COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE

3/F College of Architecture

900 San Marcelino Street,
1000 Ermita, Manila, Philippines
TROPICAL DESIGN
 is the strategic arrangement of elements in buildings and structures to respond to
specific conditions of weather, sun and climate prevalent in the Tropic Region.

TROPICAL REGION
 is a region above or below the Equator.
 The Tropic of Cancer is in the northern hemisphere and Tropic of Capricorn in the
southern hemisphere.

TROPIC OF CANCER AND TROPIC OF CAPRICORN

 are Geographical Locations in the Globe considered in the “Tropical Area”.

CLIMATE
 measure of the average pattern of variation in temperature, humidity, atmospheric
pressure, wind, precipitation in a given region over long periods of time.
 is the average weather in an area over a long period of time, whereas weather is a day
to day explanation.
 Weather and climate are described in terms of factors such
as temperature and precipitation.
 The climate of a particular location depends, in turn, on its latitude (distance from the
equator) and altitude (distance above sea level).

1 Ar.CHRISTOPHER P. COMA,Uap,Mscm
TROPUICAL DESIGN
 COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE
3/F College of Architecture
900 San Marcelino Street,
1000 Ermita, Manila, Philippines

WEATHER
 is the momentary state of atmospheric environment at a certain location.

TYPES OF CLIMATE:
1. Tropical (Hot-Wet)
2. Dry (Hot-Dry / Dessert)
3. Moderate Climate
 mild temperatures that can get hot during the summer. Average
temperature above 10 °C (50 °F) in summer and between −3 and 18 °C (27 and
64 °F) during winter.
4. Continental Climate
 characterized by important annual variation in temperature
due to the lack of significant bodies of water nearby.
5. Polar Climate
 characterized by a lack of warm summers.

1 Ar.CHRISTOPHER P. COMA,Uap,Mscm
TROPUICAL DESIGN
 COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE
3/F College of Architecture
900 San Marcelino Street,
1000 Ermita, Manila, Philippines
 Average temperature below 10 °C (50 °F).
 The sun shines 24 hours in the summer, and none in the winter.
 Polar climate results in treeless tundra, glaciers, or a permanent or semi-
permanent layer of ice.

WEATHER IN THE PHILIPPINES IS MONITORED AND MANAGED BY THE PHILIPPINE

ATMOSPHERIC, GEOPHYSICAL AND ASTRONOMICAL SERVICES
ADMINISTRATION (PAGASA).

PHILIPPINE CLIMATE TYPES

 There are four recognized climate types in the Philippines, and they are based on the
distribution of rainfall (See the Philippine Climate Map at the top).
 They are described as follows:
 Type Ⅰ Two pronounced seasons: dry from November to April and wet during the rest
 of the year.
  Type Ⅱ No dry season with a pronounced rainfall from November to January.
  Type Ⅲ Seasons are not very pronounced, relatively dry from November to April, and
wet during the rest of the year.
 Type Ⅳ Rainfall is more or less evenly distributed throughout the year.

1 Ar.CHRISTOPHER P. COMA,Uap,Mscm
TROPUICAL DESIGN
 COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE
3/F College of Architecture
900 San Marcelino Street,
1000 Ermita, Manila, Philippines

CLIMATE MAP OF THE PHILIPPINES BASED ON THE MODIFIED CORONAS'

CLIMATE Classification, based on the type of rainfall distribution during the 1951-2010
period.

Evening thunderstorms bringing rain over the Philippines is common from March to
October.

1 Ar.CHRISTOPHER P. COMA,Uap,Mscm
TROPUICAL DESIGN
 COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE
3/F College of Architecture
900 San Marcelino Street,
1000 Ermita, Manila, Philippines

THE PHILIPPINES HAS FIVE TYPES OF CLIMATES:

1.TROPICAL RAINFOREST
 is a tropical climate usually found within 10 to 15 degrees latitude of the equator, and
has at least 60 millimetres (2.4 in) of rainfall every month of the year.
 A tropical rainforest climate is typically hot, very humid, and wet.

