Ar123-1 Tropical Architecture Reviewer

TORRID / TROPICAL ZONE

MODULE 1 LECTURE 1 - TYPES OF CLIMATES ● The tropical climate zone stretches from the
AND CORRESPONDING CHARACTERISTICS Tropic of Cancer at 23.5 degrees north latitude
to the Tropic of Capricorn at 23.5 degrees south
CLIMATE IN THREE ZONES latitude, with the equator centered within this
● Frigid / Polar Zone zone.
● Torrid / Tropical Zone ● Climate within the tropical zone varies from the
● Temperate Zone tropical wet regions of the rainforest, to the drier
arid and semi-arid climate of north Africa or
CLIMATE IN THREE ZONES central Australia. Within the tropical wet zone,
the weather remains hot and muggy, with
frequent rainfall and little temperature variation.
● The arid and semi-arid regions experience wet,
warm summers and cooler, drier winters, with
much greater temperature variation than the
tropical wet zone.
● The area near the equator, between about
23.5° north latitude and 23.5° south latitude.
(Wet and dry seasons)

FRIGID / POLAR ZONE

● The polar climate zones fill the areas within the
Arctic and Antarctic Circles, extending from 66.5
degrees north and south latitude to the poles.
● Characterized by a short, cool summer and long,
bitterly cold winter, the polar zone features
frequent snowfall, particularly during the winter
months. The far northern portions of Canada,
TEMPERATE ZONE
Europe and Russia fall within this climate zone.
● Extending from the southern edge of the
● Farther north and south, the ice caps that make
Arctic Circle to the Tropic of Cancer in
up Greenland and Antarctica represent a
the northern hemisphere, and the
sub-zone of the polar climate region known as
northern edge of the Antarctic Circle to
the ice cap zone. Within the ice caps,
the Tropic of Capricorn in the southern
temperatures rarely, if ever, rise above freezing,
hemisphere, the temperate climate zone
even during the warmest months of the years.
falls between 23.5 degrees and 66.5
● The areas near both poles, from about 66.5°
degrees north and south latitudes.
to 90° north and 66.5° to 90° south latitudes.
● Temperate climate zones experience
(Very cold; snow all year)
warm to hot summers and cool winters,
with the greatest temperature variations
throughout the year of any climate zone.
● Climate within the temperate regions
ranges from the cold, snowy winters of
New England to the balmy, moderate
weather associated with the
Mediterranean or Southern California.
Much of the United States, Europe and
the southern half of South America fall
within this climate zone.
 ● The area between the tropical and
polar zones, from about 23.5° to 66.5°
north and 23.5° to 66.5° south
latitudes. (winter, spring, summer, fall)
CONSIDERATIONS OF CLIMATE IN THREE ZONES
● Sun angle plays a major role in creating Earth's
climate zones. Thanks to the tilt of the Earth on
its axis, the sun strikes the area around the
equator at a near-vertical angle, delivering
substantial solar heat energy to this region.
Closer to the poles, the sun strikes the Earth at a
much shallower angle, resulting in less solar
heat gain compared to the tropical zone.
● Prevailing winds and ocean currents then
transport this solar heat energy throughout the
globe. Factors such as elevation and proximity
to the coast help to explain climate variations
within a climate zone.
12 SECONDARY CLIMATIC ZONES
Rainforest – High rainfall (69 in-79 in), Mean monthly
temperatures exceed 18°C.
Monsoon – Seasonal wind brings about the rainy
season. Regions within North America, South America,
Sub-Saharan, Australia and East Asia are monsoon
regimes.
Tropical Savanna – Average temperatures at or above
18°C year round and rainfall between 30 in to 50 in.
Humid Subtropical – Most summer rainfall occurs
during thunderstorms and from occasional tropical
cyclones.
Humid Continental – Average daily temperature above
10°C, falls to -3°C.
Oceanic Climate – Precipitation year-round and
plentiful. Found among the west coasts at the middle
latitudes of all continents and in south eastern Australia.
Mediterranean Climate – Occurs in the Mediterranean
coasts, some areas of Western North America, Western
and South Australia, Southwestern Africa and in central
Chile. Hot, dry summers and cool, wet winters.
Steppe – Dry grassland. Annual temperatures in the
summer upto 40°C and -40°C in winter.
Subarctic Climate – Little precipitation. Monthly
temperature above 10°C for a quarter of the year.
Permafrost is visible in a big part of the area due to
chilling winters. Winter temperature average below 0°C.
Tundra – In the far Northern Hemisphere, north of the
taiga forest belt. Includes extensive areas of Northern
Russia and Canada.
Polar Ice-Cap or Polar Ice Sheet – Covered in ice.
Lower surface temperatures because of lack of solar
radiation.
Desert – Very little precipitation. Dry temperature in
summer up to 45°C. 0°C. in winter. Extremely low
humidity.
PHILIPPINE CLIMATE

