, identify, and predict defects [4]. American scholar J. Stanley Rabun analyzed the characteristics of the architectural heritage of different ages in the United States and conducted research on the sustainability of architectural heritage reuse [5]. In addition, he conducted research on the structure and materials of historic buildings, including numerous examples of the renovation and reinforcement of historic buildings in the United States [6]. Giebeler Fisch Krause conducted research on the renovation and construction process between existing building structures and new structures and introduced in detail many aspects from structure to fire protection and from ecological energy saving to historical and cultural protection [7].

In the early days, Chinese architectural circles always paid attention to the structural reinforcement and renovation of architectural heritage. In recent years, they have gradually begun to pay attention to ecology, energy conservation, and sustainability. The protection and transformation of buildings in China’s architectural circles are later than that in the Western architectural circles. Since the 1990s, Chinese scholars have carried out richer research on architectural renovation and renewal from the aspects of structure and renovation, and the country has also formulated relevant regulations and design standards. For example, Di et al. [8] summarized the technical content of the maintenance and renovation of existing buildings by investigating the existing building management regulations and technical standards in the West and put forward detection technology methods for the safety, applicability, and durability of existing building renovations in combination with China’s national conditions. Cao et al. [9] reviewed the progress and research interests of the external substructure reconstruction technology of buildings at home and abroad and proposed some key issues of the external substructure reconstruction technology and the prospect of applying the external substructure system in earthquake-prone areas. Cao et al. [10] studied the assembled bolt-connected buckling-restrained brace (AB-BRB) with a pair of thin-walled concrete-infilled steel shells (CSS), proposed a nonlinear simulation method, and verified it with experimental data. Zhou et al. [11] introduced the principles and methods of the protection of modern buildings in Nanjing, China, and analyzed in detail the structural system and repair methods of the structural system of modern buildings in Nanjing. At present, architectural scholars all over the world are very concerned about the research on building energy conservation and sustainable renovation. For example, Xie et al. [12] analyzed the actual situation of an industrial building renovation in China and proposed sustainable design strategies to increase the potential of natural ventilation and lighting, using energy-saving and environmentally friendly materials, enhancing thermal insulation capabilities, and reducing building energy consumption. Shi et al. [13] explored the potential of Tianshui traditional dwellings to cope with natural conditions and the social environment and obtained the sustainable development characteristics of traditional dwellings.

Today, the use of computer simulations and calculations, artificial intelligence, etc. to dynamically track and manage the entire life cycle of architectural heritage has become a new frontier and hot spot in the field of architectural heritage protection. The above-mentioned literature review shows that the architectural field currently pays attention to structural reinforcement for the restoration of architectural heritage, and there are few research results on ecological and sustainable restoration. The research methods are more qualitative research, and the research results combining qualitative and quantitative research are few. In view of this, this paper intends to proceed from a multidisciplinary and multi-perspective approach, introduce computer simulation calculations, and combine qualitative and quantitative research to conduct research on sustainable restoration and renewal.

The main innovations of this paper are as follows:

• Using multidisciplinary research methods such as history, architecture, and urban planning, we chose Ginling College, a modern Chinese university campus building with both Chinese and Western architectural art, as the research object. We then used a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods to analyze the architectural art value of the architectural heritage of modern Chinese universities.
• Using a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods, a detailed analysis of the performance of the building materials and sustainable design methods in the historic area was carried out. By using the green building analysis software (TH SWARE 2022) to analyze the lighting and ventilation of the building’s external environment and indoor environment, it was explored and confirmed that Ginling College still meets the current Evaluation Standards for Green Buildings of the People’s Republic of China; it showcases characteristics of the sustainable development of “Chinese traditional revival style” architecture.

2. Methodology and Materials

2.1. Methodology

Architectural heritage preservation and renewal involve responses to history, architectural art, and design [14]. This paper is based on a comprehensive case study framework focusing on historical, artistic, and sustainable features which relate to issues of climate and building insulation, ventilation, and daylighting. According to the Standard of Climatic Regionalization for Architecture (GB 50178-93) [15], Nanjing is a hot summer, cold winter, and rainy area. The hottest period in summer is above 41 °C and the coldest winter is −13.1 °C. The average annual temperature in the past five years is 15.4 °C, and the average annual precipitation is 1106 mm [16].

This article takes the Ginling College historical district as an example; it analyzes the harmonious coexistence of humans and nature and the concept of sustainability. The research framework is as follows (Figure 1).

