TROPICAL DESIGN

INTRODUCTION TO ENVIRONMENTAL / CLIMATIC DESIGN

THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT AS A TECHNOLOGICAL SYSTEM
FACTORS TO CONSIDER IN TERMS OF CLIMATE

LATITUDE
ALTITUDE
LAND-WATER RELATIONSHIP
MOUNTAIN BARRIERS
OCEAN CURRENTS
PREVAILING WINDS
LATITUDE
Distance north or south of
the equator

A. Low – warm to hot

B. Middle – seasonal
C. High – polar (cool
to cold)
ALTITUDE
Height above sea level

A. In mountain areas, there are

major climatic differences
from the bottom to the top.
B. As air rises, it loses the ability
to hold heat. It gets 1 F colder
for every 300-400 ft. you go
up
LAND-WATER RELATIONSHIP
A. A large body of water tends
to cause a mild or moderate
climate. (Very little change)
B. A body of water heats up and
cools down slower than a
land mass
C. Wind assumes the temp. of
the surface it passes over and
carries that temp. with it.
MOUNTAIN BARRIERS
Cause different climates on
opposite sides of mountain.

A. Moisture carrying winds

must rise to get over
mountains.
B. Air cools as it rises, losing
ability to hold water causing
rain on the windward side
C. This leaves no moisture for
the leeward side creating a
desert.
OCEAN CURRENTS
Rivers of water that move through
the ocean.
A. They assume the temperature
of the water that they pass
over and carry that
temperature.
B. Wind passing over the current
must pass near the land mass
to have an impact.
PREVAILING WINDS RELATIONSHIP
Winds that blow most often in
different parts of the Earth.

Wind blows because:

A. Air over warm land rises
B. Cooler air moves in from
surrounding areas to replace
rising air
C. The cool air is heated and
process repeats
CLIMATIC DESIGN

Climate responsive design is based

on the way a building form and
structure moderates the climate for
human good and well being
CLIMATIC DESIGN

“It is not practicable to plan a building exclusively on economic, functional or

formal grounds and expect a few minor adjustments to give a good indoor climate.
Unless the design is fundamentally correct in all aspects, no specialist can make it
function satisfactorily. Climate must be taken into account when deciding on the
overall concept of a project, on the layout and orientation of buildings, on the
shape and character of structures, on the spaces to be enclosed and, last but by no
means least, the spaces between buildings. In other words climate must be
considered at the early design stage.”

1974 the Building Research Establishment

CLIMATIC DESIGN
THREE STAGES OF CLIMATIC DESIGN
1. Forward analysis, which includes data collection and ends with a
sketch design.
2. Plan development, which includes the design of solar controls,
overall insulation properties, ventilation principles and activity
adaptation.
3. Element design comprises closer examination and optimization of all
individual building elements within the frames of the agreed overall
design concept.
CLIMATIC DESIGN
This consecutive approach is
typical for the time before the
introduction of powerful
computers in the building design
process. Rather simple tools used
in the forward analysis gave some
overall principles. In the last stage
it was practically impossible to go
back and correct systematic
errors; only minor changes in
thermal performance could be
obtained by a different element
design.
CLIMATIC DESIGN
To remedy this it is necessary to give
the architect a set of methods and
powerful tools to use for a better
integration of climate adaptation
into the design process of buildings.
Integrated data and knowledge
bases, and case-sensitive defaults,
can help the designer. Developing
appropriate and powerful tools, and
inclusion of evaluation and feedback
in the system is therefore crucial to
better integrate climatic issues in a
‘normal’ design process.
CLIMATIC DESIGN
A newly awakened interest for
passive climatization should
have a great deal to learn from
the past, but purely traditional
solutions assuming continuity of
lifestyles and kinds of work
seem rather unlikely. Combining
traditional knowledge and
advanced technology is
therefore necessary.
CLIMATIC DESIGN
Today’s passive buildings should last for at
least 20–50 years. They must therefore
meet the demands for future active
climatization as far as possible. Additional
heating and cooling should represent only a
marginal energy use, while the building
itself must account for the main part of the
climatization through its materials, structure
and design. In any case, better climate-
adapted buildings raise the limit at which
the non-consumer, even if economically
capable, gets fed-up with a bad indoor
climate and becomes an energy consumer.