Building operations account for a large amount of energy use and CO₂ emissions, and the morphology of buildings in residential clusters strongly impacts energy efficiency performance. However, little research has focused on the morphology and energy electricity usage of high-rise residential clusters in hot summer and cold winter (HSCW) regions. We investigated 96 residential clusters in Hangzhou, China, and established a corresponding morphology database. Additionally, we obtained annual electricity consumption for 16 of these residential clusters. With this database, we performed optimization of morphological parameters upon energy use intensity (EUI) using a genetic algorithm (GA). Specifically, the cooling, heating, and lighting EUIs of high-rise residential clusters were studied. After implementing the optimized morphological parameters, there was a reduction of up to 7.73% in EUI. According to regression analysis, the average aspect ratio was the most significant factor influencing EUI (r = −0.907), followed by floor area ratio (r = −0.755), average orientation (r = 0.502), and average number of floors (r = −0.453). These results indicate that a higher intensity of land development with a greater floor area ratio, average aspect ratio, and average number of floors can reduce total energy consumption. Additionally, we found that an average building orientation of southwest 15° (with respect to south) is optimal. The findings of this study can assist urban planners and designers in developing more sustainable residential clusters, leading to decreased energy costs and CO₂ emissions.

This study integrates four complementary datasets—a global compilation of 100 extreme-climate hotel sites, 631 embodied carbon intensity comparisons buildings, 56 construction robotics firms, and 517 Martian habitat studies—to identify how climate-environment, artificial intelligence geometry design, and robotic automation construction technology jointly determine carbon efficiency across terrestrial and extraterrestrial contexts. Clustering analysis revealed distinct climate–design relationships, from compact insulated geometries in Arctic regions to expansive, ventilated forms in hot deserts. Random Forest regression showed that perimeter, surface area, and temperature range are the strongest predictors of embodied carbon reduction, confirming the geometric dependence of carbon performance. Global refurbishment-phase data further demonstrated that prefabrication consistently lowers absolute emissions, even where relative efficiency diminishes under extreme environmental conditions. Industrial mapping indicated a rapid global rise of robotic and 3D printing construction firms, concentrated in Europe, China, and North America. Bibliometric analysis of Martian habitat research identified additive manufacturing and in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) as dominant strategies, but also revealed limited integration with life support and human-centered design domains. Together, these findings establish a unified computational, AI-assisted, and systems-level approach framework connecting climate-environment-responsive geometry, prefabricated and additive manufacturing, and robotic 3D printing automation, offering a scalable pathway toward architecture on Earth, Moon, Mars and other off-Earth habitats/ extraterrestrial architecture.

To improve the recovery of waste heat and avoid the problem of abandoning wind and solar energy, a multi-energy complementary distributed energy system (MECDES) is proposed, integrating waste heat and surplus electricity for hydrogen storage. The system comprises a combined cooling, heating, and power (CCHP) system with a gas engine (GE), solar and wind power generation, and miniaturized natural gas hydrogen production equipment (MNGHPE). In this novel system, the GE’s waste heat is recycled as water vapor for hydrogen production in the waste heat boiler, while surplus electricity from renewable sources powers the MNGHPE. A mathematical model was developed to simulate hydrogen production in three building types: offices, hotels, and hospitals. Simulation results demonstrate the system’s ability to store waste heat and surplus electricity as hydrogen, thereby providing economic benefit, energy savings, and carbon reduction. Compared with traditional energy supply methods, the integrated system achieves maximum energy savings and carbon emission reduction in office buildings, with an annual primary energy reduction rate of 49.42–85.10% and an annual carbon emission reduction rate of 34.88–47.00%. The hydrogen production’s profit rate is approximately 70%. If the produced hydrogen is supplied to building through a hydrogen fuel cell, the primary energy reduction rate is further decreased by 2.86–3.04%, and the carbon emission reduction rate is further decreased by 12.67–14.26%. This research solves the problem of waste heat and surplus energy in MECDESs by the method of hydrogen storage and system integration. The economic benefits, energy savings, and carbon reduction effects of different building types and different energy allocation scenarios were compared, as well as the profitability of hydrogen production and the factors affecting it. This has a positive technical guidance role for the practical application of MECDESs.

Heating buildings with solar energy is challenged by the seasonal mismatch between solar availability and heating demand. Thermochemical energy storage is a promising technology to overcome this challenge because of its high energy density. In building applications, space requirement is also an important consideration. Therefore, both the storage space and collector areas are important considerations, with only the latter often being neglected in previous studies. This paper proposes a novel two-stage thermochemical heat pump heating system based on the working pair of NaOH/H₂O. We demonstrate that this system can work with a concentration difference (70% wt–30% wt) for the climate in hot summer and cold winter regions in China. The energy storage density based on the discharged solution is 363 kWh/m³. With this solar-driven thermochemical heat pump heating system, 35.13 m² of collectors and 10.48 tons of 70% wt NaOH solution are sufficient to complete a full charge–discharge cycle and meet the heating demand of a single-family house (winter space heating + DHW: 9370 kWh, summer DHW: 2280 kWh). The theoretical maximum storage for solution (discharged + water tank) is 32.47 m³. Compared with the sensible seasonal storage alternative, the collector area is reduced by 12.5% and the storage space is reduced by 59%, with a possible further reduction through optimization. With the potential to be further optimized for space saving, the two-stage solar–NaOH heat pump heating system is an energy-efficient and space-efficient heating system for buildings in the hot summer and cold winter regions of China.

Under the background of global warming and energy crisis, exploring the new relationship between architecture and climate has always been a hot spot in the construction industry. Thus, a new design pattern “meteorological architecture” guided by a localized meteorological condition is developed. The paper starts with the distinction of the concepts of “meteorology” and “climate” to explains the connotation of “meteorological architecture”. Through the analysis of current theories and practices related to meteorological architecture, a new principle of architectural space division and architectural form generation logic have been summarized. Finally, the enlightening effect of meteorological architecture on other fields is proposed.