What is Bioclimatic Architecture?

Adj. 1. bioclimatic — of or concerned with the relations of climate and living organisms

What is bioclimatic architecture?

Architecture that has a connection to Nature. Building designs that take into account
climate and environmental conditions to help achieve optimal thermal comfort inside. It
deals with design and architectural elements, avoiding complete dependence on
mechanical systems, which are regarded as support. A good example of this is using
natural ventilation or mixed mode ventilation.

Is this new?

No. Many traditional architecture styles work according to bioclimatic principles. It was
not long ago when air conditioning was rare and expensive, and still is for many places
today. Examples of traditional architecture working in this manner are often vernacular
archetypes, such as the Southern oriented windows in the south of Spain. In these
villages nestled into south facing slopes, the use of materials with thermal
mass (such as adobe) with an earth coating of lime on walls in the houses of Andalucia
creates a stable indoor micro-climate when coupled with location.

But, does it really work?

Traditional techniques work, and are time tested in many places as they are in Spain.
The coolness inside a thick-walled traditional village house at noon in August, and the
comfort of a traditional patio in Andalucia on a hot day are direct ways to experience
these techniques at work. Also, designing with Nature means accounting for multi-
seasonal considerations, for example, reducing heating needs with maximum sunlight
from Southern oriented windows. If these techniques have worked for generations in
these communities designed for their geographic region, then clearly modern design
could benefit from careful integration of these traditional principles. It is entirely possible
to design modern bioclimatic housing and architecture, using natural ventilation, passive
solar design, sustainable materials, and many other traditional site specific techniques.

It works at different scales.

This example also showcases the concept of biomimicry, in which nature is the mentor
for the concept of the design. Passive air cooling systems use the physical properties of
air density at different temperatures to force air through multiple smaller spaces. The
biomimicry in the case of Eastgate a midrise in Harare, Zimbabwe is the design inspired
by passive air cooling in termite mounds. http://biomimicryinstitute.org/case-
studies/case-studies/termite-inspired-air-conditioning.html.
How much does it cost?

The bioclimatic house doesn’t need the purchase and installation of complicated and
expensive systems, because it uses the regular architectural elements to increase the
energetic performance and get a natural comfort. Cost savings begin with designing to
maximize the assets of the site. Bioclimatic design imposes a set of guidelines, but
there still remains a lot of freedom to design according to individual taste. Siting of the
building, consideration of solar access, collection of rainwater, using thermal mass to
your advantage, correct fenestration and solar shading are all good examples of
techniques that can be taken into account when designing. The end product is much
more energy efficient and in tune with its surroundings and Nature.

Then why is bioclimatic architecture not well known?

Clothes hold much more meaning to us than the need for thermal protection: starting
simple, but now many original functionality features are lost to the concept of fashion.
Housing, too, means more than the need for a comfortable place to live. Like fashion it
now often represents a status symbol. As that symbol, it must adapt to the established
standards of status like convenience and leisure, and sometimes ignoring basic
functionalities like the environment (i.e. McMansions). Energy saving and taking advan-
tage of the sun may not fit into these standards. From this perspective, having an
expensive conditioning system to overheat in winter and overcool in summer every sin-
gle space in the house (even if it is seldom used) may seem necessary. The cultural
inertia of the “overdone” is hard to stop, even in the face of Climate Change and the
2008 economic bubble burst. Because right now many still think that consumption is
necessary for economic growth, and that model is still working.… and yet energy prices
continue to rise and minimum wage continues to flatline.

If consumption is necessary for promotion of economic growth, society, by default then

associates saving and conserving with discomfort and low status, and waste with easy
living and prestige. It gets the point across about people accustomed to a society of
convenience, that saving energy is associated with poverty or somehow “needing” to
conserve. What is overlooked in the quest for status however, are modern day benefits
and efficiencies that could actually elevate status and be sustainable. Instead, science
is disregarded, global warming is seen to have no real world consequence, energy
continues to be wasted, and people pay and pay without realizing there are ways to
regulate the cost and waste associated with their lifestyles. As of now, the economical
system needs people to consume as much as possible so as to keep the wheel going,
but can we still attain societal success through techniques for refinement as opposed to
expansion?