● The Philippines is located in the Torrid Zone,

with tropical climate and also with 4 types of
climate.
● The Philippines has very little changes in
temperature but there are great changes in
rainfall because of its topography.
● There are two seasons in the country, the wet
season and the dry season, based upon the
amount of rainfall. This is dependent as well on
your location in the country as some areas
experience rain all throughout the year.
● There are four recognized climate types in the
Philippines, and they are based on the
distribution of rainfall.
They are described as follows:
Type 1- Two pronounced and 2 season: dry from
December to May, and wet from June to
September (Ilocos, Zambales, Central Luzon)
Type 2- No dry season with maximum rainfall in
Dec to Jan. (Catanduanes, Camarines
Sur/Norte, Samar, Leyte, eastern Mindanao)
Type 3- Short dry season that lasts only from 1
to 3 months with no very pronounced maximum
rain period. (Cagayan, Isabela, Nueva Vizcaya,
Kalinga, Apayao, Benguet, Ifugao)
Type 4- Rainfall is evenly distributed throughout
the year. (Batanes, Northeastern Luzon, western
part of Camarines Sur/Norte, Albay, western
Leyte)
 MODULE 1 LECTURE 2 - INTRODUCTION TO
ENVIRONMENTAL / CLIMATIC DESIGN

THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT AS A

TECHNOLOGICAL SYSTEM

LAND-WATER RELATIONSHIP
A. A large body of water tends to cause a mild or
moderate climate. (Very little change)
B. A body of water heats up and cools down slower
than a land mass
FACTORS TO CONSIDER IN TERMS OF CLIMATE C. Wind assumes the temp. of the surface it passes
● LATITUDE over and carries that temp. with it.
● ALTITUDE
● LAND-WATER RELATIONSHIP
● MOUNTAIN BARRIERS
● OCEAN CURRENTS
● PREVAILING WINDS

LATITUDE
● Distance north or south of the equator
A. Low – warm to hot
B. Middle – seasonal
C. High – polar (cool to cold)

MOUNTAIN BARRIERS
● Cause different climates on opposite sides of the
mountain.
A. Moisture carrying winds must rise to get over
mountains.
B. Air cools as it rises, losing ability to hold water
causing rain on the windward side
C. This leaves no moisture for the leeward side creating
a desert

ALTITUDE
● Height above sea level
A. In mountain areas, there are major
climatic differences from the bottom to the top.
B. As air rises, it loses the ability to hold heat.
It gets 1 F colder for every 300-400 ft. you go up
OCEAN CURRENTS
● Rivers of water that move through the ocean.
A. They assume the temperature of the water that they
pass over and carry that temperature.
B. Wind passing over the current must pass near the
landmass to have an impact.
“It is not practicable to plan a building
exclusively on economic, functional or
formal grounds and expect a few minor
adjustments to give a good indoor climate.
Unless the design is fundamentally correct in
all aspects, no specialist can make it
function satisfactorily. Climate must be taken
into account when deciding on the overall
concept of a project, on the layout and
orientation of buildings, on the shape and
character of structures, on the spaces to be
enclosed and, last but by no means least, the
spaces between buildings. In other words
climate must be considered at the early
design stage.”
1974 the Building Research Establishment

THREE STAGES OF CLIMATIC DESIGN

PREVAILING WINDS RELATIONSHIP
1. Forward analysis, which includes data collection
● Winds that blow most often in different parts of
and ends with a sketch design.
the Earth.
2. Plan development, which includes the design of
Wind blows because:
solar controls, overall insulation properties,
A. Air over warm land rises
ventilation principles and activity adaptation.
B. Cooler air moves in from surrounding areas to
3. Element design comprises closer examination
replace rising air
and optimization of all individual building
C. The cool air is heated and process repeats
elements within the frames of the agreed overall
design concept.
● This consecutive approach is typical for the time
before the introduction of powerful computers in
the building design process. Rather simple tools
used in the forward analysis gave some overall
principles. In the last stage it was practically
impossible to go back and correct systematic
errors; only minor changes in thermal
performance could be obtained by a different
element design.

