Exploring disaster resilience strategies for temple spaces: evidence from Longmen Mountain area in Sichuan

This study investigates the disaster-prevention adaptability of traditional temple (TT) spaces in the Longmen Mountain Area of Sichuan Province, due to their long-term survival in hazardous environments. Not only do TT complexes demonstrate disaster risk mitigation in their architecture, but temples often contribute to disaster, preparedness and recovery through the humanistic principles of faith held by temple personnel. The methods used include field surveys, the analysis of geospatial data, and quantitative methods such as GIS spatial analysis.

The main conclusions are as follows:

1. Temples in disaster-prone areas favor low altitude and flat terrains like towns, suburbs, and mountain platforms.
2. As altitude and slope increase, the proportion of disaster-prevention open space (OS) also rises, demonstrating adaptive principles.
3. OS within temples serves two disaster prevention functions: evacuation routes and places of refuge. Corridor spaces connect functional divisions, thus acting as essential channels. A greater proportion of refuge areas than evacuation routes enhances the ability of ancient temples to adapt to disaster envionremtns. Therefore, complex spatial forms diversify disaster-prevention spaces, while simpler forms enable quicker refuge establishment.