Tropical Design - It is a design in architecture that aims to create a design or plan of a building

to accommodate the climate condition of the tropics. It deals with coming up with a design
solution that answers the problems of a tropical climate such as: solar heat, rainfall, humidity,
calamities, wind movement etc. An excellent architect will create a building that will make use of
the natural prevailing wind and sunlight to minimize the use of “man made” ventilation.

Tropical Design in the Philippines

Due to scorching heat and heavy rainfall in the Philippines, it is important to design homes that
will counter the harsh conditions of the Philippine weather. In addition to that, the Philippines is a
country that is prone to calamities like earthquakes, typhoons, and floods. The origin of the
tropical design here is the Bahay Kubo.

In order to achieve thermal comfort the following elements must be considered in an effective
design: sunshades, overhangs, cavity shelves, lighter exteriors, open plans, use of natural light,
and wall insulation

When designing Filipino homes, architects often look back to Bahay Kubo, not in its stability, but
in its functionality. The Bahay Kubo will admittedly not be able to handle the extreme calamities
the country brings but architects have come up with plans that provide a safer and more stable
home while at the same time keeping the very essence of a Bahay Kubo

Considerations and Principles of Tropical Design

● When designing for tropical regions, the ideas and plans consider everything about the
place to create a design that works well with everything around it. This includes the size
and shape of the area, what is nearby, how to get there, the land's features, any
restrictions, where it is located, the weather, and how it looks overall.
● It's important to think about where the sun rises and sets and which way the wind blows
when deciding how to build a house. This helps keep the house from getting too hot and
helps it stay cool without using a lot of energy. It's also important to use materials that
are found nearby to help the environment and reduce pollution.
● When we build buildings, we need to think about the weather, the water, and the plants
and animals that live around us. We want to build in a way that makes the buildings work
really well and doesn't hurt the environment too much. One way to do this is by using
materials that don't need a lot of energy to make.
KOPPEN CLIMATE CLASSIFICATION
THE KÖPPEN SYSTEM
The Köppen climate classification system is a way to organize different types of climates around
the world based on the plants that grow there. It was created by a scientist named Wladimir
Köppen a long time ago. He discovered that the kind of plants that can grow in an area depends
on how hot or cold and how rainy or dry it is. Places with lots of rain and warmth have lots of
trees and forests, while places with less rain are deserts.

•The Köppen climate classification scheme divides climates into five main groups, each having
several types and subtypes:
• TYPE A: Tropical Climates tropical or equatorial zone (represented by blue colors on most
maps)
• TYPE B: Dry (arid and semi-arid) Climates arid or dry zone (represented by red, pink, and
orange colors on most maps)
• TYPE C: Temperate Climates arid or dry zone (represented by red, pink, and orange colors on
most maps)
• TYPE D: Continental Climates (represented by purple, violet, and light blue colors on most
maps)
• TYPE E: Polar and Alpine Climates polar zone (represented by gray colors on most maps)

CLIMATE ELEMENTS:
•SOLAR RADIATION OR SUNLIGHT - is the radiant energy emitted by the sun from a nuclear
fusion reaction that creates electromagnetic energy.
•AIR TEMPERATURE - defined as the amount of kinetic energy present in the air and is felt by
humans through heat or cold
•ATMOSPHERIC HUMIDITY - is the volume of water vapor carried in the air. It can be
measured as vapor pressure, mixing ratio or specific humidity. Specific humidity is the ratio of
vapor mass to total air mass, whereas mixing ratio is the ratio of the mass of vapor to the mass
of dry air.
•PRECIPITATION - any form or liquid or frozen liquid from atmosphere that falls into the ground
•WIND - The natural movement of the air. It is when you can feel the air moving around you, like
a breeze or a gust, and it usually comes from one direction.

Köppen Climate Classification System. (2018). Retrieved August 30, 2023, from
Nationalgeographic.org website:
https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/koppen-climate-classification-system/

Architectural, A. (2020, May 11). ARCHITECTURE JOYCE OWENS LLC. Retrieved August 30,
2023, from ARCHITECTURE JOYCE OWENS LLC website:
https://www.architecturejoyceowens.com/blog/tropical-modern-architecture-florida

Climate | Definition, Weather, & Meteorology | Britannica. (2023). In Encyclopædia

Britannica. Retrieved from

https://www.britannica.com/science/climate-meteorology

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