Climate Design Principles
Background to energy efficiencySolar
Passive Design Techniques are the best known systems for buildings to
achieve energy efficiency.
Solar Passive Design seeks to achieve interior comfort by encouraging solar
(natural) light and
heat entry into the building, where thermal mass will absorb the heat and
re-radiate the heat into interior spaces to maintain comfort most of the time.
This approach is well suited to cooler climate locations where
external temperatures are often lower than ideal for human comfort.
This
approach is embodied in a few projects of this architectural practice where these projects are situated on elevated or in
poor solar gain locations.
Because there is an extensive body of
literature on "passive solar", the theory and application will not be
referred to in more detail here.
To design energy efficient buildings situated in warm locations, an
adaptation of the "passive solar" approach is to incorporate into the
building design shading to shield interior spaces from direct solar gain,
to use high thermal mass internally to the buildings to absorb excessive heat
load out of the indoor air, and to use ventilation paths between internal
and external spaces to maintain adequate cooling in these buildings.
Because of its extensive application in that region, this building design
approach is characterised as "Mediterranean", and often features thick
external masonry walling, light colours, small openings and buildings with single
room depth arranged around enclosed open spaces including courtyards.
Elements of such building design approach are embodied in many of the
projects of this architectural practice.
Both
these building design methods emphasise resistance to the unfavourable
effects of weather.
Responsive building design principlesThe
practice has developed a progressive evolution of a further building
design approach which is characterised as responsive.
Because this design approach uses weather forces actively in securing the
building's comfort performance, it differs substantially from the other
building design philosophies.
Responsive building design
expects that the comfort performance of the building is achieved through
the composite effects from the site, the building and the landscape.
As described in detail on other pages, the projects of the
practice vary individually, at all
times utilising the 'responsive' approach to all surrounding ecological as
well as environmental conditions, and where appropriate
also integrating aspects of the other building design approaches.
Design elements which are complimentary to each of the building design
approaches are often integrated - notably sunward orientation of the
building's long faces.
Sometimes the design approach of 'passive
solar' and 'response' are contradictory; then each project is
developed around the most suitable of these philosophies to suit each
individual circumstance.
For example, one project may embody a sunward facing shading pergola
consistent with the shading goal of 'passive solar' for a cool to
temperate location. Another project instead will embody a shade side
pergola used as an active cooling device consistent with 'response' principles suited to an arid location.
Because responsive design principles are infrequently described
in publications, the philosophies and technologies are shown here on other
pages. Responsive Design embodies:-
Philosophies:
- comfort control in warm climates by using the forces inherent in the
weather through solar heating, winds and moisture changes
- the air movement generated by heat differential across a building
between external sunward and shade sides
- air movement generated by air pressure differential across a
building between windward and low pressure areas on the roof form
- air movement generated by air pressure differential across a
building by moisture expiration both by vegetation and generated with
built-in technologies to the building Technologies
- thermal courtyards on the sun side
of buildings
- shade pergolas on the shade side of buildings
- greenhouses
- clerestoreys
- vegetation integral to the building
- subsidence
towers
Experience with the completed projects demonstrates
that rather than creating just energy efficient buildings; the responsive approach results in low energy demand buildings. As the remnant
energy demand of these projects is about 20% of that of conventional
buildings in similar locations; the resultant projects can be operated
from modest size renewable energy supply systems.
This energy supply
option is described further in the ESD technologies section.
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