TROPICAL DESIGN

AQE 1

from Greek klima; in Oxford dictionary as ‘region with certain conditions of temperature, dryness, wind, light, etc

CLIMATE

momentary state of the atmospheric environment at a certain location, could define as “the integration in time of weather conditions”.

weather

– Latin word “tropicus” meaning to turn; Greek word “tropikos” meaning to turn or change

tropical

types of louvers

types of atrium (or open spaces)

famous dictum- Architecture or Revolution; architecture is the skillful, accurate and magnificent play of masses seen in light

Le Corbusier

fixed or movable device, such as fins or louvres, designed to block the direct entrance of sun rays into a building

Brise Soleil

horizontal distance measured 90dg from outermost surface of the building/structure to the property lines

Setback

vacant space left between the outermost face of the building/structure and the property lines

Yard

– permitted minimal opening along a specifies vertical portion of the firewall and shall not be more than 3m in clear width and minimum depth of 1.5 meters

Vent Well

unoccupied space between the faces of the building lines and a yard or another court, free, open and unobstructed.

Court

bounded on all sides

Inner court

\- bounded on 3 sides

Open Court

bounded by 2 opposite sides

Through Court

paved and unpaved

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TOSL

water content in the air that does not evaporate

Humidity

tells us how much water vapor is in the air compared with the maximum possible

Relative humidity

passive strategy using both wind and temperature differences to cool or ventilate spaces

Natural Ventilation

maximum performance when inlet and outlet areas are equal, and minimum stack height is 11 feet.

Stack Ventilation

maximum performance when inlet and outlet are placed at diagonal in both plan and section

Cross Ventilation Section

wind wall size should be 0.5 – 1 x width of window

Cross Ventilation Plan

Prevent Unecessary Increase in Humidity Levels

AIR CONDITIONER

Maximize Ventilation

PASSIVE COOLING

High precipitation levels during rainy days resulting to typhoons

Have good drainage system to accommodate high precipitation during the year

Protect spaces from insects and rodents

GROOVES

prevent moisture from building up on ground

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Damp ground

Earth receives almost all its energy from the sun in the form of radiation

Solar Radiation

290 to 380; producing photochemical effects, bleaching, sunburn, etc

Ultra-violet radiation

380 (violet) to 700 nm (red)

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Visible light

700 to 2300 nm, radiant heat with some photochemical effects.

Short infrared radiation

The axis of this rotation is tilted to the plane of the elliptical orbit at an angle of ….. and the direction of this axis is constant.

66\.5 dg

longest day, falls around June 21

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Summer solstice

shortest day, falls around Dec 22

Winter solstice

when day and night are of equal length, twice around March22 and Sept 22

Equinox

angle of incoming solar radiation influences seasonal temperatures of locations at different latitudes.

Angle of incidence/insolation

the absorption of radiation by ozone, vapors and dust particles in the atmosphere

Atmospheric depletion/absorption

the length of daylight period

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Duration of sunshine

to cold outer space

long-wave radiation-

– the earth’s surface is cooled, as liquid water changes into vapor and mixed with air

By evaporation

– air heated by contact with warm earth becomes lighter and rises to the upper atmosphere where it dissipates its heat to space

By convection

the only way the earth loses energy in space is

Electromagnetic Radiation

convection currents in the atmosphere, tending to even out the differential heating of various zones.

Winds

The area where the air rises, where these northerly and southerly winds meet, where the tropical front is formed, is reffered to as

Inter-tropical convergence zone (ITCZ)

area experiences either completely calm conditions or only very light breezes of irregular directions and is referred to by sailors.

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Doldrums

Influences the force of air, direction of air flow, moisture content of air

Topography

Measured in degrees Celsius

Temperature

\- instrument measure air temperature

Thermometer

\- reading taken in the shade with a thermometer

Dry-bulb/”true air temperature”

\- a louvered box mounted at a height range of 1.20 m to 1.80 m. to meteorological instruments against precipitation and direct heat radiation from outside sources

Stevenson screen

Can be described as absolute humidity (AH)

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Humidity

more useful from of expression, as it gives a direct indication of evaporation potential.

