Adrem’s guide to Sustainable design - Week 1 - Climatic Analysis 11|11|09

Prior to any concept design it is crucial to understand the site as thoroughly as possible.  Often designers are not indigenous to the region the project is being built in and poor decisions can often arise from assumptions designers make regarding climate.

 For that reason before a design begins it is important that an understanding and analysis of the climate of the project location takes place. From here one can begin to recognise issues that should be addressed in the design. Software is currently available to convert raw weather station data to produce graphics for:  Rainfall, cloud cover, solar radiation, and temperature highs and lows recorded hourly for year duration.  Wind speed, direction, and its frequency recorded in hours, its temperature and its humidity are also presented as wind rose diagrams.  For wind it is best to look at each monthly diagram simultaneously such that you can recognise prevailing winds and the period in which they blow.

 Understanding all these conditions places the design team in a position to make informed decisions at the conceptual design stage.  Sustainability Consultants and Architects must recognise where potential problems may exist as well as where opportunities may be available based on the climatic data.

 I have noticed some designers of Middle-East projects not addressing the full climatic issues appropriately.  The common assumption is the western façade is the area of greatest concern due to the low sun angle causing glare and high build up of solar radiation. Design teams often discount other issues that are equally as important to address such as the prevailing northwest winds which blow for over half of the year which regularly reach 45 C in the long summer season.  Many designers assume that a north façade is ideal for glazing concentrating on the fact that minimal sunshine will enter the building. This however discounts the fact that those windows are being hit with hot winds that will strip the coolness out the building. In effect behaving just as the sun would by heating the internal spaces and increasing the cooling load. 

 In this instance it may be wise to consider a design solution that minimises glazing contact at this orientation without eliminating natural light.  It also may be beneficial to explore how to utilise these hot regular winds for energy production or natural ventilation.  There are now small discrete turbines that can be integrated into a buildings façade, which would capitalize on this potential energy source. Also, this wind may be used for ventilation or cooling, but not in any conventional manner.  Introducing internal concrete shafts with openings at the top of a building would allow the wind to draw air out of the building and ventilate it without introducing the heat.  Having the shafts end at the bowels of the building where water storage occurred would also add coolness to the space. Circulating this water through the shafts in pipes or as a flowing internal feature falling between floors would also reduce humidity by acting as a condenser and increasing the comfort level inside the building.

 Only when you have identified the potential issues arising from the climatic data will you be able to resolve issues and the solution can be two fold; one approach may look at protecting the building from these recognised issues, and the other may look to capitalise on them by extracting the potential energy they may provide. 

 Sustainable consultants provide informed design decisions very early on during the design concept stage - such design decisions need to be identified by professionals who are capable of understanding the implications of climatic data. The early identification of measures and implications of the local climate often lead to sustainable decisions being made which lessen the impact on the design integrity than those made later on in the design process.

 I hope this short example shows the part climatic analysis can play as part of an overall sustainable analysis at the early design stage. Climatic analysis as part of an integrated sustainable design will produce interesting and inspiring building design and help to meet sustainability targets.

 Antonio Muscat is a Sustainability Consultant seeking work via Adrem Recruitment. If you would like to comment on this or seek advise please go to the discussion section on Adrems linkedin page or e-mail Adrems Sustainability Recruiter, Simon Dyke at simond@adrem.uk.com

                                                                                                      Below - Middle-East Wind Rose