1 Ar.CHRISTOPHER P. COMA,Uap,Mscm
TROPUICAL DESIGN
 COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE
3/F College of Architecture
900 San Marcelino Street,
1000 Ermita, Manila, Philippines
2. TROPICAL MONSOON
 Main characteristic features of the tropical monsoon type of climate are: In tropical
monsoon type of climate, there are two dry seasons with low rainfall.
 There is a distinct rainy season with very high rainfall.
 Rainfall in the tropical monsoon climate is seasonal in nature and is often irregular and
uneven.

1 Ar.CHRISTOPHER P. COMA,Uap,Mscm
TROPUICAL DESIGN
 COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE
3/F College of Architecture
900 San Marcelino Street,
1000 Ermita, Manila, Philippines

3.TROPICAL SAVANNA
 is either tropical rainforest, tropical savanna, tropical monsoon, or humid subtropical
characterized by relatively high temperature, oppressive humidity and plenty of rainfall.
It has only two seasons: the wet and dry season.
 The dry season starts in late November and ends in May.

1 Ar.CHRISTOPHER P. COMA,Uap,Mscm
TROPUICAL DESIGN
 COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE
3/F College of Architecture
900 San Marcelino Street,
1000 Ermita, Manila, Philippines
4.HUMID SUBTROPICAL
 is either tropical rainforest, tropical savanna or tropical monsoon, or humid
subtropical (in higher-altitude areas) characterized by relatively high temperature,
oppressive humidity and plenty of rainfall.

1 Ar.CHRISTOPHER P. COMA,Uap,Mscm
TROPUICAL DESIGN
 COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE
3/F College of Architecture
900 San Marcelino Street,
1000 Ermita, Manila, Philippines
5. OCEANIC

 An oceanic climate also known as a maritime climate, marine climate, marine west
coast climate or temperate oceanic climate
 is the Köppen classification of climate typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of
continents, and generally features cool summers (relative to their latitude) and cool but
not cold .

1 Ar.CHRISTOPHER P. COMA,Uap,Mscm
TROPUICAL DESIGN
 COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE
3/F College of Architecture
900 San Marcelino Street,
1000 Ermita, Manila, Philippines

1 Ar.CHRISTOPHER P. COMA,Uap,Mscm
TROPUICAL DESIGN
 COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE
3/F College of Architecture
900 San Marcelino Street,
1000 Ermita, Manila, Philippines
WLADIMIR KOPPEN
 late 1800s and early 1900s a German climate scientist
 His categories were based on the temperature, the amount of precipitation, and the
times of year when precipitation occurs.

This is an illustration of the climate zones within the United States. The extra climate
zone, labeled "H" on this map, is a special zone called the highlands. The highlands
climate zone is characterized by weather that differs from the surrounding area because
of mountains.

RAINFALL

 Monsoons are large-scale sea breezes which occur when the temperature on land is
significantly warmer or cooler than the temperature of the ocean.
 Most summer monsoons or southwest monsoons (Filipino: Habagat) have a dominant
westerly component and a strong tendency to ascend and produce copious amounts of
rain (because of the condensation of water vapor in the rising air).
 The intensity and duration, however, are not uniform from year to year.
 Winter monsoons or northeast monsoons (Filipino: Amihan), by contrast, have a
dominant easterly component and a strong tendency to diverge, subside and cause
drought.
 The summer monsoon brings heavy rains to most of the archipelago from May to
October. Annual average rainfall ranges from as much as 5,000 millimeters (197 in) in

1 Ar.CHRISTOPHER P. COMA,Uap,Mscm
TROPUICAL DESIGN
 COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE
3/F College of Architecture
900 San Marcelino Street,
1000 Ermita, Manila, Philippines
the mountainous east coast section of the country, to less than 1,000 millimeters (39 in)
in some of the sheltered valleys.
 Monsoon rains, although hard and drenching, are not normally associated with high
winds and waves.

