Architecture & Town Planning

Class# 3: Factors influencing Architecture

Department of Civil Engineering, MUST

Isn’t This a Great Day to Study Architecture &
Town Planning???

Department of Civil Engineering, MUST 2

Source: Sydney Opera House “https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52fqFVuaBhE”
 Architecture
Factors Influencing Architecture
• Man (building use, opening dimensions etc.)
• Demographics (overpopulated regions; high rise buildings)
• Nature (temperature, rainfall etc.)
• History (Roman Empire; statues in western civilizations)
• Culture (boundary Walls; our closed society)
• Religion (Islam; domes & minarets)

Department of Civil Engineering, MUST 3

 Man
• Man
o Man is the measure of all things (client)
o From the proportions of a human body and space a person
takes in different positions while walking or standing
o A person determines the functionality and sizes of a
building, not just through proportions but also activities
and through physiological needs

Department of Civil Engineering, MUST 4

 Man
• Level of comfort a person needs in a place
o Space:
• Big living rooms vs. small bed rooms
• Public places vs. private places
• Houses vs. factories
o Temperature and humidity within a space (ideal temp 18-22 °C)
• Large space with proper ventilation is required
• Positions of air inlets and outlets
• Important in places like Gymnasiums

Department of Civil Engineering, MUST 5

 Man
• Level of comfort a person needs in a place
o Acoustics of a space
• Size of the room
• Hearing conditions in a space are effected by architectural
considerations like shape, dimensions, seating arrangements etc.
• Important in places like auditoriums, classrooms, meeting halls
etc.

Department of Civil Engineering, MUST 6

Source: “http://www.slideshare.net/mominzaki/auditorium-acoustics-33230112”
 Man
• Level of comfort a person needs in the space
o Natural and artificial illumination of a space
• Dimensions of the space (long hallways vs. small rooms)
• Orientation of the space to sun (use of glass)
• Use of neutral colors i.e. gray or white walls
• Location, style and spacing of lighting fixtures

Department of Civil Engineering, MUST 7

 Demographics
• Characteristics of Human Population
o Characterized in terms of total population
o Can be sub characterized as age, race, gender, religion etc.

Department of Civil Engineering, MUST 8

Source: “http://www.slideshare.net/SandyAnthony1/material-world-ppt”
 Demographics
• Increase in city populations tend to effect the way people live
o Increasing population with limited space leads to high rise buildings

• Different category of people residing in a place lead to different

building shapes
o Young people living in cities with modern architecture while older people
like classic architecture in suburbs
• Humans also have different liking for color and texture depending
upon their demographic category

Department of Civil Engineering, MUST 9

Source: “http://www.slideshare.net/SandyAnthony1/material-world-ppt”
 Nature
• Nature involves various aspects of the universe that humans
don’t have control over
• In terms of our topic nature includes the following elements;
o Location
o Climate
• Solar radiation
• Temperature
• Precipitation
• Humidity
• Wind

Department of Civil Engineering, MUST 10

 Nature
• Location
o Two important factors are considered
1) Latitude:
• Distance north or south of equator
o Low - Warm to hot
o Middle - Seasonal
o High - Polar (cool to cold)

Department of Civil Engineering, MUST 11

Source: Positioning and Timing,“https://www.cfa.harvard.edu/space_geodesy/ATLAS/positioning.html”
 Nature
• Location
o As you move towards the equator:
• Low proportion of window to wall area
• Try to shun the glare and heat from sun as demonstrated by size of
windows

Department of Civil Engineering, MUST 12

Source: Aperture, Placment and Area,“http://sustainabilityworkshop.autodesk.com/buildings/aperture-placement-area”
 Nature
• Location
o Tropical and subtropical zones
• projecting balconies and overhangs casting long shadows on the walls
of buildings are found
• Wooden or marble lattices fill large openings to subdue the glare of
the sun while permitting the breeze to pass through

Department of Civil Engineering, MUST 13

Source:“http://goldqld.global-free-classified-ads.com/listings/pole-home-plans-by-roscher-designs-it1666160.html”
 Nature
• Location
2) Altitude
• Vertical distance between a reference datum (sea level) and a
point or object
• Major climatic differences from the bottom to top
• High altitude wind currents (faster winds: more solid and
compact building infrastructure)
• Low temperature (As air rises, it loses the ability to hold
heat: use of insulation material)

Department of Civil Engineering, MUST 14

 Nature
• Climate
o Weather conditions prevailing in an area over a long period
of time
o Elements of climate
• Solar Radiation
• Temperature
• Humidity
• Wind
• Precipitation
Department of Civil Engineering, MUST 15
 Nature
• Climate
o Solar Radiation
• Solar radiations are used mainly as the sources of heat energy and
light
• Main aims are to;
1) get significant amount of day light and heat as deep inside the
building as possible and required
2) to maintain a uniform distribution of daylight from one area to
another.
3) to avoid thermal and visual discomfort and glare