2.2. Materials

2.2.1. Case Presentation

• Brief History and location of the school

In the early 20th century, Western churches keenly seized the opportunity of running schools and took the lead in establishing women’s colleges. The funds invested in the fields far exceeded the Chinese universities at that time, and they have maintained a first-class education level in modern China [17]. Against this background, in 1912, the American Christian Church decided to establish the first women’s college in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province (Figure 2), named Ginling College (Figure 3). Because Nanjing is located in an important geographical location, it was once the capital of the Republic of China and the political, economic, and cultural center of China at that time. It was valued by the Western Church very early and became an important missionary base [18].

In September 1915, Ginling College rented the residence of Li Hongzhang’s youngest son in Xiuhua Lane, Nanjing, as a temporary school building. In 1916, the school land was purchased in Suiyuan in the west of Nanjing City to prepare for the construction of a new campus [19]. The school’s architectural style was “Chinese traditional architectural revival”. After the first batch of school buildings was completed in 1923, teachers and students moved to the new campus of Suiyuan. Since then, the scale of the school has gradually expanded, and many buildings have been added one after another. After the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War in 1937, the school moved to Chengdu, Sichuan, and then moved back to its original site in Nanjing in 1945. In 1952, the school was renamed Nanjing Normal College, and in 1984, it was named Nanjing Normal University [20].

2.

Current Building status

At present, the Nanjing Municipal Government is specially designated as the Ginling College historic district, which is now located at No. 122 Ninghai Road, Gulou District, Nanjing, in the Suiyuan Campus of Nanjing Normal University, and belongs to the Gulou-Qingliangshan historic area. It borders Hankou West Road in the north, Ninghai Road in the east, Guangzhou Road in the south, and the school sports ground in the west.

2.2.2. Data Collection

The area of Ginling College’s historic district is about 18.69 hectares (Figure 4) [21]. The campus has maintained its original spatial layout (Figure 5). There are 16 existing cultural relic buildings (

Table 1. Historical data collection of Ginling College’s 16 existing cultural relic buildings (source: author).

No.	Building Name	Age and Scale	Structure and Materials	Method of Lighting and Ventilation	Source
1	No. 100 Building	Age: First built in 1923 Height: 16.7 m Building area: 1823.9 m2	Brick wall, concrete beam, column, floor slab, and wooden roof truss	Doors, windows, skylights, and porches	Historical photo and blueprint
2	No. 200 Building	Age: First built in 1923 Height: 15.6 m Building area: 1540 m2	Brick wall, concrete beam, column, floor slab, and wooden roof truss	Doors, windows, skylights, corridors, and halls	Historical photo and blueprint
3	No. 300 Building	Age: First built in 1923 Height: 15.6 m Building area: 1494 m2	Brick wall, concrete beam, column, floor slab, and wooden roof truss	Doors, windows, corridors, and halls	Historical photo and blueprint
4–7	No. 400 Building No. 500 Building No. 600 Building No. 700 Building	Age: First built in 1923 Height: 12.3 m Building area: 1150 m2	Brick wall, concrete beam, column, floor slab, and wooden roof truss	Doors, windows, skylights, corridors, and porches	Historical photo and blueprint
8	No. 8 Building	Age: First built in 1987 Height: 15.6 m Building area: 1932 m2	Reinforced concrete beam, column, and floor slab	Doors, windows, and corridors	Current photo and blueprint
9	No. 9 Building	Age: First built in 1987 Height: 15.6 m Building area: 1932 m2	Reinforced concrete beam, column, and floor slab	Doors, windows, and corridors	Current photo and blueprint
10	No. 10 Building	Age: First built in 1933 Height: 16.6 m Building area: 1444 m2	Reinforced concrete beam, column, floor slab, and brick wall	Doors, windows, halls, and corridors	Historical photo and blueprint
11	No. 11 Building	Age: First built in 1933 Height: 16.6 m Building area: 1850 m2	Reinforced concrete beam, column, floor slab, and brick wall	Doors, windows, halls, vents, and daylight opening	Historical photo and blueprint
12	No. 12 Building	Age: First built in 1990 Height: About 12.3 m Building area: 2050 m2	Reinforced concrete beam, column, and floor slab	Doors, windows, and corridors	Current photo and blueprint
13	No. 15 Building	Age: First built in 1983 Height: About 12.3 m Building area: 2050 m2	Reinforced concrete beam, column, and floor slab	Doors, windows, and corridors	Current photo and blueprint
14	North Building	Age: First built in 1954 Height: About 16.6 m Building area: 2646 m2	Brick wall, concrete beam, column, floor slab, and wooden roof truss	Doors, windows, corridors, and halls	Current photo and blueprint
15	South Building	Age: First built in 1955 Height: About 16.6 m Building area: 2646 m2	Brick wall, concrete beam, column, floor slab, and wooden roof truss	Doors, windows, corridors, and halls	Current photo and blueprint
16	Middle Building	Age: First built in 1956 Height: About 13.3 m Building area: 3661 m2	Brick wall, concrete beam, column, floor slab, and wooden roof truss	Doors, windows, and corridors	Current photo and blueprint

), which are well preserved, and the architectural forms are all in the form of traditional Chinese palaces. They are still used as school buildings.