TYPHOONS

Main article: Typhoons in the Philippines

PAGASA'S TROPICAL CYCLONE INTENSITY SCALE

Category Sustained winds

>220 km/h
Supertyphoon (STY)
>119 knots

118–220 km/h
Typhoon (TY)
64–119 knots

89–117 km/h
Severe tropical storm (STS)
48–63 knots

62–88 km/h
Tropical storm (TS)
34–47 knots

≤61 km/h
Tropical depression (TD)
≤33 knots

 The Philippines sit across the typhoon belt, making dangerous storms from July through
October.
 Climate change exacerbates the situation with typhoons in the Philippines.
 Typhoons are especially hazardous for northern and eastern Luzon and
the Bicol and Eastern Visayas regions, but Manila gets devastated periodically as well

TEMPERATURE
 The average year-round temperature measured from all the weather stations in the
Philippines, except Baguio, is 26.6 °C (79.9 °F).

1 Ar.CHRISTOPHER P. COMA,Uap,Mscm
TROPUICAL DESIGN
 COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE
3/F College of Architecture
900 San Marcelino Street,
1000 Ermita, Manila, Philippines
 Cooler days are usually felt in the month of January with temperature averaging at 25.5
°C (77.9 °F) and the warmest days, in the month of May with a MEAN OF 28.3 °C (82.9
°F
HUMIDITY
 Relative humidity is high in the Philippines.
 A high amount of moisture or vapor in the air makes hot temperatures feel hotter.
 This quantity of moisture is due to different factors – the extraordinary evaporation from
the seas that surrounds the country on all sides, to the different prevailing winds in the
different seasons of the year, and finally, to the abundant rains so common in a tropical
country.

TYPHOONS
 Typhoons have a great influence on the climate and weather conditions of the
Philippines.
 A great portion of the rainfall, humidity and cloudiness are due to the influence of
typhoons.
 They generally originate in the region of the Marianas and Caroline Islands of the Pacific
Ocean which have the same latitudinal location as Mindanao.
 Their movements follow a northwesterly direction, sparing Mindanao from being directly
hit by majorty of the typhoons that cross the country.
 This makes the southern Philippines very desirable for agriculture and industrial
development.

IMPORTANT OF TROPICAL DESIGN PRINCIPLES

 The use of passive design principles in the tropics results in a building that is
comfortable, energy efficient and results in substantial savings in running costs of both
cooling and lighting.

FACTORS AFFECTING CLIMATIC DESIGN:

 Vegetation - height, mass, silhouette, texture, location, growth patterns.

 Built forms - nearby buildings, surface conditions. and ventilation heat flow.Building
 fabric - materials and construction; thermal insulation; surface qualities; shading

1 Ar.CHRISTOPHER P. COMA,Uap,Mscm
TROPUICAL DESIGN
 COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE
3/F College of Architecture
900 San Marcelino Street,
1000 Ermita, Manila, Philippines

MAJOR CLIMATE ZONES BASED ON TEMPERATURE

INCLUDE TROPICAL, TEMPERATE, AND ARCTIC ZONES.

1 Ar.CHRISTOPHER P. COMA,Uap,Mscm
TROPUICAL DESIGN
 COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE
3/F College of Architecture
900 San Marcelino Street,
1000 Ermita, Manila, Philippines
DIFFERENT CLIMATE FACTORS THAT MUST BE CONSIDERED (BUILDING DESIGNS)
The most significant climate factors are as follows:
 weather temperature,
 soil temperature,
 angle and intensity of sunlight, relative humidity,
 direction and wind speed,
 rainfall and sunlight.

FACTORS AFFECT THE CLIMATE OF A REGION

 The climate of any particular place is influenced by a host of interacting factors.

