Aiming to minimize fossil fuel use and environmental impacts caused by buildings, thermal design is one of the most effective approaches forwards ecological architecture. For any given region, ecologically thermal design has to follow the principles of ecological design, which need to be conditioned to the local situation. In this context, under the poor conditions of rural Northwestern China, the feasibility limited by budget and conventional resources for construction is the main challenge faced by ecologically thermal design for local buildings. Under the background, the methodology based on condition analyses and computer simulating experiments with TAS is involved in the study. Based on locally available building elements and technology the paper carries out a series of alternative techniques and feasible thermal design strategies for this region, aiming to reach the most effectively ecological approach. As a result, the relationship between the cost increase and improvement of building thermal performance resulting from each technique is reduced, so as to assist locals to design and construct the feasible ecological buildings according to their individual situations in economy, resources, functions and site condition. This illustrates an inspiring way towards the ecological architecture suitable for rural Northwestern China.
