INTRODUCTION

In climate-responsive design the building becomes an intermediary in its own energy

housekeeping, forming a link between the harvest of climate resources and low energy provision of
comfort. Essential here is the employment of climate-responsive building elements, defined as
structural and architectural elements in which the energy infrastructure is far-reaching integrated.
Historically, the provision of comfort has led to the adoption of mechanical climate control systems
that operate in many cases indifferent from the building space and mass and its environment.
Climate-responsive design restores the context of local climate and environment as a design
parameter. Many spatial, functional and comfort-related boundary conditions that have an effect
on the energy design concept have been distinguished.

BACKGROUND
THE HUMAN IMPACT
Human activities around the world leave an incredible mark on the earth, its resources and its
inhabitants.
Today we consume valuable resources of the earth at breakneck speed from the short-sighted
point of view of the here and now.
The results are resource depletion, scenery damage, waste production and pollution.
The recurring human impact is also noticeable in long term economical and sociopolitical
perspectives.
The human impact is perhaps most notable in terms of climate change, for which the emission
of greenhouse gases is identified as the primary cause.
The emission of carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels is the most significant
contributor (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 2014).
Climate change is already a serious direct threat to human life and well-being and will most
likely emerge in the upcoming decades (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 2014;
World Health Organization, 2016).

THE IMPACT OF THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT

For centuries now humans have been constructing a built environment, a vast network of cities
and supporting infrastructure, in which they can deploy their activities.
The first man-made structures provided basic needs as shelter or protection and were made
from the available materials nearby the site.
In time humanity advanced and so did its structures; emerging into a craft where aesthetics and
impression gained importance.
New activities called for new types of buildings (e.g. temples, workshops and marketplaces).
Non-domestic construction materials were introduced by retrieving them from sites further
away and structures became bigger to impress people even more.
Due to its increasing complexity, the creation of the built environment became an expertise,
managed by an architect.
And architecture evolved from vernacular to monumental.
The impact of the built environment on the natural environment boosted after the industrial
revolution.
Increasing wealth and the development of new technology catapulted the dimension and
proportion of the built environment, demanding more and more of our resources.
The provision of shelter transformed into the urge to control the indoor environment to meet
occupants best wishes.
This resulted into the implementation of mechanical climate control systems which provide
heating,cooling and ventilation while operating almost completely stand-alone from the building
structure and its environment.
Building systems were designed from the single objective of controlling indoor conditions,
passing over many comfort and energy aspects.
All these prospects force us to think differently about our resource consumption and opt for a transition
towards a sustainable state where we minimize the need for raw materials and maximize their re-use,
conserve fresh water supplies and become independent of non-renewable energy sources.

The evolution of climate control in buildings

The desire to control the indoor environment to the occupants best wishes resulted in the implementation
of mechanical climate control systems that operate completely separate from the rest of the building. And
buildings themselves became completely separated from the (outdoor) environment they were placed in.
One aim of building design is to create a satisfying and healthy atmosphere in which we can deploy our
activities, whether these activities are residential, recreational, educational, or work related. The design of
a comfortable indoor climate is of great influence on occupants health.

Climate-responsive design
Climate-responsive design can be regarded as an encompassment of the synthesis of the following three
principles:
Energy exchange with the environment for comfort provision
Climate-responsive design is about provision of comfort to building occupants.
Available natural energy flows can often be made beneficial for climate control without complex
interference.
Acknowledge the fact that the outdoor environment has the potential of being a source or sink of
energy to buildings.
The building as a responsive system
Responsive means acting in response, as to some stimulus.
In climate-responsive design the climate is the stimulus.
Building space and mass can function as an intermediary between the indoor and outdoor environment,
allowing exchange of energy between the two environments while acting as an environmental filter.
The building design as a whole (e.g. shape, plan, enclosure, elements, use of materials and the
installations) is considered with certain openness and forms the intermediary between the indoor and
outdoor environment.
A climate-responsive building responds to changes in climatic conditions, both internal and external, and
to occupant behaviour.
Far-reaching architectural or structural integration
Climate-responsive design is about interaction between the indoor and outdoor environment.
The design choices concerning space and mass have a significant effect on the applicability of an
integrated energy infrastructure.
Climate-responsive design embraces a strategy in building design where it extents bioclimatic design
principles of form and envelope design to structural and architectural elements that actively harvest
potential energy flows.
Climate-responsive design is not primarily about minimising energy demand of buildings. It is about
creating a comfortable and healthy building that benefits from the potential of the natural energy
resources in the built environment.
The energy balance of a climate-responsive building
Climate-responsive design takes advantage of the natural energy sources present in the built environment
for passive or low-energy comfort provision.The building space and mass act as an intermediary, where the
indoor environment is controlled in close interaction with dynamic outdoor conditions. Since these dynamic
outdoor conditions will not always be in phase with comfort demands, the building needs to employ
complementing treatment strategies such as energy conservation, distribution, buffering, recovery and
storage. Whole building design will combine multiple techniques that together result into a comfortable
building with an effective energy balance primarily fed by natural energy flows

AIM : To achieve CLIMATE RESPONSIVE BUILDING DESIGN, i.e. to achieve indoor occupant comfort w.r.t.
local climatic parameters and energy resources.

OBJECTIVES :