 These include latitude, elevation, nearby water, ocean currents, topography, vegetation,
and prevailing winds. The global climate system and any changes that occur within it
also influence local climate.

HIGH LATITUDE CLIMATE

 By and large, the high-latitude climates are climates of the northern hemisphere,
occupying the northern subarctic and arctic latitude zones.
 The high-latitude climates coincide closely with the belt of prevailing westerly winds that
circles each pole.

TUNDRA

 is a treeless polar desert found in the high latitudes in the polar regions, primarily
in Alaska, Canada, Russia, Greenland, Iceland, and Scandinavia, as well as sub-
Antarctic islands.
 The world map of the tundra climate (Figure 7.40) shows this climate type ringing the
Arctic Ocean and extending across the island region of northern Canada.
 It includes the Alaskan north slope, the Hudson Bay region, and the Greenland coast in
North America.
 In Eurasia, this climate type occupies the Siberian coast, although tundra vegetation is
also found on northern Iceland and along the arctic coast of Scandinavia.
 The Antarctic Peninsula (not shown in Figure 7.40) also belongs to this climate.
 The latitude range for this climate is 60° to 75° N and S, except for the northern coast of
Greenland, where tundra occurs at latitudes greater than 80° N.

1 Ar.CHRISTOPHER P. COMA,Uap,Mscm
TROPUICAL DESIGN
 COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE
3/F College of Architecture
900 San Marcelino Street,
1000 Ermita, Manila, Philippines

MAIN CAUSE OF CLIMATE

 Carbon dioxide is the main cause of human-induced global warming and
associated climate change.
 It is a very long-lived gas, which means carbon dioxide builds up in the atmosphere with
ongoing human emissions and remains in the atmosphere for centuries.

4 FACTORS OF WEATHER
 solar radiation, the amount of which changes with Earth's tilt,
 orbital distance from the sun and latitude,
 temperature,
 air pressure and the abundance of water.

DIRECTION OF PREVAILING WINDS

1 Ar.CHRISTOPHER P. COMA,Uap,Mscm
TROPUICAL DESIGN
 COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE
3/F College of Architecture
900 San Marcelino Street,
1000 Ermita, Manila, Philippines
 Winds that blow from the sea often bring rain to the coast and dry weather to inland
areas.

El Niño
 El Niño, which affects wind and rainfall patterns, has been blamed for droughts and
floods in countries around the Pacific Rim.
 El Niño refers to the irregular warming of surface water in the Pacific.
 The warmer water pumps energy and moisture into the atmosphere, altering global wind
and rainfall patterns.
 The phenomenon has caused tornadoes in Florida, smog in Indonesia, and forest fires in
Brazil.
 El Niño is Spanish for 'the Boy Child' because it comes about the time of the celebration
of the birth of the Christ Child.
 The cold counterpart to El Niño is known as La Niña, Spanish for 'the girl child', and it
also brings with it weather extremes.

CLIMATIC DESIGN

 The purpose of climatic design is to facilitate an increase in the energy efficiency of

buildings.
 Thermal design improves the living and working environment for occupants through
ecologically sustainable means.
 It also seeks to reduce the effect on public health by adverse climatic conditions.

BUILDINGS DESIGNED FOR CLIMATE

 Climatic design is practiced throughout the world and has been shown to produce
buildings with low energy costs, reduced maintenance, and superior comfort.

SOME OF THE DESIGN FEATURES ARE :

 Utilising climatic factors may not require mechanical heating or cooling.

 Homes that are passively designed take advantage of natural energy flows to maintain
thermal comfort. (Well designed envelopes maximise cooling air movement and exclude
sun in summer, trap and store heat from the sun in winter and minimise heat loss to the
external environment.)

 Building envelope is a term used to describe the roof, walls, windows, floors and internal
walls of a home..

 Maximise the thermal comfort and minimise the need for energy reliant heating and
cooling appliances to achieve accepted levels of thermal comfort.