3. Results and Discussion

3.1. The Artistic Characteristics

The buildings of Ginling College have high artistic value and the college is known to have “the most beautiful campus in the East”. It was the first to adopt the traditional Chinese palace architectural style in early modern times as a masterpiece of modern university architecture and has a unique historical position in the history of Chinese architecture. Before that, no architect had achieved such a high artistic achievement. Murphy called this design pattern “adaptive architecture” and called it “the renaissance of traditional Chinese architecture”. The Western architectural community vividly compared this creative method of combining Chinese and Western elements to “new wine in old bottles” [22], that is, the architectural appearance is the architectural form of a traditional Chinese palace, and the internal functions meet the needs of modern school buildings, using new materials and new technologies.

The adoption of traditional Chinese architectural forms in the Ginling College complex is due to a variety of factors. At the end of the 19th century, Western churches promoted the “Chinese localization of Christianity” movement, and school buildings mostly imitated traditional Chinese styles in an attempt to gain the approval of the Chinese people [23]. Mrs. Laurence Thurston, the principal of Ginling College, also advocated that the campus be designed according to traditional Chinese architectural style [24] and required that the new buildings be in a very pure Chinese style [25]. Murphy especially admires traditional Chinese architectural culture.

The great artistic achievement of the Ginling College campus is multifaceted. In order to be as close as possible to the Chinese style, on the one hand, its campus planning abandoned the American campus planning form (this kind of campus planning is called “Mall” and is characterized by a central lawn as the core, and buildings surrounded by lawns on three sides) that was popular all over the world at that time, and adopted the traditional Chinese palace complex planning model; on the other hand, Murphy conducted an in-depth exploration of the characteristics of traditional Chinese architecture. The large roofs, facade proportions, colors, decorations, and details were analyzed and imitated in order to be lifelike.

3.1.1. The Artistic Characteristics of Campus Planning

Designers design according to local conditions. The most important feature of the site is its low-lying land from east to west, with hills at the southern end of the site. The designer cleverly used the terrain to avoid the south slope and set the east–west main axis based on the west slope, and the north–south axis as the secondary axis. This made an adaptive improvement of the north–south main axis of traditional Chinese architectural complexes. In this way, the hills are used to shield the cold wind in winter, the site and the building are perfectly integrated, and the amount of earthwork to level the site was reduced.

The campus planning imitates the planning of the Forbidden City in Beijing. Multiple courtyards are arranged along the main and secondary axes, and single buildings are organized with the courtyard as the basic unit (Figure 6a,b) [26]. Thus forming a building group with a spatial sequence, and perfectly combining the surrounding environment, terrain, and building groups. For example, the long and narrow boulevard at the main entrance strengthens the sense of the depth of the space. The No. 10 Building (auditorium) and No. 11 Building (library) move closer to the central axis, and the surrounding area of the No. 8 Building and No. 9 Building combine to form the first courtyard. The main building (No. 100 Building) is located on the central axis, surrounded by the No. 200 Building and No. 300 Building on both sides, forming the second courtyard. The designer deliberately contrasted the long and narrow space of the entrance boulevard with the open space of the courtyard in front of the main building, which creates a strong visual shock, and the space changes from vertical and deep to horizontal and spacious [27]. Passing through the No. 100 Building, behind it is the third courtyard surrounded by several student dormitories. The fourth courtyard is surrounded by the middle building, the north building, and the south building. The designer led the terminal of the central axis to the peak of the hill in the west of the site, and the middle building is located at the peak. With the help of the height difference of the terrain, the east–west main axis reaches a perfect end in space (Figure 6c,d) [28].

Based on the above analysis, the campus planning makes good use of the processing technique of “start, process, turn, and result” in the sequence space (Figure 7), with a sequence, a beginning, a climax, and an end, expressing rich and unified artistic effects on the spatial level. The construction of the campus is divided into three periods: the first period is from the 1920–1930s, the second period is in the 1950s, and the third period is from the 1980–1990s. However, it always maintains a unified architectural style. The scale of the campus of Ginling College cannot be compared with that of the Forbidden City in Beijing, but, before this, no other architect showed this tendency and reached this artistic height in the planning of a university campus.

