CHAP 7

CHAPTER 7

RESEARCH FOCUS

I.  Introduction

BIOCLIMATIC ARCHITECTURE

            House designed according to bioclimatic principles is becoming important [art of the journey towards achieving sustainable ecological development. The term “bioclimatic” has traditionally related to the relationship between climate and living organisms, or to the study of bioclimatology.

            Architecture has always involved the use of natural resources to serve human needs. There is a long and inventive tradition of making buildings that are sensitive to place and climate. With increasing awareness of the environmental impact of modern living, a new approach is emerging that seeks to provide buildings which are better suited to the needs of occupants and kinder to the global society. Bioclimatic architecture implies a design approach which embraces the principles of sustainability but which goes further than minimizing the environmental impact of buildings. It seeks to create an architecture which is fundamentally responsive to location, climate and human needs and which gives expression to soundly based, vital design parameters.

            Bioclimatic buildings are characterized by the use of building elements including walls, windows, roofs and floors to collect store and distribute solar thermal energy and prevent overheating. The rich potential of bioclimatic strategies coupled with their economic attractiveness has determined that these approaches are of fundamental importance in a more energy efficient architecture and sustainable design. Bioclimatic designed elements cannot be considered only in their technical dimensions, as of their nature these systems have profound architectural implications.

            The main principle of bioclimatic design for passive and low energy buildings is to provide a comfortable environment by virtue of the passive features of design. A second principle is to use the active systems (mechanical equipment, such as air conditioning) with the passive systems to create an integrated solution for climate control. This can produce an integrated approach to design. One view of bioclimatic design is that the sphere of influence of architectural design lies in the use of passive design features, such as selecting the appropriate form and fabric of the building for climatic conditions. The aim is to achieve the indoor condition as close as possible to the comfort zone. Hence, through building form and fabric, varying outdoor conditions are controlled in order to achieve comfort. There are limits to the effect of passive systems; hence it is common to use active systems for times when comfort cannot be provided by passive systems.

II. Discussion of design focus