TABLE OF CONTENTS Sun, rain, wind, heat, and cold shape architecture in many ways. The forces these elements rail against a building vary from subtle to stupendous, from intermittent to unceasing, from tranquil absence to several occurring at the same time. Designing a building to resist them also has its subtle and dominant elements, which may be distilled to three aspects:
Designing a building's exterior to resist the forces of climate. This is covered in this volume's Sec. 2.A. to 2.D.
Quantifying a building's thermal loads and optimizing the possibility of utilizing solar energy based on local climate patterns and extremes. This is covered in Sec. 2. E.
Maintaining constant comfort inside a building by properly selecting and sizing its climate control system. This is covered in Chapter 3.
Frank Lloyd Wright said: "I think it far better to go WITH the natural climate than try to fixa special artificial climate of your own." Indeed, a little weatherwise jujitsu-of tricking the natural features and forces around a building into working for you instead of against you-can be worth an inch or two of extra insulation in its facades as well as a substantial portion of its ongoing energy expenses.
Design for climate begins with analyzing the building's surrounds for at least 200 ft in every direction if it is two stories tall or less, regardless of the location of its property lines. If the building is taller, as good a general rule as any is to analyze its surroundings...
