Differentiation and Convergence in the Hall–Room Spatial Configuration of Linear-Type Floor Plans in the Vernacular Dwellings of Multi-Ethnic Northeastern Guizhou, China

Northeastern Guizhou, situated at the confluence of the Wuling Mountains and the Miaoling Range in southwestern China, constitutes a multi-ethnic integration zone where Gelao, Tujia, Miao, Dong, and Han peoples have coexisted for centuries. While existing comparative studies of vernacular dwellings in ethnic minority regions have predominantly adopted a unidirectional “cultural diffusion” framework, the complex spatial interactions among multiple ethnic groups remain insufficiently understood. This study examines the widely distributed linear-type traditional dwellings across this region, employing Space Syntax to quantitatively characterize the hall–room spatial configurations of six representative floor-plan typologies. Four key indicators (connectivity, mean depth, Real Relative Asymmetry (RRA), and control value) were calculated from justified graphs to reveal configurational differences in the tangwu (ancestral hall), fire pit/fire-bed, bedrooms, and transitional spaces. Three principal findings emerged: (1) all ethnic dwellings share an underlying “hall–fire” dual-core spatial system, which manifests in three distinct control modes (parallel dual-core, offset dual-core, and single-core-dominant), reflecting divergent cultural strategies during inter-ethnic integration; (2) spatial depth hierarchies differentiate clearly at their two ends, from the undivided rear space of the Songtao Shu Miao dwelling to the deeply recessed bedroom of the Han dwelling, whereas the relative ordering of the intermediate ethnic groups cannot be reliably distinguished; (3) convergence does not follow a single linear trajectory but proceeds along multiple independent culturally self-sustaining paths, producing a reticular fusion landscape characterized by “multi-linear differentiation with localized convergence.” These findings support a “cultural inter-embedding” rather than “cultural replacement” interpretation of spatial evolution in multi-ethnic regions, offering a new analytical framework for comparative morphological research on vernacular dwellings.