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Building Science II

L e c t u r e 1
Passive Design with Climate

Architecture Influences

Architecture

NEED
CLIMATE

SOCIETY
TECHNOLOGY CULTURE

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Factors Influencing Architectural Expression

CULTURAL PHYSIOLOGICAL
FACTORS FACTORS

Spatial System of Climate

Global Climate – associate with wind belts
(movement of air masses) from temperature and
pressure changes, resulted from the tilt of the
earth’s axis, earth’s rotation, land and sea
masses.
Regional Macro climate – horizontal scale up to
1000km and vertical scale up to 10 km
( 4 major sub divisions )
Local (Topo) Climate – Topoclimate determined by
topography; it has variations up to 10 km
horizontally and vertical effects up to 1 km (hill,
valley)
Macro Climate – with limits of about 1 km
horizontally and up to 100 m vertically.

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Sub divisions of Regional Macroclimate

1. Cold Region
2. Temperate Region (having 4 seasons)
3. Hot Arid Region (Desert)
4. Hot Humid Region(Tropical)

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Cold Region
North pole (Arctic) is divided among eight
countries: Norway, Sweden, Finland, Russia, US
(Alaska), Canada, Denmark(Greenland), and Iceland

South pole North pole

South pole (Antarctica) there are no cities or villages,

98% of the continent is covered by ice.

Pulse_of_Snow_and_Sea_Ice.ogv.480p.webm

Temperate Region

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Temperate Region (moderate)

E.g., Japan, China, Europe, Canada, UK, Argentina.
• Temperatures can change greatly here, between summer and winter.
• The ability to grow a large variety of crops and fruit meaning agriculture is
a major income earner in these regions.

• Deciduous trees- giant flowering

plants. They include oaks, maples,
and beeches.
• Deciduous means to “fall off,”
they shed their leaves.

Source: www.pinterest.com/pin/155092780887629848/

Hot Arid Region

• hot dry summer & cold winter
• very little rainfall, humidity & vegetation cover
• high temperature difference between day & night
• desert areas, thus subject to wind & dust

Internal courtyards provides cross ventilation & natural cooling

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Malaysia – Hot Humid Region

 Hot (25-35o C), rainy and
uncomfortably humid (70-90%).
 Body’s natural cooling system
(evaporation of perspiration ) does not
work well as air already full of water
vapour that it limits drying.

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Design aims: Hot Humid

Maximise cooling through ventilation

Minimise building heat gain

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Design strategies: Hot Humid

 Moving air keeps us comfortable.

Streets and buildings are oriented to
catch breezes.
 Building of various heights promotes
ventilation.
 Vegetation must not impede air
movement : trees with branches far
from the ground such as palms is
ideal.

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Design strategies: Hot Humid

 Rainfall may be heavy, so permeable

surfaces help to reduce urban storm
water runoff.
 Any building surface: windows, walls
and roof exposed to sun can admit
solar radiation.
 To avoid the inward flow of heat, either
direct or indirect, protect the sun
exposed surfaces.

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Design strategies: Hot Humid

Efficient control system should consider

1. Minimise glare and reduction of eye strain
2. Protection against rain and wind
3. Provision of adequate ventilation
4. Control of insects, dirt and dust
5. Adequate exterior vision
6. Maintenance
7. Exterior appearance (aesthetic)

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Design strategies: Hot Humid

Minimise heat gain by :

1. Orientate the long axis of the building
North and South.
2. Minimise windows on East and West
walls.
3. Shade the walls & windows –
shutters, verandahs, canopies,
eaves and fixed overhangs.
4. Use light colour walls and roof to
reflect heat.
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3-tier design approach

Mechanical
Natural Cooling
System Two natural elements:
The Sun and Wind

Passive
System

Basic Building
Design

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Thermal Comfort

Two Fundamentals :

Environmental Physiological
Factors + Factors
• Air Temperature • Clothing level
• Solar Radiation • Metabolic rate
• Relative Humidity
• Air Velocity

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Recommendations for passive

cooled building

COMFORT

NATURAL NATURAL
LIGHTING VENTILATION

SOURCE : SOLAR SOURCE : AIR

CONTROL OF MOVEMENT OF
HEAT AIR

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1. Ample air movement through

and around the building

 Ventilation caused by
the stack effect can
be a great aid to
comfort in humid
areas when there is
little or no air
movement.

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1. Ample air movement through

and around the building

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Louvres control air flows

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Climate responsive building

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Ventilated roof

The moving air displaces hot air in attic.

Open-ended pitched Jack roof Double-roof

roof

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Concave Double-roof

The outer shell not only collects

rainwater but also provides
additional shading and allows air to
move freely between it and the inner
shell, acting as a cooling mechanism
for both roofs.

Source: www.archdaily.com/802377/this-concave-roof-system-collects-rainwater-in-arid-
climates
.
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2. North – South Orientation

Magnetic North can be very different to

where Solar North is (up to 20 degrees),
this can make all the difference between a
passive solar design being viable or not.