Relatively humidity (RH)

an instrument used to measure humidity

Wet-and-dry buld hygrometer

amount of moisture actually present in unit mass or unit volume of air, in terms of gram per kilogram or gram per cubic meter

Absolute Humidity (AH)

the amount of moisture the air can hold

Saturation-point Humidity (SH)

ratio of the actual amount of moisture present, to the amount of moisture that the air could hold at the given temperature

Relative Humidity (RH)

All forms of water deposited from the atmosphere, such as rain, snow, hail, dew, and fros

Precipitation

\- instrument used to measure precipitation

Rain gauge

a device that records the amount of sunshine at a given location; reading is expressed in number of hours per day

Sunshine recorder

metric unit for the instantaneous intensity of solar radiation, or the incidence of solar energy received by a surface

Watt per square meter (W/m^2)

measured by a cup-type or propeller anemometer

Wind velocity

direction is measured by

Wind vane

instrument used to measure wind velocity and directional changes

Anemograph

covers a considerable portion of the earth and has an effect on weather and climate

Vegetation

usually provide enough information for the designer to make a preliminary assessment of the climate and may be sufficient to form the basis of sketch designs.

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Deviation within the zone

\- information may be useful guide to the climate of the site.

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Macroclimate

small scale patterns of climate resulting from the influence of topography, urban forms, water bodies, vegetation, etc

Microclimates

\- falls between micro and macro climates

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Meso-climate

slope, orientation, elevation, exposure, hills/valleys

Topography

whether natural or man-made, its reflectance, permeability

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Ground Surface

trees, fences, walls, buildings – may influence air movement, etc.

Three-dimensional objects

\- dependent upon the amount of heat gained or lost at the earth’s surface

Air temperature

depends as much on the air temperature as on the actual amount of water vapor present in the air.

Humidity

wind speed is always near the ground than with the higher portion

Air movement

top of hills or tall buildings are subject to lighting strikes

Thunderstorms

influenced by the ground surface providing sand and dust

Dust and sandstorms

small-scale whirlwind carrying dust

Smaller dust-storm

form an intermediate layer between the earth’s surface and the atmosphere

Vegetation

man-made environments can create microclimates of their own, deviating from the urban climate the macroclimate of the region to a degree depending on the extent of man’s intervention

Urban Climate

Classifications that influence human comfors

air temperature and humidity

subgroup: warm-humid island or trade-wind climate

Warm-humid equatorial climate

subgroup: hot-dry maritime desert climate

Hot-dry desert / semi-desert climate

subgroup: tropical upland climate

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Composite or monsoon climate

warm humid island

caribbean, Philippines, Pacific islands

air temperature of the philippines at day

29-32 c

air temperature of the philippines at night

18-24 c

humidity level in philippimes

55-100%

Tropical Moist Climates (Af)

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Tropical Rainforest & savanna

Mediterranean Climates (Cs)

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Chaparral Biome

receive the greatest amount of rainfall

Baguio City, eastern samar, and eastern Surigao

least rainfall

Cotabato

locally known as Amihan

Northeast Monsoon

Locally known as Habagat

Southwest Monsoon

Wet season

from June to November

Dry season

from December to May

Great influence on the climate and weather conditions

Typhoons

\- take advantage of the environment to provide tha maximum comfort for its occupants

Passive design concepts

is designed as an adaptation to its tropical environment.

Bahay kubo

can be seen as an evolution of a structure to adapt to the local environmental conditions in the Philippines.

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Bahay na bato

since Batanes experience strong winds, the local thatch and wood evolve to stringer materials like stone with lime

Ivatan house

design ed with thick layers of cogon to serve as insulation from the heat of the sun and rains

Ifuago house