climate responsive architecture through tropical design.docx

8/19/2019 CLIMATE RESPONSIVE ARCHITECTURE THROUGH TROPICAL DESIGN.docx

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There are many ways on achieving climate responsive architecture,one of which is through tropical designing.

Climate responsive architecture and tropical design are twoarchitectural aspects that share a common goal; it is all about conforming

to the environment as to where the building or structure would be built, tobring comfort to the surrounding buildings and more importantly to itsusers. Temperature, solar angles, wind, humidity level, precipitationamongst other are considered and examined, to be able to fully maximizethe site’s potentials.

Performing a site analysis and site inspection or investigation couldhelp in determining the appropriate solutions for the buildingsiterelationship. !uilding site lay outing, building orientation, buildingopenings study, building envelope, building footprint, building naturalventilation, wal"ing around the site, observing surrounding buildings ad

going bac" to the site at di#erent time of the day are some of thee#ective ways on how to attac" the possible design solutions.

Tropical design is much more applicable to places having only wetand dry seasons. These places experiences hot and humid weather whichcauses rainfalls that could actually occur anytime within the day.$esigning for tropic countries should be addressing both wet and dryseasons’ con%ictions without compromising the other. &n places such astropic countries, heavy buildings are only comfortable during dry season,but during rainy season mold are growing and building are most li"ely tobe a#ected by material rusts and decay in comparison with other

countries.

Philippines being one of the said tropic countries have severalconsiderations as to how a building should be constructed; one of those isthe movement of the air. The building should be positioned where thewind from the cool side would be well caught. This could help the buildingbecome responsive to unintentional circumstances such as powershortages etc. that could a#ect the air circulation within the building.&nterior division placement also a#ects the buildings’ air movement. 'smuch as possible, rooms should have at least two opening and doesn’tbloc" the air movement to achieve maximum cross ventilation. (ith the

catching of breeze in mind, the building should also address the sun rays. The long side of the building could be oriented at the north and south sideallowing the building to avoid the harsh sun rays of the east and westside. The use of high ceiling design could also answer the interiortemperature of the room. 'nother is the window designing and placement;(indows should catch the breeze present and can still be left open duringrainfall. 'lso putting windows or exhaust on high levels could help indrawing out hot air and drawing in cool air. 'd)ustable louvres could beused in order to manipulate the air movement and lighting within thebuilding. *oof overhangs also provide sun and rain protection for thebuilding.



+aterials being used also a#ect the building’s performance.-ightweight and low heatstoring materials are the main goal of everymaterials used in the tropical countries. /sing lightweight materials forcover ups such as walls and roof helps the building achieve a much lesserheat attraction and storage. The use of materials with light colors

provides a much cooler feeling.

Plantations also help the building achieve much more comfortablespaces. Tall trees could provide shading. The plants could also be used inorder to speed up the breeze by funneling breezes with building plants. &talso helps cool the air passing through it. Plants could also help ma"e thebuilding loo" light which a#ects the user’s logical comfort.

$esigning buildings that are climate responsive is one ma)orarchitectural consideration that should be treated or planned critically inorder to fully use the available and free treatments the building could

have from the site. This would not only give comfort to the users, it willalso give character to the building. 0itting two birds with one stone,considering climate responsive planning and tropical designing bringscomfort for the user and shows care for the environment.

References:

Deepu, D. 2013. Climate responsive architecture. Retrived from:

http://www.slideshare.net/deepthithangara/climate!responsive!architecture



"vans, #. 201$. 10 %teps to climate responsive &uilding design. Retrieved from:http://sustaina&ilit'.a&out.com/od/(reen)uilding/a/10!%teps!*o!Climate!Responsive!)uilding!Design.htm

De +esus, .2011. (reen architrends. -hilippine dail' inuirer!tropical architecture

Design0. 201. *ropical climate!&uilding design considerations. Retrived from:

http://design0.org/tropical!climate!&uilding!design!considerations/

CLIMATE RESPONSIVE ARCHITECTURE THROUGH TROPICALDESIGN

Garcia, Pauline Gaile D.



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