CLIMATIC DESIGN
● Climate responsive design is based on the way
a building form and structure moderates the
climate for human good and well being

● To remedy this it is necessary to give the

architect a set of methods and powerful tools to
use for a better integration of climate adaptation
 into the design process of buildings. Integrated
data and knowledge bases, and case-sensitive
defaults, can help the designer. Developing
appropriate and powerful tools, and inclusion of
evaluation and feedback in the system is
therefore crucial to better integrate climatic
issues in a ‘normal’ design process.
● Today’s passive buildings should last for at least
20–50 years. They must therefore meet the
demands for future active climatization as far as
possible. Additional heating and cooling should
represent only a marginal energy use, while the
building itself must account for the main part of
the climatization through its materials, structure
and design. In any case, better climate adapted
buildings raise the limit at which the
non-consumer, even if economically capable,
gets fed-up with a bad indoor climate and
becomes an energy consumer.

● A newly awakened interest for passive

climatization should have a great deal to learn
from the past, but purely traditional solutions
assuming continuity of lifestyles and kinds of
work seem rather unlikely. Combining traditional
knowledge and advanced technology is
therefore necessary.
 Climate - can be defined as the integration in time of
weather conditions, characteristics of a certain
geographical location.
MODULE 1 LECTURE 3 - CLIMATIC DESIGN
FACTORS CLIMATE
● Encompasses the statistics of temperature,
humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind, rainfall,
atmospheric particle count and other
meteorological elements in a given region over
long periods of time. The climate of a location is
affected by its latitude, terrain, and altitude, as
well as nearby water bodies and their currents.

CLIMATIC FACTORS
● There are different climate factors that must be
considered in civil operations, building
constructions and 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.
● Climate factors cannot be reduced in these
items. Rather barometric pressure and such are
also considered as climate factors but they don’t
play a big part in designing and civil operations.
Besides, the changes of some climate
parameters are not high over the year so it does
not make a big difference knowing about their
time changes. Now, we’ll be dealing with each of
these factors.