The campus planning has clear functional divisions. The library, auditorium, No. 100 Building, No. 200 Building, and No. 300 Building at the front of the site constitute the public activity area for teaching and other public activities; the student dormitory, kitchen, toilet, and other buildings at the back of the site constitute to the living area (Figure 8). This method of functional division is very similar to that of the Forbidden City in Beijing. The functional division mode of “the front palace and the back bedroom” is a feature of the planning and layout of the Forbidden City. The teaching area is arranged separately from the living area to create privacy for the living area. In the later period, three new teaching buildings were built according to the previous planning.

The campus planning embodies the design idea of combining Chinese and Western elements. In this design, it can be clearly seen that the designer extracted several basic elements of the planning and layout of the Forbidden City in China: axis symmetry, multiple courtyards, and vertical and horizontal spatial contrast. However, the straight and square road and the large rectangular lawn are from the layouts of American university campuses (Figure 9a) [31], and the buildings around the rectangular lawn are in classical Chinese form. In order to create the open space of Western campuses, the designer used the “corridor” in the classical Chinese garden to replace the closed wall. The low roof of the gallery sets off the huge and high roof of the main building (Figure 9b). The corridor also connects the buildings together, which is convenient for teachers and students for traveling on rainy days. In addition, the Chinese traditional revival style buildings also incorporate the techniques of Chinese classical gardens, which embodies the harmonious coexistence of man and nature. In order to create a Chinese classical garden environment, the designer built a small Chinese-style bridge on the lake and arranged rockery, stones, and plants (Figure 9c). The designer’s use of Chinese garden techniques in the campus also reflects his understanding of the concept of the harmonious coexistence between man and nature.

3.1.2. The Artistic Characteristics of the Buildings

After visiting the Forbidden City in 1914, Murphy summarized traditional Chinese architecture into five elements: the curving up-turned roofs, the orderliness of arrangement, the frankness of construction, the gorgeous color [32], and the massive masonry base [33]. Murphy called them “adaptive Chinese architecture elements”, and applied the elements of “adaptive Chinese architecture” to the campus design of Ginling College, adapting them flexibly through:

• Composition proportion

The composition proportion consists of three horizontal sections and three vertical sections [34]. For example, in the No. 100 Building, the central part of the large roof is raised, and the roofs on both sides are lower, forming a horizontal three-stage composition (Figure 10a). The vertical three-segment style maintains the three-part composition of the base, wall, and roof of Chinese traditional architecture (Figure 10b).

The facade of the building also follows the composition ratio of ancient Chinese architecture and Western geometric proportions. The proportion of ancient China dictates a ratio where the side length of a square to the diameter of its circumscribed circle is 1:√2 [35]. Because 1:√2 is very similar to 5:7, people in ancient China usually used “The side length of a square is five and the diagonal is seven” to put it into practice. For example, the No. 100 Building has a symmetrical layout, and the ratio of the total building height to the distance from the central axis to the horizontal projection lines of the cornices on both sides is about 1:√2, so it conforms to the ratio of buildings in China (Figure 10c). Taking the No. 10 Building as an example, the facade axis is symmetrical, and the two ends of the axis conform to the proportion of similar triangles. Except for the end bay, the remaining rectangular part also conforms to the golden section and similar triangles (Figure 10d).

2.

Roof form

The palace-style “hip-gable roof (Figure 11a)” in China is the highest level, which is used for the main building of the campus center, while the “gable roof” and “round-ridge roof (Figure 11b)” are flexibly used for auxiliary buildings. Open windows at both ends of the hip-gable roof meet the lighting and ventilation needs.

3.

Imitate the important component of traditional Chinese architecture “Tou-kung”

Using reinforced concrete to imitate the Tou-kung, this attempt originated from Murphy and later became a fashion. In the past, the heavy roof of the church school building was directly attached to the wall (such as at the University of Nanking in China) [36]. Murphy first realized the transitional role of the Tou-kung between the roof and the wall, but unfortunately, he did not understand the structural function of the Tou-kung in the wood structure building and understood it as a decorative component. So, there is a detailed error in the misalignment of the Tou-kung and the column head (Figure 12a,b).

4.

Wall features

The classical Chinese red column protruding from the wall to control the composition of the building facade deliberately highlights the relationship between the column and the wall, creating a “false image” of the column’s load-bearing structure. The columns are combined into different rhythms to enrich the facade, not only as a facade composition element but also to enrich the facade with the combination of “double columns”. This approach changes the “bay” of the building. Although it does not completely conform to the rule of Chinese traditional architecture that the “central bay, side bay, the secondary bay, and the end bay” become smaller in sequence, this technique has appeared in Western architecture since the late Renaissance and was used in the campus building of Ginling College to imitate traditional Chinese wooden architecture. It achieves a heavy and stable overall effect, enriching the facade shape. Another advantage of using the Chinese classical red column is that other details can be naturally introduced, such as a window bar (Figure 13a) and Chinese gates (Figure 13b).

