Matthew S.

Concepcion

CEIT – 01 – 303P

RESEARCH PAPER #2

PASSIVE COOLING

Passive cooling is where the building design and materials are used to control temperature in hot weather.
To be comfortable, buildings in all Australian climates require some form of cooling at some time of the
year, and this need is increasing with a warming climate. There are 2 basic components to passive cooling:
cooling the building, and cooling people.

Cooling buildings is about:

 reducing heat gain (for example, by installing insulation and shading windows, walls and roofs)
 increasing heat loss and access to cooling sources (for example, by using earth coupling and
encouraging air movement).

Cooling people is about:

 physiological comfort (the physical factors necessary for comfort; for example, encouraging
breezes to evaporate perspiration and increase body cooling)
  psychological comfort (psychological factors that affect our perception of comfort, for example,
levels of acclimatisation and air movement, radiation and conduction).

CROSS VENTILATION

Cross ventilation (also called Wind Effect Ventilation) is a natural method of cooling. The system relies on
wind to force cool exterior air into the building through an inlet (like a wall louver, a gable, or an open
window) while outlet forces warm interior air outside (through a roof vent or higher window opening).
Modern natural ventilation systems help increase the flow of cool air coming in and assist the stifling air
going out. This increases building air flow naturally.

Cross ventilation occurs where there are pressure differences between one side of a building and the other.
Typically, this is a wind-driven effect in which air is drawn into the building on the high pressure windward
side and is drawn out of the building on the low pressure leeward side. Wind can also drive single-sided
ventilation and vertical ventilation.

Whereas cross ventilation is generally more straight-forward to provide than stack ventilation, it has the
disadvantage that it tends to be least effective on hot, still days, when it is needed most. In addition, it is
generally only suitable for narrow buildings.

Cross ventilation is most suited for buildings that are:

 Narrow.
  On exposed sites.
 Perpendicular to the prevailing wind.
 Free from internal barriers to air flow.
 Provided with a regular distribution of openings.

It is less suitable where:

 The building is too deep to ventilate from the perimeter.

 Local air quality is poor; for example, if a building is next to a busy road.
 Local noise levels mean that windows cannot be opened.
 The local urban structure is very dense and shelters the building from the wind.
 Privacy or security requirements prevent windows being opened.
 Internal partitions block air paths.

GREEN ARCHITECTURE

Green architecture, or green design, is an approach to building that minimizes the harmful effects of
construction projects on human health and the environment. The "green" architect or designer attempts to
safeguard air, water, and earth by choosing eco-friendly building materials and construction practices.

Common Characteristics of a "Green" Building

The highest goal of green architecture is to be fully sustainable. Simply put, people do "green" things in
order to achieve sustainability. Some architecture, like Glenn Murcutt's 1984 Magney House, has been an
experiment in green design for years. While most green buildings do not have all of the following features,
green architecture and design may include:

 Ventilation systems designed for efficient heating and cooling

 Energy-efficient lighting and appliances (e.g., ENERGY STAR® products)
 Water-saving plumbing fixtures
 Landscaping with native vegetation and planned to maximize passive solar energy
 Minimal harm to the natural habitat
 Alternative renewable energy power sources such as solar power or wind power
 Non-synthetic, non-toxic materials used inside and out
 Locally-obtained woods and stone, eliminating long-haul transportation
 Responsibly-harvested woods
 Adaptive reuse of older buildings
 Use of recycled architectural salvage
 Efficient use of space
 Optimal location on the land, maximizing sunlight, winds, and natural sheltering
 Rainwater harvesting and greywater reuse

DISASTER RESILIENT DESIGN

According to the Resilient Design Institute, “resilient design is the intentional design of buildings,
landscapes, communities and regions in order to respond to natural and man-made disasters and
disturbances as well as long-term changes resulting from climate change including sea level rise, increased
frequency of heat waves and regional drought.” The core principles of resilient design are survival and
adaptability to changing conditions.

Resilient Design Strategies is a design and construct buildings to withstand extreme weather, such as
severe storms. ... However, designs must consider future weather conditions as well. Design buildings that
maintain livable conditions in case of an extended power loss, or an interruption of heating fuel deliveries.

CLIMATE-RESPONSIVE ARCHITECTURE
A climate-responsive building design reflects the weather conditions in the precise area where the building
is constructed. The design utilizes data on the region’s weather patterns and accounts for factors like
seasonality, intensity of the sun, wind, rainfall and humidity.

Several elements play a role in limiting a building’s energy use based on its site-specific conditions. For
example, the building envelope is an important mediator between the indoor and outdoor condition.
Envelopes in different climate zones require different assemblies to minimize unwanted energy loss. In the
United States, local building codes aim to reduce new buildings’ energy use, designating which
construction materials and envelope assemblies may be used.

