Mosha Zhao

Associate Professor

College of Architecture and Urban Planning, Tongji University

Address: Wenyuan Building A113, Siping Road 1239, 200092 Shanghai

Email: mosha_zhao@tongji.edu.cn / zhaoms_53@hotmail.com

Research Fields

Green and Low-Carbon Buildings and Districts; Conservation of Heritage Buildings: Energy Conservation, Moisture Protection and Moisture Control, Regenerative Use; Applied Building Physics

Research Profile

Dr. Mosha Zhao is an Associate Professor at the College of Architecture and Urban Planning, Tongji University, and is rewarded as the Bai Yu Lan Pujiang Talent by the Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality. She serves as the Secretary-General of the Technology Innovation Center for Cultural Heritage Conservation and Regeneration of National Territory Space at the Ministry of Natural Resources. Dr. Zhao obtained her PhD in Building Physics from the University of Stuttgart, following master's and bachelor's degrees from the Technical University of Munich. As a former researcher at the Fraunhofer Institute for Building Physics in Germany, her work focuses on the adaptive reuse of heritage buildings, particularly their hygrothermal performance and the energy-efficient retrofitting of existing building envelopes. She leads and participates in several national and provincial research projects dedicated to the preservation and performance improvement of existing buildings and has contributed to the development of national standards on building hygrothermal performance. Dr. Zhao also directs multiple long-term monitoring campaigns on the hygrothermal behavior of building envelopes during renovation, with an emphasis on integrating industrial applications with academic research.

Monograph

· M. Zhao: Methodology to Improve the Hygrothermal Performance of Traditional Buildings - On the Example of Traditional Courtyard Houses in Southern China, Fraunhofer Verlag, 2022. ISBN: 978-3-8396-1784-7

Peer-Reviewed Papers

· M. Zhao, H. M Künzel, S-R Mehra; Application of Multi-zone Airflow Modeling in the Investigation of Climate-regulating Effects of Courtyards. Building and Environment, 280(2025), 113130. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2025.113130

· T. Wang, M. Zhao*, Y. Lan, and S. Hu. Numerical Evaluation of Cooling Energy Saving and Indoor Thermal Comfort for Building Energy Retrofit with Reflective Materials. Buildings, 2025, 15(18), 3387. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings15183387

· M. Zhao; H. M. Künzel; S.-R. Mehra; Design Hygrothermally Functional Wooden Insulation Systems: A Parametric Study for Mixed Climate, Journal of Building Physics, 2023, 46(4): 474-509.

· M. Zhao, S.-R. Mehra, H.M. Künzel: Energy-saving potential of deeply retrofitting building enclosures of traditional courtyard houses – a case study in the Chinese Hot-Summer-Cold-Winter zone. Building and Environment. 217 (2022), 109106

· Yu, S.; Hao, S.; Mu, J.; Tian, D.; Zhao, M. Research on Optimization of the Thermal Performance of Composite Rammed Earth Construction. Energies 2022, 5(4):1519

· D. Flemming, M. Zhao, N. Harder, S. Park, P. Leistner: Parameterstudie zum energetischen Einsparpotential mit adaptiven Fassadenelementen zur lokalen Heizung (Energy saving potential of adaptive facade elements for local heating – a parameter study). Bauphysik 42 (2020), 2, pp. 63-72

· M. Zhao, S.-R. Mehra: Untersuchung der natürlichen Lüftung in traditionellen Gebäuden (Investigation of the natural ventilation in traditional buildings). Bauphysik 39 (2017), 6, pp. 340-351 （Top Reading Article 20, 2017-2018）

· M. Zhao, H.M. Künzel and F. Antretter: Parameters influencing the energy performance of residential buildings in different Chinese climate zones. Energy and Buildings 96 (2015), pp. 64-75.