TROPICAL ARCHITECTURE

Arch. Alpher E. De Vera, Ma.Ed.,uap

INTRODUCTION

• One of the more unfortunate aspects of modern global development has been the introduction and widespread acceptance of the use of mechanical means for providing desired comfort levels for human habitation.

...................neglecting the context of climate, culture and land variations.

CLIMATE• Defined a region with certain

temperature,dryness,wind,light,etc.• An integration in time of the atmospheric

environment of a certain geographical location.• 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.

• Macroclimate- The climate of a large geographic area.

• Microclimate- is a local atmospheric zone where the climate differs from the surrounding area. The term may refer to areas as small as a few square feet (for example a garden bed) or as large as many square miles (for example a valley). Microclimates exist, for example, near bodies of water which may cool the local atmosphere, or in heavily urban areas where brick, concrete, and asphalt absorb the sun's energy, heat up, and reradiate that heat to the ambient air: the resulting urban heat island is a kind of microclimate.

TROPICAL CLIMATE

• Those region where heat is the dominant problem, where the annual mean temperature is not less than 20 degrees.

Characteristics of Tropical Climates

• Temperature – average mean temperature (dbt) 20 – 30 deg.C

• Humidity Level – 50% to 100% Relative Humidity

• Wind Conditions – Slow wind flow– Prevailing wind in the Philippines:

Amihan (NE) – November to AprilHabagat (SW) – May to October

TROPICAL DESIGN

• This is concerned with countries where discomfort due to heat and humidity are the dominant problems.

• Tropical design is applicable to Tropical, Sub-Tropical, and Equatorial Climates covering the Southeast Asian Countries.

The main characteristics of a building:

• It must perform the function for which it is designed, i.e. provide adequate shelter for its intended occupants;

• Provide adequate comfort for the occupants, both to the immediate environment as well as for services such as lighting, cooking, hot water, etc.

The energy needs for buildings, (3) broad categories:

• That required for construction; encompassing the inputs into materials, labour, transportation, etc,

• That required to maintain the comfort of the internal environment;

• That required to provide services to aid comfortable living.

• These three (3) energy requirements can be kept to a minimum with the application of building design and construction principles that exploit the indigenous materials and local climate

• Thereby……“climate-responsive architecture”

Global climate zones:

1) Polar 2) Cool 3) Temperate 4) Hot humid 5) Hot arid

Climate in the Tropics:

• Warm Humid: Location• areas between 7º north & south of the equator• Warm Humid: Conditions

with high relative humidityhigh average temperaturescloudy skiessky glare can be distressingintense rainfallabundant vegetationfungi are a persistent problem

• Warm Humid: Countries• Brisbane, Australia• Indonesia• Caribbean• Barbados• Venezuela

Climate in the Tropics:

• Hot Dry: Location • areas between 15º & 30º north & south of the

equator• Hot Dry: Conditions

hot during day time, cold during night time low humidityclear skiesintense solar radiationminimal rainfallwind carrying dust and sand

• Hot Dry: Countries• Arizona• Dubai• Qatar• Mexico

Climate in the Tropics:

• Hot Dry Maritime Desert: Location• areas between 15º and 30º north and south of

the equator• Hot Dry Maritime Desert: Conditions

areas with strong maritime influencehot during day time, cold during night time high humidityintense solar radiation

• Hot Dry Maritime: Countries• Arizona• California• Sta Barbara Country• Mexico

Climate in the Tropics:

• Monsoon or Transition: Location• areas between 23.5º north and south of the

equator • Monsoon or Transition: Conditions

dry and rainylow humiditystrong solar radiationstrong winds

• Monsoon or Transition: Countries• New Delhi, India• Sri Lanka• Bangladesh• Myanmar• Brazil (northeast & southeast)

Climate in the Tropics:

• Tropical Upland: Location• mountain regions, 900 meters above sea level • Tropical Upland: Conditions

larger temperature swingstemperature is 24-30º during the day

while 4-10º during night timestrong solar radiationvariable winds

• Tropical Upland: Countries• Quito, Equador• Nairobi, Kenya• Savanna• Jamaica