WEATHER TEMPERATURE
WEATHER AND CLIMATE
● Perhaps weather temperature is the most
Weather - is the set of atmospheric conditions
important climate factor affecting climate
prevailing at a given place and time.
designing. The intended dimensions in designing
various points of a building and also the material
 in use are determined by the maximum and the
minimum temperature of the region.
● Therefore, the quantity and quality for
constructing a building are different depending
on the type of the region: tropical, cold and
moderate.
● Glacial region would require taking special
decisions on the choice of materials. In order to
prevent energy dissipation in tropical and cold
regions in summer and winter time, body
insulation of the buildings must be considered
whereas this issue might not be of priority in
moderate regions.
● Moreover, knowing about the depth of glacial soil
can be effective in the installation of gas, water...
pipes. The depth of glacial soil is a point where
the soil does not freeze in the coldest time of the
year. It is clear that in cold regions the depth of
installing such equipment must be lower than the
depth of glacial soil so that they become immune
of any frozen state. In order to know about the
depth of glacial soil in any region, one shall refer
to long-term climate data provided by
meteorological stations. Now that the question of
constructing urban common tunnels is around,
this issue’s importance is doubled.
SOIL TEMPERATURE
● Soil temperature and its changes are of
importance over the year. The soil surface
experiences the most changeability of
temperature during the year which is caused by
proximity with air and its changes. The more we
go to the depth of the soil, the less changes of
temperature we have so that in a specific depth
called depth or attenuation depth temperature,
annual changes of soil temperature is caused.
Given the fact that building foundation lies in the
soil, knowing about soil temperature, especially ANGLE AND INTENSITY OF SUNLIGHT
glacial soil and its depth, is of high significance ● The rate of receiving sunshine is a function of
in the selection of the materials and determining several factors which include: latitude (angle of
the foundation of a building. sunshine), the amount of cloud, and sunshine
hours. The less the latitude, the less the angle of
the stretch of sunshine with the vertical line to
horizon and the more the receiving sunshine.
 ● This means the acceleration of the effect of
● Sunshine hour is irrelevant with the amount of
cloud, when one increases the other decreases.
In areas where the rate of receiving sunshine by
the earth's surface is high, temperature is high
too. If the goal is to reduce the amount of
sunshine entering the earth surface (this method
has recently been noticed by climatologists and
it is one of the strategies for reducing global
warming and earth engineering), we can use
reflexive mirrors.
● Wind direction is a way from which it is blowing.
RELATIVE HUMIDITY
● By definition, relative humidity refers to the
proportion of the existing amount of humidity in
the air to the maximum amount of acceptable
humidity in terms of percent. The more the rate
of relative humidity, the more the possibility for
the formation of water drops on physical objects
on the earth surface (including buildings and
other constructions such as bridges, streets,
etc.).
humidity on equipment and their rust chemically
(corrosion of metals, oxidation of metals, etc.)
and physically (freezing water and causing
cracks in building design. In the regions where
there is more relative humidity of weather such
as coastal areas and islands, designing and
construction of the buildings take place
according to high adverse effects of water. They
must be designed and constructed in a way that
physical and chemical adverse effects of water
decrease to the minimum level or even zero.
This need is met through the selection of water
and corrosion-resist materials and equipment.
WIND DIRECTION AND SPEED
Knowing about the wind direction of each region,
bearing the most frequency from that direction
(prevailing wind), is an important factor in setting
the direction of building construction
aerodynamically so that in the state of heavy
winds, light buildings wouldn’t be hit. In ancient
times, in order to design the direction of wind
wards especially in tropical regions, the length of
wind ward vents was built in the direction of
prevailing wind so that wind could be used in the
best way possible to cool the building.
 ● Wind speed is also important because in the
case of high speed winds, there is the possibility
for the detachment and physical damage to
different parts of the building especially light
ones. Knowing about the mean of wind speed at
the project site and seasonal and annual
distribution of wind speed are important factors
for strengthening against wind power. The more
the mean wind speed in the region, the more
powerful the building must be.
RAINFALL
● The amount of rainfall is one of the most
determining factors that shall be considered in
building design, especially ceiling design. In rain
areas, the ceiling of buildings must be designed
as gable roof so that water erosion is reduced,
due damages are minimized and there would be
no water left on the roof. Otherwise, adverse
effects of rain and its penetration into buildings
would rise. Knowing about the rate of rainfall,
especially for designing structures like dams
(estimation of the maximum probable rainfall) is
necessary so we can determine spillway
dimension, etc. moreover, in order to design
surface water disposal system across cities
when it rains, knowing about the maximum
urban flood relevant to return period sounds like
essential.
WEATHER DETRIMENTAL PHENOMENA
● It refers to the high or so low rate of
meteorological factors. For instance, floods or
drought show very high or low rates of rainfall.
What matters about weather detrimental
phenomena in civil operations is so high rates of
meteorological factors. For example, concerning
rainfall, its high rate which is flood or heavy
showers is important and drought is unimportant.
High warm and cold waves happening recently
in different parts of the world due to climate
change are considered to be important
disasters.
● Tsunami receives high attention in coastal areas
and islands. Dust storms make limitations in the
areas prone to wind slide. Limit values of
weather and climate factors also happen in local
conditions which require local studies and must
be analysed before starting the project
.
WEATHER FORECAST material damages, the total potential material
● It is essential to know about weather conditions loss is lower.
of some days ahead so that you can adjust civil
operations and plan doing different steps of
building operations. The most important example
is to know about rainfall occurrence during
working days ahead. Rainfall occurrence would
challenge building operations especially in
primary stages of the project and can even
strand it. This limitation in later stages when
building constructions take place indoors is by
far reduced.
● One of the important uses of meteorological
forecast is about dam-building workshops.
Heavy rainfall occurrence in lands above the
dam can cause flood in the workshop site and
damage the existing equipment and vehicles
and even claim human lives. Forecasting the
amount of rainfall in the upper land and
estimating the potential amount of the time of
flood discharge, one can inform the workshops
appropriately and prevent financial loss and
human death. Wind forecast can also play a big
role in doing civil operations and construction
especially about skyscraper buildings. Wind
speed goes up with height increase and the
increase in wind speed is logarithmic. Working in
heavy wind conditions especially in highlands
would cause damage to equipment and
personnel. That is why it matters.
● Non-liquid rainfall such as snow, hail, etc. brings
about their own special problem. Forecasting
this condition beforehand would help us adjust
civil operations and timing for days ahead. It is
worth noting that the weather forecast is not
always true and it can be different in terms of
precision and correctness according to various
conditions and factors.
● So, it is possible for the weather forecast to go
wrong. In this case, ceasing the administrative
operations for a while would put the project off
and cause financial loss. Considering risk
management conditions, the amount of this
potential financial loss compared to the loss
coming from weather detrimental conditions and
also human loss is negligible. Of course, taking
all scientific forecast principles, the total amount
of forecast would reduce to less than 10% in a
period. Again, compared to relative potential
MODULE 1 LECTURE 4 - HISTORY AND
BACKGROUND IN DESIGNING WITH CLIMATIC VARIABLES
CLIMATE ● Climatic variables can be examined in three
main groups as macro climate, mezzo climate
DESIGNING WITH CLIMATE and microclimate.
● Climate that is significant among building design Macro climate - The climate that interacts according to
criteria, is based on the average of the effects geography is called macroclimate
collectively caused by atmospheric events
somewhere on earth over many years. It should
be remembered that formation, reproduction and
continuation of living activities of all living
creatures depend on suitable climate conditions.
Mezzo climate - the climate that is based on regional
flora and environment is named as mezzo climate
● Climate is one of the most important factors that
● Micro climate is climate on a local scale.
DESIGNING WITH CLIMATE
● The changes in the artificial environment that
includes protection or utilization decisions for the
existing macro and mezzo climates form the
microclimate.
● Macro and mezzo climates are the same on an
area where there is no settlement. Landscape
design made after construction of a building on
land, surrounding buildings and decisions about
building form made during the design stage
make up the microclimate of the building and its
surroundings.
affect both architectural design and urban
planning. The identification, understanding and
control of the climatic effects at the location of
the building are crucial even before design
decisions are made. Climate of a location
develops by its geographical position on earth,
height above sea level, topography and flora. As
a result of all these conditions, different climate
regions and thus different climatic design criteria
are established.
 ● Climatic comfort conditions in a building should
be achieved by means of economic usage of
building materials and mechanical systems. In
● Climate conditions are effective in arrangement order to attain this objective, the existing climate
of building designs, determination of conditions should be used as data and solutions
requirements, selection of equipment and should be found in order to utilize the positive
building method, and accordingly the formation. effects of the climate in building form and
Different climate systems generate regional building shell and eliminate the negative effects
architectural characteristics. of the climate.