5.

Entrance form

A square frame and a small amount of Chinese classical architectural decoration were used to make the exterior shape of the building closer to Chinese classical architecture.

6.

Color matching

The gorgeous color decoration of the Chinese classical architecture style was used to distinguish the structural components according to the color habit of Chinese palace buildings: the load-bearing solid walls are painted in yellow and the wooden column and beams are emphasized with red (Figure 14a). The Tou-kung, Fang (a Fang is a horizontal or vertical plug-in member that serves as a connection and stabilization between the pillars), and Queti (The Queti is an object that is placed on the upper end of a column to bear the upper pressure together with the column. It is located at the junction of a beam and a column or a Fang and a column) are also distinguished. Rich color paintings are used under the eaves (Figure 14b) and are set off with a brown base and a gray roof. The colored paintings in the interior decoration are more colorful and imitate the form of traditional Chinese palaces and are rich in color.

3.1.3. The Artistic Characteristics of the Architectural Detail

A large number of details and decorations of Chinese traditional architecture are used such as sculptures of beasts on the roof ridge (Figure 15a), a head wall decoration, door decoration, Queti (Figure 15b), a Chinese wooden lattice door, and a drum-shaped bearing stone at the gate in order to be vivid and add Chinese flavor (Figure 15c). The windows are also designed as traditional Chinese lattice windows. The roof tile adopts the traditional Chinese round tile form. The tile ends are carved with dragon patterns and drip tiles are carved with phoenix patterns or Chinese characters (Figure 15d).

Overall, the Ginling College complex has unique artistic value and research significance due to “the adaptive renaissance of Chinese architecture”. Because it is “adaptable”, Murphy does not have to worry about others accusing his works of not being purely Chinese, because he is a reformer of real traditional Chinese architecture. It is precisely because of Murphy’s bold “rejuvenation” that this “Chinese architectural revival” of “new wine in old bottles” provides a new exploration for the inheritance and development of traditional Chinese architecture.

3.2. Sustainable Design

3.2.1. Sustainable Materials: Clay Brick, Tile, and Wood

Clay brick, tile, and wood are sustainable materials with strong regional characteristics. These materials can be obtained in nature, and discarded bricks, tiles, and wood can be decomposed or recycled after processing, which can reduce the waste of resources [37]. Nanjing is located in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, with abundant natural resources that can be used as building materials. For example, Ginling College widely uses clay-fired bricks, tile, and wood as building materials, which can save costs and ensure a comfortable indoor environment. At the same time, the application of this local material gives full play to its natural attributes, highlighting the value concept of ecological sustainability and the harmonious coexistence of humans and nature.

Clay is easy to obtain and cheap, and the production process is also very elegant. It is recorded in “Tiangong Kaiwu” that the production process of clay bricks can be divided into four steps [38]: mud refining (Figure 16a), embryo making (Figure 16b), drying (Figure 16c), and firing (Figure 16d). The clay brick-making method used in Nanjing follows the traditional Chinese method. First, the soil is dug and water is added and stirred to remove the air bubbles to create clay; then, a wooden mold and a bamboo bow are used to place the clay into the mold, scrape off the excess clay, and level it with a square wood to make the clay body. It is then dried; the drying method is divided into two types: shade drying and sun drying. Shade drying needs the brick to be placed in a cool and ventilated place to dry, while sun drying requires that the brick be exposed to the sun, usually at least one month before being fired. Finally, the green body is fired in an earthen kiln with fuel added such as straw, reed firewood, and corn stalks.

The production process of tiles is similar to that of bricks. The production steps of tiles described in “Yingzao Fashi” are summarized as follows: tile blanks, making round tiles, roasting, cutting, and drying to shape [40]. However, tiles need clay that is not mixed with sand, and the fineness is higher than that of bricks. The roof tiles of the Ginling College building use traditional Chinese gray round tiles (Figure 17a).

In ancient China, there was a strong sense of hierarchy and traditional Chinese architecture is usually divided into architectural levels through different roof forms and roof decorations. The installation of “Walking beasts” on the roof is a symbol of the status of the building. On the one hand, its function is to prevent rainwater from eroding the roof ridge; on the other hand, people hope that it can prevent fires, eliminate disasters, and protect peace [41]. Ginling College imitates the decorative forms of high-grade traditional Chinese architectural roofs. For example, on the diagonal ridge for the hip roof of the No. 100 Building, there is a setting with four “Walking beasts”. There are immortal riding phoenixes (the ‘immortal riding phoenix’ is the first beast among the “Walking beasts” placed on the edge of the roof ridge) and three “Walking beasts” after them (Figure 17b) [42].

