GREEN ARCHITECTURE

IKLIM SEBAGAI KONTEKS

PERANCANGAN

CLIMATIC CHARACTERISTIC OF HOT HUMID

REGIONS RELEVANT TO BUILDING AND URBAN
DESIGN
The main climatic features characterizing the equatorial and
the tropical marine climates are the relative constancy of the
annual average temperature and humidity. While day to day
variations may be significant, the monthly average are almost
constant (27C). The range of the average monthly
temperature is about 1-3C.

Humidity and rainfall are high most of the year. Relative

humidity over around 90 %.
The wind conditions depend on the distance from the sea and
may vary during the year, depending on the annual shifting of
the trade wind belt northward or southward
Most of the time the sky may be partially cloudy and the
diffused radiation from the sky comprises a significant
component of the total solar heat gain

ARCHITECTURAL GUIDELINES FOR HOT

HUMID REGIONS

The main design objectives in hot-humid regions :

1. Minimizing solar heating of the buildings
2. Maximizing the rate of cooling in the evening

3. Providing effective natural ventilation, even during rain

4. Preventing rain penetration, even during rainstorms
5. Preventing entry of insect while the windows are open for
ventilation
6. Providing spaces for semioutdoor activities as integral part of
the living space

The main building design details which affect the attainment of this
objectives are:
Building layout
Orientation of the main rooms and the openings

Size and details of windows and doors

Organization and subdivision of the indoor space
Shading of openings and walls

Provision of verandas and balconies

Roof type and details
Thermal and structural properties of walls and roof
Site landscaping

LANDFORM: FLAT
Experience Little Variation
Little Air Movement
In Humid Climates the Primary Concern is Maximizing Air Movement
We Must Place Our Building On the Top of the Windward Slope Where the Air
Speed Would be the Highest

LANDFORM ORIENTATION
Has little meaning when the land is flat
Orientation of slopes would make a difference
East and west oriented slopes receive direct radiation mostly during the
morning and evening

A north slope would be preferable as it would receive the least

VEGETATION PATTERN
Shade and reduce heat gain
Increasing and decreasing air
speed or directing air flow
Direct air into a building
Plants, shrubs and trees absorb
radiation in the process of
photosynthesis, cool the
environment
Can be employed to maximize
airflow

Increase humidity levels

WATER BODIES
Water absorbs relatively large amounts of radiation
Allow evaporative cooling
Water bodies are best avoided

STREET WIDTHS AND ORIENTATION

Modulating the street width and orientation can control solar radiation
The street width to building height ratio determines the altitude up to
which solar radiation can be cut off
Can be used to minimize heat gain
The primary need is for air movement
Streets should be oriented to utilize the natural wind patterns

OPEN SPACE AND BUILT FORM

The lack of open spaces could reduce heat loss
and gain
Large open spaces allow for free air movement
Built pattern can increase , decrease and modify
air speeds
Buildings should not be attached to one another
Street and the open spaces should be oriented
with respect to wind patterns
The open spaces and the funnel effect can be
used to maximize air flow within the complex
Open planning allows more daylight

GROUND
CHARACTER

The colour and texture

of materials surface
determines its
reflectivity
Ground character is of
consequence only
when it can absorb
moisture
The ground surface
would also reflect
daylight

Hard paving should be

minimized and should
be rough

PLAN FORM
Affects the airflow around and
through it

Building openings connecting the

high pressure areas to low
pressure areas would cause
effective natural ventilation
Greater the P/A ratio the greater
the radiative heat gain during the
day and the greater the heat loss
at night
The prime concern is a plan form
for maximizing air movement.
Minimizing the P/A ratio is useful
as it minimizes heat gain

PLAN ELEMENTS
Vegetation, water bodies, courtyard
Courtyards and verandas aid in ventilation
Windcatchers may also be employed. They are only effective
when they are strong and cool breezes

BUILDING ORIENTATION
Determines the amount of radiation it
receives
The orientation affects the amount of
natural ventilation possible

SURFACE AREA TO VOLUME RATIO

Determining heat loss and gain
Small S/V ratios imply minimum heat gain and minimum heat
loss
The prime concern is creating airy spaces. This might not
necessarily minimize the S/V ratio
The materials of construction should be such that they not store
heat

ROOF
FORM

Can be used as a source of

daylight into the building
Its form and overhangs also
affect air movement patterns
Natural ventilation is very
desirable
The building should have its
longest dimension perpendicular
to the direction of airflow
The roof overhangs and pitch
should be as high as possible.
This would result in the
maximum pressure difference
and consequently maximum
airflow

FENESTRATION PATTERN AND CONFIGURATION

The area, shape, location, and relative positioning of the windows

Affect the air movement, daylight, and glare indoors

If unshaded, the area would also affect radiative heat gain
Opening at the higher level, aid airflow, known as stack effect
The position of the opening affects the distribution of light indoors as it affects internal reflections

Should be large to facilitate fenestration

Large overhang would be desirable in cutting off diffuse solar radiation
The fenestration height should be such that there is a good distribution of air flow over the human
body.