● Planning and forming the building in accordance

with the regional climatic data are based on
enabling the building to get minimum heat during
the hottest season of the year and lose minimum
heat during the coldest season of the year.
However, many buildings in our country today
have plans and forms that were designed
without taking the regional climatic data into
consideration. ● During the building design stage, the climate
components that should be maintained should
firstly be determined and then requirements
should be specified accordingly.
● External climate components that affect the
formation of internal environmental climatic
conditions are sun rays, air temperature, relative
humidity, precipitation and atmospheric actions.

● The required thermal comfort values should be
determined, the daily and annual durations of
use of the building should be specified according
to the quantity and activity levels of users of the
building. This data should be used in making
decisions regarding the position, direction, form,
interior planning and building shell design of the
building in urban planning and applying these
decisions.
SUN AND TEMPERATURE
● Sun and therefore heat is one of the most
● Climatic variables and requirements that are
effective in design should be determined in full in
order to prevent excessive heating, optimize
cold airflow, use natural cooling methods in hot
weather and increase heat gains (through
natural ways), ensure heat storage and proper
heat distribution in cold weather.
● From a scientific point of view, the factors and
climatic components that determine the climate
as an integration of the effects of all the
meteorological factors on earth in a long period
of time in a certain region can be examined in
three main groups:
A. SUN AND TEMPERATURE
B. PRESSURE AND WINDS
C. PRECIPITATION AND HUMIDITY
important climate components because the
generally used indicator of climatic comfort is air
temperature and relative humidity. Sun is the
most important energy source in lighting and
heating forms and surfaces in architecture. The
sun is not only a heat source but also a
significant light source whose quality varies
during the day and according to the seasons.
While applying architectural solutions in order to
utilize the sun at the maximum level in winter,
refraction components are needed in order to be
 protected from the torrid heat of the sun in MODULE 1 LECTURE 6 - CLIMATIC DATA AND
summer ANALYSIS OF WIND AND SUN PATH