True climate-responsive architecture goes well beyond adherence to code. Smart glazing systems, for
example, offer opportunities to further the practice. Electrochromic glass actively controls how much solar
light and heat transfer into an interior space. Areas in the West and Southwest United States, for example,
experience strong sun and many clear-sky days with bright sunlight. SageGlass minimizes solar heat
penetration in summer months to reduce a building’s cooling load; conversely, it can be used to maximize
solar heat gain during winter months to help reduce the amount of energy needed to heat the building.
Though glazing causes more heat transfer than a wall surface, a high-performing system like SageGlass
helps climate-responsive projects effectively manage heat gain while capitalizing on the many benefits that
a glazed exterior has on a building’s occupants.

SUSTAINABLE ARCHITECTURE
Sustainable architecture is reflected in a building’s materials, construction methods, resource use and
design in general. The design must also facilitate sustainable operation during the building life cycle,
including its ultimate disposal. While it has to be functional and aesthetically superior, the space has to be
constructed with the mind-set of achieving long-term energy and resource efficiency.

Sustainable architecture is also referred to as green architecture or environmental architecture. It

challenges architects to produce smart designs and use available technologies to ensure that structures
generate minimal harmful effects to the ecosystem and the communities.

The following are some key aspects of sustainable architecture:

 Energy-efficient lighting fixtures and appliances

 Efficient heating, cooling and ventilation systems
 Water-saving plumbing fixtures
 Windows placed strategically to maximize natural light
 Rainwater harvesting
 Greywater reuse
 Landscaping with native vegetation
 Incorporation of renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind power
 Using local construction materials to reduce transportation distance and costs
 Incorporating old structures and using recycled materials

INTELLIGENT ARCHITECTURE
Intelligent architecture is responsive to human needs and sensibilities through adaptation to existing
buildings and nature. This is a new way of viewing the world a way of connecting to it, and to ourselves yet
it is very much the same as the most ancient ways of connecting (Alexander, 2001–2005). Intelligent
criteria provide a way of judging whether a building, or piece of urban environment, is good or bad for our
emotional health.

Intelligent architecture is responsive to human needs and sensibilities through adaptation to existing
buildings and nature. This is a new way of viewing the world a way of connecting to it, and to ourselves yet
it is very much the same as the most ancient ways of connecting. Intelligent criteria provide a way of
judging whether a building, or piece of urban environment, is good or bad for our emotional health. Yes, a
building can be either good or bad to different degrees. People don’t need experts to tell them whether a
building is good or bad; they are fully capable of judging for themselves.

BIOPHILIC ARCHITECTURE
Biophilic design is an approach to architecture that seeks to connect building occupants more closely to
nature. Biophilic designed buildings incorporate things like natural lighting and ventilation, natural
landscape features and other elements for creating a more productive and healthy built environment for
people. Dynamic glazing like SageGlass is a great example of using new building technologies to achieve
biophilic objectives.

Biophilic Design helps to connect our love of nature within the modern building environment. It allows us to
focus on aspects of the natural world that help to improve human health and productivity. And we know
how hard that can be in today's society.

Here are six principles of biophilic design applications we highlight at these sessions:

 Environmental features. ...

 Natural shapes and forms. ...
 Restorative patterns and processes. ...
 Light and space. ...
 Place-based relationships. ...
 Evolved human-nature relationships.

BIOMIMETIC ARCHITECTURE
Biomimetic architecture is a multi-disciplinary scientific approach to sustainable design that goes beyond
using nature as inspiration for aesthetics but rather deeply studying and applying construction principles
that are found in natural environments and species.

This "biomimetic revolution" is now considered to be a major guideline towards more sustainable built
environments, meaning that buildings are focused on learning from nature rather than only extracting
elements from it.

Biomimetic in architecture not only produces creative systems but also induces creative thinking in
Architects. The Biomimicry Design Spiral is a step-by-step process for turning nature's strategies into
innovative and sustainable design solutions.

Biomimetic architecture is a subset of biomimetics which seeks to find solutions to human problems using
inspiration from nature. It goes further than just using nature as inspiration for aesthetic design. Forms and
functions that serve a purpose in nature are imitated to serve human purposes. Biomimetic design does not
necessarily mean reproduction of nature, but instead the natural inspiration often serves as a starting point
for technological innovation.

EMERGENCY ARCHITECTURE
Emergency architecture is the immediate answer to the humanitarian side of a conflict, covering everything
from housing to medical facilities for the affected.

The Emergency Architects Foundation was created in April 2001 by Patrick Coulombel (architect) in
Amiens in Picardy, France as a result of the flooding of the River Somme in 2001. A group of architects
formed the organization so as to mobilize technical assistance to the disaster victims and protect the rich
cultural heritage of the region.

The architects, engineers and planners have used their professional expertise (knowledge of risk
prevention and of building) to provide appropriate and sustainable assistance to the populations affected by
natural (tsunami, earthquake), technological (chemical factory explosion) or human (civil) disasters. They
always work with local populations and use local materials in their buildings.

 To support and develop architects' humanitarian engagement in France and worldwide and thus to
contribute to the development of architecture,
 To train architects with skills to help populations affected by natural, technological or human
disasters,
 To encourage architects training in France and in the World
 To preserve and promote architectural, historical and cultural world heritage.