There are many challenges facing the transition from excessive consumption to a
perspective that designing to be more efficient is the new status symbol. Primarily, the
powers that be are strong and they have built a legacy they want to continue. Big com-
panies (the legacy industries) refuse to innovate, and lobby to keep the status quo. No
energy supply companies are really interested in new technologies for renewable
energy, instead it’s only the new startup companies that tackle the challenge. Necessoty
is the mother of invention. To the startup companies, how to increase their benefits at
the site is the equation for success and profit. Selling energy if you are making your own
is an easy way to calculate cost recovery. Or even not needing as much because the
house is designed for according to human use and needs at given times of the day, as
opposed to having all rooms ready for all possible uses at all possible times. Air condi-
tioning manufacturers aren’t interested in alternative systems that make their technology
less valuable: natural ventilation does not make money. Why would the powers that be
want you to get energy for free when they can charge for it?

Architects and builders often don’t look beyond the success of their business to promote
alternate techniques, and often don’t go through the hassle of introducing something
new to the consumer. With no information on the topic, the consumer cannot demand
alternative products that ultimately improve the livability of structures and reduce the
waste and expense of resources. Things that in the economic Rational Man Model
would be defined as “maximizing and promoting true self interests,” yet it it still remains
that there are few electric cars on the streets or solar panels on rooftops. Consumers
can not make informed decisions without having all of the relevant information to make
a truly rational choice.

Slowly, new programs, smart companies, eco citizens are becoming aware of the
energy waste problem, and things are babystepping forward–promoting research on the
topic and generating new legislation and standards. For example, something as simple
as good insulation in buildings to keep heat inside is a topic for legislation of increasing
importance. And in a lot of countries institutions (USGBC.org) are appearing to perform
research and spread bioclimatic knowledge among architects and builders (like CIEMAT
in Spain). Hundreds of books have been written on the topic, and hundreds of projects
related somehow to bioclimatic architecture have been implemented around the world,
and slowly it takes hold.

Basic Concepts and Techniques

Bioclimatic architecture deals exclusively with building design and materials to achieve energy
efficiency.

* Passive solar architecture.

It refers to housing design for the efficient use of solar energy. As it doesn’t use mechanical sys-
tems (thus the term passive), it is closely related to bioclimatic architecture, though the later also
deals with other non-solar climatic elements. That’s why the term bioclimatic is a little bit more
general, and inclusive, although both work in the same direction.

* Active solar architecture.

It refers to taking advantage of solar energy by the means of mechanic and/or electric systems for
heating (solar collectors) and electric conversion (photovoltaic panels). They may complement a
bioclimatic house and offset energy loads of the building’s users.

* Renewable energy.

Sources of energy that cannot be exhausted. Bioclimatic architecture incorporates solar radiation
(renewable) for heating and cooling. Other kinds of renewable energies include as wind or water
(hydro), and methane generation from organic waste (biomass).

* Sustainable architecture.

This is a very general concept aiming to a minimum environmental impact of all the processes
implied in building, from materials (manufacturing processes that don’t produce toxic waste and
don’t consume much energy), building techniques (for a minimum environmental damage),
building location/siting and its environmental impact, energy consumption and its impact, and
the recycling of materials when the building has accomplished its function and is demolished.
Bioclimatic architecture is helps reduce the energy consumption of the building is in use, and can
be enhanced when coupled with sustainability architecture techniques.

* Self-sufficient house.

Refers to a house independent from centralized supply networks (electricity, gas, water, and even
food), accomplished by use of locally available resources. Examples include, water from wells,
streams or rain, energy from the sun or the wind, electricity from the sun, food from orchards,
producing enough energy to not need the grid, etc. Bioclimatic architecture cooperates with self-
sufficiency regarding energy saving for climatization.