MICRO-CLIMATIC
CLIMATIC
THERMAL
Environmental Shelter
SPATIAL
VISUAL
(PHYSIOLOGICAL)
ARCHITECTURE AND ENVIRONMENT
GEOGRAPHICAL
ACOUSTICAL
(PSYCHOLOGICAL)
GEOLOGICAL
Fig. 1. Man and his built environment
ARCHITECTURE is defined in one en-
cyclopaedia as "the art of build- ing in such a way as to accord with principles determined, not merely by the ends the edifice is intended to serve, but by high considerations of beauty and harmony.. However. viewed from the context of present- day scientific and technological ad- vancements, it can be seen to serve far more embracing purposes, and to involve a great deal of technicality. In short, architecture has evolved through the ages from the concept of a simple shelter to a complex system of environmental control.
The term "environment" can mean different things when used in differ- ent disciplines: but generally, can be taken to refer to "conditions external to the object in question". When it is related to the work of the architect in his design of buildings and layout of cities for people, it means the "built environment" the creation and control of both the external and internal physical conditions created by buildings and cities.
T
Environmental design therefore falls properly within the architectural discipline: in fact, more and more schools of architecture are broaden- ing their scope of studies to include aspects of environmental design, or have rightly called themselves schools of environmental studies.
The external physical environ- ment affecting building design and town planning includes the climatic and micro-climatic conditions, and the geographical and geological fea-
Far East Architect & Builder January, 1968
DESIGN FOR CLIMATE
by K.H. Tang,*
An Appraisal of Climatic Influences on Building Design Considerations with Particular Reference to Hong Kong
tures of the region. The internal physical conditions created inside buildings should be such as to be con- dusive to comfort, health, safety and general well-being of the occupants. These may be grouped under four general headings: (1) spatial, (2) thermal, (3) visual and (4) acoustical conditions. (There are also the in- direct but related physiological and psychological impacts related to this environment Fig. 1).
The success of this created environ- ment should be judged principally in terms of the satisfaction it gives to the users, in other words, in terms of its functional efficiency2, and not merely in terms of its external aesthe- tics, investment potentials, etc.
The Design Process
To arm the architect with a proper method of approach for the design of an ideal environment would involve studies in different fields, including climatatology, meteorology, geo- graphy, geology and the physical sciences of heating, lighting, ventilat- ing and acoustics. It has generally been the case that specialist consul- tants carry out investigations in these various fields and provide the an-
swers, separately and individually. The architect acts as the integrator and decision-maker as head of this building team. The problem thus set for him in his design process would require these three stages of back- ground knowledge3,4:-
1) to establish the nature of the physical environment and to set standards:
2) to develop methods to achieve
these standards:
3) to provide the satisfaction for the occupants that the standards have been met.
In fulfilling this combined role of the overall environmental technologist and designer, the architect has as his starting point the outdoor, natural climate, and he should possess workable knowledge of this branch of science5.
The Climatic Influence
a
The impact of climate on the de- velopment of civilisation has formed the subject of serious study in vari-
* Further articles on climatic design by Mr. K. H. Tang, Lecturer in Architec- ture, University of Hong Kong, will ap- pear in future issues of Far East Ar- chitect & Builder.
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