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Discussions

earthrise - Abu Dhabi's Masdar Plan.mp4

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3. Shading Devices

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3. Shading Devices

Adapted from: Florida solar energy center. www.fsec.ucf.edu

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3. Shading Devices

Vertical Louvers
 The effectiveness of vertical
louvers depends on their
positions relative to the
sun’s position on its path
around the horizon.
 Most effective for east or
west exposure and may be
operable to adapt to sun’s
angle.

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3. Shading Devices
 Hung Louvers – hung from a solid overhang
provide protection from low sun angles; may
interfere with view.
 Slanted Louvers – provide more protection
than those parallel to wall.

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3. Shading Devices
 Horizontal overhang –
Provides shading without
redirection of the sunlight.
 Horizontal Louvers
overhang – louvered or
perforated to achieve
different effects; permit air
circulation

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3. Shading Devices
Egg Crates
Combine the characteristic of horizontal and
vertical louvers and have a high shading ratio;
efficient in hot climates; effective for any
orientation depending on its depths and
opening dimensions .

Chandigarh High Court

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Egg Crates

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3. Shading Devices

Trellises
• permanent structures, partially
shade the outside of building.
Climbing plants over the
trellises provide more shade.

• Use to shade air conditioner,

heat pump and evaporative
cooler to improve equipment’s
performance. It is advised not to
restrict air flow to the
equipment.

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3. Shading Devices
 Shade Screens –prevent sun from entering
a window that exposed to direct sunlight.
Also known as ‘ sun screens’ ‘shade cloths’
or ‘ solid shields’.
 Window Shades- (Drapes/Curtains.
Venetian Blinds, Interior Louvers, Roller
Shades)
 Blinds and drapes provide up to 50%
reduction in radiation depending on
reflectivity.
 Heat absorbing glass can absorb up to 40%
of the radiation reaching its surface.
 Window Coatings – Most window
manufacturers offers heat-reflecting coating
that block heat gain.

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3. Shading Devices
Blinds
• Blinds and drapes provide up to 50% reduction in
radiation depending on reflectivity.
• They can be installed at any time with no effect on
facade detail.
• High in maintenance and low mechanical reliability.
• Venetian blinds are frequently located within the
building envelope.
• Blind interfere with views

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3. Shading Devices

 Trees and Shrubs provide shade

depending on their proximity, height
and orientation; Deciduous trees can
be used to shade hard to control, low
angle east and west sun. Palm trees
are suitable in hot climate because
they provide shade and allow air to
flow.
 Adjacent Structure – may provide
shade depending on their proximity,
height and orientation.
 Topography – When possible take
advantage of topography to shade
low angle sun.

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4. Tiered Roof / Full height opening /

Volumetric Space/ Exposed Roof
Structure

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5. High Ceilings

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6. Thin Insulated Roof

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7. Frequent use of vegetation

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Green Wall Cooling Effects

1. Shading 2. Evapo-transpiration

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Green Wall Cooling Effects

Cooling effects of plants are influenced by plants
characteristics.

•Leaf thickness
•Leaf texture (Rough leaf offers greatest cooling)
•Foliage density, LAI (Dense foliage blocks the ground
from collecting energy)
•Leaf colour lightness (Darker leaf offers greatest
cooling)

Shade-loving leaves have higher transpiration rates

compared to Sun-loving leaves due to its much thinner cuticles.
Cuticle is the waxy layer on above-ground tissue, acts as
control barrier for water movement out of leaf.

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How plant choice influences cooling

properties of Green Wall?
Different species have different cooling capacity. Plant
physiology and Leaf Area Index (LAI) determines the
maximum cooling capacity.

Plant layer with different LAI (Source: Irina Susorova)

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8. Courtyard design with water

& plants

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9. Open Plan Concept

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10. Reflective External Wall &

Thin Breeze – Transparent
Internal Wall

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11. Recessed Wall

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12. Linear Building Plans

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13. Horizontal / Low Rise Dev.

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CASE STUDY

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Passive solar
principles introduced
more than 2500 years
ago in ancient Greece,
entire cities were built
to take advantage of
the sunlight and
ventilation.

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 The 5th century BC, for

example, a neighbourhood
for about 2500 people was
built in the city of Olynthus.
The streets were built
perpendicular to each other,
running long in the east-west
direction (the horizontal
streets shown in the plan),
so that all houses (five on
each side of the street) could
be built with southern
exposure.

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Forbidden City Beijing

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Cliff dwellings of American Indians

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Cliff architecture China

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Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes 莫高窟, a World Heritage Site on the Silk Road

Source: Wu Jian, courtesy Dunhuang Academy

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Assignment

 As the future “sustainable designer”,

how would you improve the existing
building by taking advantage of passive
design.
 Suggest 3 ways of improvement. Explain
the impacts on the environmental quality
and aesthetic of the building.
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