A Study on the Characteristics of Sustainable Design Expression through Taoist Aesthetics

Hong Cheng Yu; Jeong-Won Lee; Ji-Eun Seo

doi:10.6107/JKHA.2026.37.4.049

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2026 Vol.37, Issue 4 Preview Page Next Page

Research Article

A Study on the Characteristics of Sustainable Design Expression through Taoist Aesthetics 도가미학사상을 통한 지속가능 디자인 표현특성 연구

25 August 2026. pp. 049-059

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Abstract

This study aims to reinterpret Taoist aesthetics as an analytical framework for contemporary sustainable architecture and to derive the characteristics of sustainable design expression by linking it to the environmental, social, and economic dimensions of the Triple Bottom Line (TBL). Concepts related to Taoist aesthetics in previous studies were integrated into five core categories: generativity of emptiness, non-impositional order, non-fixed formation, spatiotemporality of nature, and free existence. Based on the TBL framework, evaluation indicators were established and ten architectural cases, including traditional gardens, residential, religious, public, and ecological architecture, were analyzed. The results show that Taoist aesthetics can be translated into sustainable design expression through the acceptance of natural conditions, the flexibilization of boundaries, the restraint of materials, the integration of temporality, and the support of user autonomy. These five categories were found to correspond structurally to environmental adaptability, social inclusiveness, and economic rationality. This study suggests that Taoist aesthetics can serve as both a philosophical foundation for expanding sustainability discourse beyond technical efficiency and an applicable interpretive framework for contemporary architecture.

Keywords

Daoist Aesthetics

Sustainability

Triple Bottom Line (TBL)

Design Expression Characteristics

키워드

도가미학사상

지속가능성

디자인 표현특성

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Information

Publisher :The Korean Housing Association
Publisher(Ko) :한국주거학회
Journal Title :Journal of the Korean Housing Association
Journal Title(Ko) :한국주거학회논문집
Volume : 37
No :4
Pages :049-059
Received Date : 2026-06-01
Revised Date : 2026-07-22
Accepted Date : 2026-07-24
DOI :https://doi.org/10.6107/JKHA.2026.37.4.049

Journal of the Korean Housing Association ISSN:2234-3571(Print) 2234-2257(Online) 한국주거학회논문집

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