Beyond passive shelter: a systemic health-resilience framework for advancing quality of life in tropical Asian architecture

The built environment in tropical Asian developing countries faces extreme climate instability and public health vulnerability, compromising urban Quality of Life (QoL). While building “Health Resilience” has emerged post-pandemic, global frameworks remain techno-centric, Global North biased, and structurally neglect the socio-spatial realities of high-density-low-income tropical housing. Addressing this critical gap, this study conducts a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) focused on the architecture-interior scale of high-density-low-income housing to construct a Systemic Health-Resilience Framework tailored to the geographical context of humid tropical Indonesia. Synthesizing 53 interdisciplinary studies, the analysis deconstructs health resilience into three interdependent dimensions: physical resilience (the active shield), environmental resilience (the metabolic system), and socio-spatial resilience (the adaptive interface). The findings theorize that vernacular wisdom, including steep-pitched geometry and permeable envelope, constitutes evidence-based survival mechanisms rather than mere cultural aesthetics. This framework advocates a salutogenic model of health and well-being, indicating that advancing QoL in marginalized tropical contexts relies on accessible, passive, and human-centered design rather than energy-intensive infrastructure. Ultimately, this study provides actionable insights for policymakers and architects to democratize health resilience across the tropical Global South.