1 Ar.CHRISTOPHER P. COMA,Uap,Mscm
TROPUICAL DESIGN
 COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE
3/F College of Architecture
900 San Marcelino Street,
1000 Ermita, Manila, Philippines
DESIGN STRATEGIES FOR DIFFERENT CLIMATES:
 HOT-HUMID CLIMATE:
 Maximize wind exposure
 Maximize internal airflow
 Minimize radiant heat gain
HOT-DRY CLIMATE:
 Minimize radiant heat gain
 Moderate wind resistance
 Moderate internal airflow

COOL CLIMATE:
 Maximize thermal retention
 Maximize radiant heat gain
 Mminiize wind resistance

TEMPERATE CLIMATE:
 Moderate thermal retention
 Moderate radiant heat gain
 Slight wind exposure (for humidity control)
 Moderate internal airflow

STEPS TO CLIMATE RESPONSIVE ARCHITECTURE

 the direction of the sun (sun path and solar position), natural shade provided by
the surrounding topography, environmental factors (such as wind, rainfall,
humidity) and climate data (temperature, historical weather patterns, etc.) to
design comfortable and energy-efficient homes.
PERFORM A SITE ANALYSIS
 Determine the weather patterns, climate, soil types, wind speed and direction,
heating degree days, and path of the sun.
 Look at the water flows, habitat, and geology of the site.
 Document each with a qualified team of professionals to understand the
ramifications of building in that specific place.
 It is an approach which considers the best environmental sustainability practices.

LAYOUT THE BUILDING ON THE SITE

 Using an integrative design process, use a basic massing of the building layout to
determine specifically on-site the most optimal location for the building to be situated.
 Factors to consider here are access to infrastructure, staying at least 100 feet clear of
any watershed, not building within a floodplain and in a habitat with endangered species.
 Asking what trees and other existing geological features should be avoided or how water
flows across the site can dictate the location of the building.

1 Ar.CHRISTOPHER P. COMA,Uap,Mscm
TROPUICAL DESIGN
 COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE
3/F College of Architecture
900 San Marcelino Street,
1000 Ermita, Manila, Philippines
PLAN WITH THE SUN IN MIND wind
 The goal is to maximize the amount of sun that heats space in the winter (resulting in
using less energy to mechanically heat), as well as decreasing the amount of sun that
cooks the building in the summer (resulting in less energy to mechanically cool).

WINDOW CONSIDERATIONS
 South facing facades should utilize a window area appropriate to its orientation, and
glazing should utilize a double or triple-paned glass with a Low-E coating.
 It minimizes the amount of heat transmitted into space in the hottest months while
keeping heat inside during the cooler winter months.
 For example, south-facing glass window wall will cook the occupants inside during the
hot summer months if care is not taken to provide shade on the façade.

BUILDING FOR GEOGRAPHIC AREA

 When designing the envelope of the building, factors such as insulation, vapor barriers,
and air barriers will vary radically depending on whether the project is in the cold, snowy
north, the hot and humid south or the arid desert.

MINIMIZE THE BUILDING FOOTPRINT

 Do you need that much space?
 Are there ways that spaces can become multi-functional?
 Do we need that many private offices if some staff can telecommute occasionally and
share offices?

DESIGN FOR NATURAL VENTILATION

 Since warm air rises, a building can be cooled by designing for stack ventilation by
drawing cooler air from openings low in the building, while carrying heat away through
openings in the top of the space.
 The rate at which the air moves is a function of the vertical distance between the inlets
and outlets, their size, and the difference in temperature over the height of the room. It
could prevent occupants from experiences of sick building syndrome.
RELAX THE OCCUPANTS COMFORT STANDARDS
 reducing the amount of energy used to cool and heat the building can
result in using natural systems, meaning the sun and the wind.
 eliminate mechanical heating and cooling altogether, saving a bundle of
money and the environment.

1 Ar.CHRISTOPHER P. COMA,Uap,Mscm
TROPUICAL DESIGN