PRESSURE AND WINDS CLIMATE DATA

● Formation of a strong pressure zone is inevitable ● Climate data can provide a great deal of
in the direction of the wind. It is possible to information about the atmospheric environment
increase or decrease the amount of this that impacts almost all aspects of human
pressure by means of corridors created between endeavour. Most of the long- term climatological
buildings. While airflow is needed in hot and analyses depend on a number of non-climatic
humid regions, shadowing measures should be factors.
taken in hot and dry regions. For this reason,
direction of buildings is determined according to
the angle of sunrays in some regions while
planning is made according to the dominant
wind directions in summer in some other
regions. Determination of wind requirement
differs in each climate region. Wind requirement
is important during the entire year in low
latitudes, however protection is required in high
latitudes. Wind factors that are needed
according to climate regions should be taken
into account when making decisions about ● These factors include changes in: instruments,
planning (story height and distances between observing practices, station locations, formulae
buildings). used to calculate means, and station
environment. The whole world depends on
PRECIPITATION AND HUMIDITY climatic data for present and future
● Precipitation type and amount that varies developments.
according to geographical properties affect
architectural design. Since the amount of
precipitation affects humidity rate, some
measures may have to be taken in order to
prevent discomfort in the building and its
surroundings. When various climate regions are
observed, it is seen that low rate of humidity is
preferred in dry climates whereas it causes
discomfort in tropical climate regions.

WIND ROSE
● Wind rose is a graphic tool to give a short view
of how wind speed & direction are typically
distributed at a particular location.
● Wind roses were followed after the compass
rose.
● Compass rose is a fig on compass, to display
orientation of cardinal directions & intermediate
or intercardinal directions.
● Cardinal directions – N,S, E & W Intercardinal
direction – NE, SE, NW, WS. Secondary
intercardinal - NNE, ENE, ESE etc.

● The modern wind rose used by meteorologists

gives the percentage of the time the wind blows
from each direction during the observation
period.

Sun path refers to the apparent significant

seasonal-and-hourly positional changes of
the sun (and length of daylight) as the Earth rotates,
and orbits around the sun.

Sun-path diagram as the name

suggests is something that is used to
determine the location ,in the sky, of
the sun at any point of time during the
day, throughout the year.
 By studying the sun-path diagram of a
place one can identify the optimal
orientation of solar panels in a given
building.
SUN PATH DIAGRAM
Polar Sun Path Diagram
Cartesian Sun Path Diagram

POLAR SUN PATH DIAGRAM

By identifying the solar-windows of a

particular location, one can design the
building such that there is maximum utility
of the solar energy by placing thermal
mass required for indirect heat gain in
the right orientation.

By tracing down the surface area

illuminated, to the greatest extent, by the
sun, the location of clerestories and
fenestrations of a building can be
optimised so that the thermal and visual
comfort levels in the building are met.
The shading devices also can be
designed similarly.
CARTESIAN SUN PATH DIAGRAM

SUN PATH DIAGRAM

Celestial Sphere - large sphere
surrounding the earth, used to keep
references to where celestial bodies lie
in the sky.

Celestial Sphere - large sphere

surrounding the earth, used to keep
references to where celestial bodies lie
in the sky.
Altitude – height of the sun above the
horizon.
Azimuth – angle of the sun from some
reference point
Zenith – directly overhead
 SUN PATH DIAGRAM
Solar window – defined by the paths of
the sun on the summer solstice (June 21)
at the top and on the winter solstice (Dec.
21) on the bottom
Summer solstice – June 21
Winter solstice – December 21