The ecological sustainability of bricks and tiles is reflected in their good thermal insulation properties. The higher the porosity of the material, the better the insulation performance [43]. Among the building materials used in the Republic of China period, the porosity of brick and wood is 30–32 and 55–75, respectively, which rank first and second, much higher than that of concrete, cement, and steel (

Table 2. Analysis of physical properties of materials [45].

Material	Density	Bulk Density	Porosity
Limestone	2.60	1800–2600	0.2–4
Concrete	2.60	2200–2500	5–20
Clay brick	2.50	1700–1800	30–32
Wood	1.55	400–800	55–75
Cement	3.10
Steel	7.85	7850	0

). In addition, bricks and tiles can also play a role in fire prevention and sound insulation, adjusting air humidity, and improving the indoor environment of buildings [44]. For example, the exterior walls of Ginling College are all brick masonry, so resources and energy were consumed less during the construction of the walls, and a comfortable and healthy indoor environment is obtained.

Wood is an excellent sustainable material in nature. It is an easy-to-obtain material and can be recycled [46]. Nanjing has rich forest and rainwater resources and is an important production area of high-quality wood. The main species of wood used in modern Nanjing are Chinese fir and pine [47]. Chinese fir is a light material with the advantages of easy processing, good elasticity, insect resistance, and corrosion resistance [48]. It is often used for purlins, beams, rafters, roof boarding, etc. in buildings. The construction of Ginling College fully utilized wood, and the first-period buildings adopted the Howe truss (Figure 18a,b), which guarantees the stability of the structure. In addition, the soft floor used in the music building in the second period of the building can meet the needs of a special music learning environment [49], reflecting the application of wood according to local conditions. During the renovation of Ginling College, the wooden roof trusses were reinforced, and the severely decayed wood was replaced with raw materials to ensure the style of the building itself. The replaced wood can be recycled and reused, which is the embodiment of the ecological cycle.

3.2.2. The Introduction of New Materials: Concrete

In addition to the use of traditional building materials such as bricks, tiles, and wood, this project also introduces advanced Western technology and materials. In the 1920s, the earliest concrete technology in China was introduced to Ginling College. The concrete material is composed of cement, stone, and sand and mixed with water, and the ratio is generally 1:2:4. The first buildings on campus used concrete technology locally, combined with brick and wood structures. In the 1930s, after the national government established Nanjing as its capital, concrete began to be used in the entire building. For example, the No. 100—the No. 700 Buildings of Ginling College use concrete beams and cast-in-place concrete slabs; the No. 100—the No. 300 Buildings use concrete Tou-kung under the eaves to imitate the decorative components of Chinese classical architecture; the No. 10 Building and No. 11 Building adopt reinforced concrete structures as a whole. It has been verified that the grade of concrete used by Ginling College is lower than the current concrete strength grade C20. However, after inspection, the quality of the concrete columns, beams, cast-in-place slabs, and other components has performed well. After structural reinforcement, it still meets the current conditions of use. In addition, compared with traditional Nanjing building materials, concrete has a higher density and superior properties such as good durability and strong bearing capacity. These concrete structural materials not only meet the material requirements of modern buildings but also bring more aesthetics to the buildings. Therefore, the construction of Ginling College gave full play to the advantages of concrete materials, and the selection of materials was scientifically used, which indicates the wisdom of the designers.

3.2.3. Lighting and Ventilation Design

Nanjing is a hot summer and cold winter area, and the historical buildings of Ginling College mainly use natural lighting and ventilation. This project creates complete natural lighting and ventilation systems through doors and windows, lighting openings, vents, corridors, and courtyards. The designer not only considered the sufficient natural light and natural ventilation of a single building, but also arranged the distance between buildings reasonably, organized the building groups with courtyards, and obtained a good landscape view and ventilation effect of the building groups.

• Windows and Skylights

The roof of traditional Chinese buildings is closed, resulting in poor lighting and ventilation in the space under the roof. In this project, the designer avoided this defect and skillfully utilized the structural characteristics of the traditional Chinese hip-gable roof to set windows on the roof for natural lighting and natural ventilation. In this way, the interior space of the roof can be fully utilized to set up lofts, dormitories, etc. The designer installed windows on the east, south, west, and north walls of the building to meet the lighting and ventilation needs of classrooms and laboratories.

2.