Department of Civil Engineering, MUST 16

 Nature
• Climate
o Solar Radiation
• Solar radiations vary along;
o A specific latitude (site location); defines the sun path in relation to
geographical location
o Time of year (seasonal variation); related to the declination of the
sun on a given day
o Time of day (earth’s rotation); hourly change or sun from East to
West

Department of Civil Engineering, MUST 17

 Nature
• Climate
o Solar Radiation along latitudes
• When sun shines on the Earth at a lower angle, the energy of the
sunlight is spread over a larger area and therefore is weaker than if
the sun is higher overhead and energy is concentrated on a smaller
area
• Tropical regions receive excess heating
• Whereas, higher latitude regions receive less

Department of Civil Engineering, MUST 18

Source:“wikipedia.com”
 Nature
• Climate
o Solar Radiation during different seasons
• Orientation of buildings plays an important role

Department of Civil Engineering, MUST 19

 Nature
• Climate
o Solar Radiation during different seasons
• Depending upon function of building, the building may or may not be
oriented to face the sun
• Facades are usually oriented to slightly face the sun
• Residential Buildings:
o Openings such as doors and windows are preferred not placed along the
east-west axis
• Commercial Buildings:
o Use of glass to allow maximum penetration of sun without obstructions
(Use of reflecting glass to avoid glare)

Department of Civil Engineering, MUST 20

 Nature
• Climate
o Solar Radiation during different seasons
• Different angles of the sun and use of shades to limit sunlight
penetration

Department of Civil Engineering, MUST 21

 Nature
• Climate
o Temperature
• Thermal comfort for man (desire for neither warmer nor a colder
environment)

• Dimensions of buildings and material in use is determined by the

maximum and minimum temperature of the region
• Depends upon the type of region: tropical, cold or moderate
• To prevent energy dissipation in summer and winter time, body
insulation of the buildings must be considered (not of that priority in
moderate regions)

Department of Civil Engineering, MUST 22

 Nature
• Climate
o Rainfall
• Important especially in ceiling design
• Northern regions subject to heavy snow, their gables are steep
o Water erosion is reduced, damages are minimized and no water left
on the roof. Otherwise, adverse effects of rain and its penetration
into building would rise
• In other regions of the world where precipitation isn’t much of an
issue, the roofs become flat

Department of Civil Engineering, MUST 23

 Nature
• Climate
o Humidity
• Absolute Humidity: Water content in air at a given temperature
(expressed in g/m3)
• Relative Humidity: Proportion of existing amount of humidity in
air to the maximum amount of acceptable humidity (expressed in
percent)
• Coastal regions or regions located on the equator are most affected
by humidity (Sukkur city located at the bank of Indus river)

Department of Civil Engineering, MUST 24

 Nature
• Climate
o Humidity
• Humidity is caused by difference in heating of water and land
surfaces (land heats faster than water)
• Heated air above the land rises up and air from nearby water body
takes its place
• Contains a significant quantity of water vapor

Department of Civil Engineering, MUST 25

Source: Relative Humidity,“http://www.fondriest.com/science-library/weather/relative-humidity”
 Nature
• Climate
o Humidity
• Water vapors cause corrosion of metals used at exterior of
buildings
• Building in Humid climate:
o Use of balconies, verandahs
o Importance of cross ventilation
o Outlets larger than inlets
o Inlet at lower level and outlet at higher level
o Distribution of air movement through the rooms

Department of Civil Engineering, MUST 26

 Nature
• Climate
o Wind
• Bulk movement of air on the Earth’s surface
• Two important factors w.r.t. building construction
o Wind direction: way from which it is blowing
o Wind power: level of energy with which it is blowing
• Their knowledge can enable the designer to understand the
prevailing winds with most frequency and design
accordingly

Department of Civil Engineering, MUST 27

 Nature
• Climate
o Wind
• Blowing wind hits the windward side of the building causing
direct positive pressure
• It moves around the building and leaves the leeward wall with a
negative pressure

Department of Civil Engineering, MUST 28

Source: Natural Ventilation,“http://gbtech.emsd.gov.hk/english/utilize/natural.html”
 Nature
• Climate
o Wind
• Knowledge of wind factors suggest the following:
o Building orientation and location
• Windward wall is perpendicular to the summer wind to
facilitate cooling
o Building form and dimensions
• It is hard to distribute fresh air to all portions in deep buildings
o Types, shapes and size of openings
• Large outlets and small inlets

Department of Civil Engineering, MUST 29

 Nature
• Climate
o Wind
o External elements
• Detachment and physical damage to light ornamental work
• Building height combinations can also be used to counter wind
effects

Department of Civil Engineering, MUST 30

Source: “http://www.slideshare.net/deepthithangaraj/climate-responsive-architecture”
 Nature
• Climate
o Wind
• Examples of Different Wind Strategies in Building Design

Cold Region
Department of Civil Engineering, MUST Warm Region 31
Source: “http://www.slideshare.net/deepthithangaraj/climate-responsive-architecture”
 Questions ???

Department of Civil Engineering, MUST 32