Lower sill levels might be preferable

High windows provide the best distribution of the direct and diffuse light. Low windows allow
ground reflected light

Windows should be
staggered rather than
aligned
Partition should not be
placed near windows
causing an abrupt change
of wind direction
It would be desirable to
provide every room with
windows on at least 2
walls.

FENESTRATION
ORIENTATION
determines the amount of
radiation
To obtain a good distribution
of airflow within a building the
wind direction and inlet to
outlet direction should not be
the same
They should be within 45 of
the perpendicular to the
direction of airflow

FENESTRATION CONTROLS
glazing, shades, light shelves, flywire
nets, and the cross sectional area of the
windows can be important controls.
They trap solar radiation.

Glazing : control device for traping

solar radiation
Shades, vertical and horizontal, control
radiative heat gain
Light shelves: brings more light into the
rear of a room, as horizontal shades
cutting off the vertical sun
Flywire net: as control devices for
insect, reduce the air velocity indoors

To increase ventilation, can be

achieved by modifying the window
section

WALLS
Walls should have a low
thermal capacity

ROOF MATERIALS
determine the amount of heat transfer through the
roof inwards or outwards as well as the time taken
for this heat transfer to take place
Heat flow through materials is determined by the
conductance and resistance of the materials.
Heat storage is undesirable
The roof should be light, probably having high Uvalue and low heat capacities

EXTERNAL COLOURS AND

TEXTURES
The surface characteristic affect heat transmission into the
building.
The color of surface affect its reflectivity, the heat is absorbed
Rough textured surface increase the area for reradiation
A smooth flat surface would be more reflective, minimize heat
gain
Light colour: reflective
Dark colour: absortive
Light coloured and rough surfaces are preferable

INTERNAL FINISHES
the internal finishes of a space would affect the
daylight levels indoor
The reflectivity or emissivity of radiation would
affect heat losses when the u-value of the material is
low
Internal reflectance should be as per the desired
daylight conditions

MULTISTORIED APARTMENT BUILDING

Multistoried apartment buildings have less envelope surface area

than other types of residential building.
When the building is air conditioned, the energy demand per
dwelling unit of the building, for a given thermal quality of the
envelope, is minimized.
This applied to the internal units, which have adjoining neighbors
on each side, above, and below
Any building form which maximize the relative number of internal
units, such as block buildings in which the length of the block
approximately equals its height, will minimize the total thermal
energy requirements

TYPES OF MULTISTORY APARTMENT BUILDING

2 Main Types:
Building with long corridors providing access to the units along them. Vertical access to
the corridor is provided by either staircase or elevator
Buildings with staicases or elevators providing direct access to 2, 3, or 4 units

2 subtypes of the corridor access buildings are:

Building with an internal corridor, providing access to units on both sides (double louded
corridors)
Building with an external corridor located along 1 wall of the building (single loaded
corridor)

2 subtypes of direct access buildings (from the climatic performance aspect) are:
Multiple staircases or elevators serving 2 apartements on each floor
Staircases or elevator serving more than 2 units at each floor

DOUBLE-LOADED CORRIDOR BUILDING

All the units do not have even the potential for effective crossventilation

SINGLE LOADED CORRIDOR BUILDING

Cross ventilation is possible in apartment along an open corridor by
leaving open windows in the external wall as well as windows and
doors in the wall facing the corridor.
Leaving open doors in the corridor will reduce greatly the visual and
acoustical privacy of the occupants.

The ventilation of such building is sensitive

to orientation. The designer should ensure
that one faade faces the prevailing wind
direction at an angle above about 30 degree.

DIRECT-ACCESS MULTISTORY APARTMENT

WITH 2 UNITS PER STAIRCASE
Provides sufficient
exposure of the individual
buildings to the sun and the
prevailing winds, and can
ensure the potential for
effective cross ventilation
and solar heating for all the
dwelling unit
The tolerance of building
orientation, for providing
cross ventilation, is about
60 degrees on either side of
the prevailing wind direction

MULTISTORY BUILDINGS WITH

MORE THAN 2 UNITS PER
STAIRCASE
Ventilation potential in direct acces building
with 3 units per floor:

1. Internal staircase, 3rd apartment

projecting upwind. 1 unit may be in the
wind shadow, with inferior ventilation
2. External open staircase improves the
ventilation potential
3. Internal staircase: unit projecting
downwind has inferior ventilation
potential.
When more than 3 units per floor are
accesed from a staircase, some of the
units will always suffer from poor
ventilation and poor solar exposure
condition.