Vents and Daylight Openings

Skylights and lighting openings were set on the roof to increase the lighting and ventilation surface. For example, the No. 100 Building is about 49 m long and 15 m wide [51], and the designer set skylights on the roof for lighting and ventilation. The skylight is located on the west roof of the back of the building, 0.7 m above the roof. The side of the skylight is a vent, and the upper part is covered with glass to prevent rainwater from flowing in.

For example, the No. 11 Building (library) cleverly hides a row of ventilation openings at the concrete beams under the eaves, and the lighting openings are evenly distributed on the concrete roof covered with transparent tiles. This improves daylighting and ventilation without compromising the integrity of the building’s exterior (Figure 19).

Taking the No. 10 Building (auditorium) as an example, we used computer simulation and building lighting professional analysis software (TH SWARE Dali2022) to calculate the natural lighting data of this building and found that the proportion of the building’s total natural lighting compliance area is 77% (

Table 3. Daylight data analysis of the No. 10 Building.

Room	Daylight Type	The Base Value		Area (m2)		Compliance Rate (%)
		Average Daylight Factor (%)	Illuminance of Natural Light Design (Lx)	The Total Area	Standard Value
Auditorium	Windows	3.30	450	107.36	54.68	51
Classroom	Windows	3.30	450	702.76	584.57	83
Office room	Windows	3.30	450	57.12	28.56	50
Total standard area ratio				77

). According to Article 5.2.8 of the “Evaluation Standards for Green Buildings of the People’s Republic of China (hereinafter referred to as “Standards”) [52], the proportion of natural lighting area should reach 60%. Therefore, the building meets the requirements of the Standards.

We also used this software to calculate the monthly average hours of dynamic lighting (Figure 20) and the average weekly hours of dynamic lighting (Figure 21) in Building No. 10. It shows that the sunshine hours of the building are higher than the standard requirement, so the building has good natural daylighting. Among them, July and August have the highest sunshine hours, with an average of 9.1 h per day; December has the lowest sunshine hours, with an average of 5.0 h per day.

3.

Porches and Corridors

The Ginling College complex is arranged along the east and west directions. According to the prevailing wind direction in Nanjing, the southeast wind prevails in summer and the northwest wind prevails in winter. For better natural ventilation, the designer set up porches at the south and north ends of the building, and set up corridors in the middle, so that the interior of the building can have natural ventilation (called “draught”), reducing building energy consumption. Especially when there was no air conditioning in the 1920s and 1930s, natural ventilation effectively relieved the stuffy indoors [53,54].

4.

Courtyards

Regarding the ventilation system, the courtyard is the core daylighting and ventilation component. There are four courtyards in this project. By rationally arranging buildings, setting building spacing, and designing courtyards, the designer enabled the site to have good daylight and ventilation, forming a comfortable living environment.

Through computer simulation, we used building ventilation professional analysis software (TH SWARE VENT2022) to analyze the site ventilation. In summer, no eddy or calm zones occur in the activity areas of the site (Figure 22); in winter, the wind speed is less than 5 m/s in the pedestrian area at a height of 1.5 m around the building. The air pressure difference between the windward side and leeward side is also not greater than 5 Pa. (Figure 23). This complies with the requirements of Article 8.2.8 of the “Standards” on natural ventilation and comfort for outdoor activities.

We also used TH SWARE VENT2022 to analyze the natural ventilation of individual buildings. Analyzing the pressure difference between the inside and outside of the window can determine whether it is conducive to the formation of better indoor ventilation in summer to ensure indoor comfort and whether it will form a strong cold wind penetration in winter, which is not conducive to indoor heat preservation. According to the provisions of Article 8.2.8 of the “Standard”, the wind pressure difference between the interior and exterior surfaces of more than half of the pivoted external windows should be greater than 0.5 Pa. This article takes Building 10 as an example; using TH SWARE VENT2022 to calculate the air pressure difference between the indoor and outdoor surfaces of the external windows of this building led to values greater than 0.5 Pa (

Table 4. Analysis of the summer air pressure difference in the No. 10 Building (Source: author).

Room Name	Room Number	Direction	Air Pressure Difference (Pa)
First floor
Auditorium	1001	West	−1.23
Piano room	1001	West	−1.59
Piano room	1001	South	1.26
Piano room	1001	East	−0.77
Dance room	1001	South	2.53
Warehouse	1001	East	−8.02
Corridor	1002	West	−1.43
Vestibule	1003	North	−1.02

and

Table 5. Analysis of the winter air pressure difference in the No. 10 Building (Source: author).

Room Name	Room Number	Direction	Air Pressure Difference (Pa)
Second floor
Auditorium	1001	West	−1.25
Storage Room	1001	West	−1.38
Piano room	1001	East	−0.84
Stairwell	1001	West	−2.01
Third floor
Concert hall	1004	West	−2.56
Office room	1005	North	−0.95
Corridor	1006	East	−0.93

), which meets the requirements of the “Standards”.

3.3. The Influence of Sustainable Design on Traditional Chinese Revival Architecture

Traditional Chinese revival architecture combines traditional Chinese architectural art with advanced Western technology, and its sustainable design is reflected in architectural regionalism and architectural culture.

First of all, traditional Chinese revival-style architecture retains regional characteristics, emphasizing integration and adaptability with the surrounding natural environment. Factors such as local climate conditions, terrain characteristics, and resource utilization are considered in the design, and through scientific and adaptive design and the selection of regional materials, the building can reach a higher level in terms of energy saving, environmental protection, and the sustainable use of resources. Secondly, the integration of Chinese cultural elements and traditional values into the design ensures the building has a deeper cultural connotation and shows humanistic care. Chinese traditional architecture reflects the thinking concept and cultural characteristics of a region and a nation formed in a specific environment. Moreover, traditional Chinese revival architecture makes adaptive improvements to traditional Chinese architecture, which can not only continue and develop the culture of traditional Chinese architecture but also meet people’s needs for comfort and architectural sustainability. In addition, to a certain extent, the life of the building is extended.

4. Conclusions

The Ginling College campus is an important achievement of modern Chinese and Western cultural exchanges and a representative work of the revival of traditional Chinese architecture. It has triggered more than 100 years of exploration of traditional Chinese architectural art in the architectural field and influences it to this day. The artistic value of Ginling College’s historical feature area is summarized as follows: while it retains the essence of traditional Chinese architecture, it has made adaptive improvements and is a re-creation of Chinese and Western styles according to the current situation of the site and the actual needs of the buildings. It uses the Forbidden City in Beijing as a reference sample but incorporates Western architectural elements. In terms of campus planning, the characteristics of the north–south main axis of traditional Chinese buildings have been changed. According to the site characteristics, the east–west direction is the main axis and the north–south direction is the secondary axis. Multiple courtyards are arranged along the main and secondary axes to form a building complex with a spatial sequence. At the same time, by introducing the large rectangular lawn and straight and square roads of American university campuses, the architect perfectly combines Chinese and Western architectural art with superb professional attainments. As for the individual buildings, the graphic design meets the educational building functions at that time and uses Western architectural technology and new concrete materials introduced at that time to imitate the form of traditional Chinese palaces. In terms of architectural details, it vividly imitates the details and decorations of traditional Chinese architecture and strives to show the beauty of traditional Chinese architecture in an original way.

Ginling College’s historical feature area reflects a comprehensive sustainable design strategy from the overall design to the details from the aspect of “campus planning layout-single building-structural materials”. In the overall planning, buildings are rationally arranged, the building spacing is controlled, and yards are designed; in the single-building design, daylight openings are set up, vents, doors, windows, and corridors are utilized to create natural daylighting, and a ventilation system is established consisting of doors, windows, lighting openings, and a vent–corridor–courtyard; the local soil is used to create bricks and tiles, the local rich forest resources are used to produce wood, local materials are used, renewable materials are used for construction or repair, and concrete is introduced to improve the durability of the building.

To sum up, the Ginling College historical feature area has created a highly harmonious living environment. While striving to pursue the architectural art of combining Chinese and Western elements, it also incorporates sustainable design concepts of natural ecology, energy conservation, and environmental protection so as to achieve a state of harmonious coexistence between man and the natural environment and sustainable development. It provides a reference for today’s campus design, historic campus renewal, and urban renewal preservation.

The main innovations of this paper are:

• Conducting research on sustainable restoration and renewal from a multidisciplinary perspective based on historical research combined with on-site surveying and surveying from the aspects of architectural art, structural materials, lighting and ventilation design, etc., using mathematics, geometry, etc. to study the artistic value of the historical building of Ginling College, and using professional green building design software to confirm its natural lighting and natural ventilation meet the Evaluation Standards for Green Buildings of the People’s Republic of China.
• Through detailed qualitative and quantitative analysis, this paper explored a design strategy for a “combination of Chinese and Western Style” university campus that combines architectural art and sustainable design. It is precisely because of the artistic re-creation and technological innovation in Chinese and Western architectural circles that the development of the construction industry and cities have been promoted.

However, the overall situation can only be inferred from individual cases and this article is a case study so there could be a failure to fully present the general characteristics of a university campus of the “Renaissance of Chinese Traditional Architecture” type. The follow-up research will be further deepened, and it is planned to conduct systematic and in-depth statistics, analyses, and research on this type of building in order to reveal its overall picture.