There are many ways on achieving climate responsive architecture,

one of which is through tropical designing.

Climate responsive architecture and tropical design are two
architectural aspects that share a common goal; it is all about conforming
to the environment as to where the building or structure would be built, to
bring comfort to the surrounding buildings and more importantly to its
users. Temperature, solar angles, wind, humidity level, precipitation
amongst other are considered and examined, to be able to fully maximize
the sites potentials.
Performing a site analysis and site inspection or investigation could
help in determining the appropriate solutions for the building-site
relationship. Building site lay outing, building orientation, building
openings study, building envelope, building footprint, building natural
ventilation, walking around the site, observing surrounding buildings ad
going back to the site at different time of the day are some of the
effective ways on how to attack the possible design solutions.
Tropical design is much more applicable to places having only wet
and dry seasons. These places experiences hot and humid weather which
causes rainfalls that could actually occur anytime within the day.
Designing for tropic countries should be addressing both wet and dry
seasons conflictions without compromising the other. In places such as
tropic countries, heavy buildings are only comfortable during dry season,
but during rainy season mold are growing and building are most likely to
be affected by material rusts and decay in comparison with other
countries.
Philippines being one of the said tropic countries have several
considerations as to how a building should be constructed; one of those is
the movement of the air. The building should be positioned where the
wind from the cool side would be well caught. This could help the building
become responsive to unintentional circumstances such as power
shortages etc. that could affect the air circulation within the building.
Interior division placement also affects the buildings air movement. As
much as possible, rooms should have at least two opening and doesnt
block the air movement to achieve maximum cross ventilation. With the
catching of breeze in mind, the building should also address the sun rays.
The long side of the building could be oriented at the north and south side
allowing the building to avoid the harsh sun rays of the east and west
side. The use of high ceiling design could also answer the interior
temperature of the room. Another is the window designing and placement;
Windows should catch the breeze present and can still be left open during
rainfall. Also putting windows or exhaust on high levels could help in
drawing out hot air and drawing in cool air. Adjustable louvres could be
used in order to manipulate the air movement and lighting within the
building. Roof overhangs also provide sun and rain protection for the
building.

Materials being used also affect the buildings performance.

Lightweight and low heat-storing materials are the main goal of every
materials used in the tropical countries . Using lightweight materials for
cover ups such as walls and roof helps the building achieve a much lesser
heat attraction and storage. The use of materials with light colors
provides a much cooler feeling.
Plantations also help the building achieve much more comfortable
spaces. Tall trees could provide shading. The plants could also be used in
order to speed up the breeze by funneling breezes with building plants. It
also helps cool the air passing through it. Plants could also help make the
building look light which affects the users logical comfort.
Designing buildings that are climate responsive is one major
architectural consideration that should be treated or planned critically in
order to fully use the available and free treatments the building could
have from the site. This would not only give comfort to the users, it will
also give character to the building. Hitting two birds with one stone,
considering climate responsive planning and tropical designing brings
comfort for the user and shows care for the environment.

References:
Deepu, D. 2013. Climate responsive architecture. Retrived from:
http://www.slideshare.net/deepthithangaraj/climate-responsive-architecture

Evans, M. 2016. 10 Steps to climate responsive building design. Retrieved from:

http://sustainability.about.com/od/GreenBuilding/a/10-Steps-To-Climate-Responsive-BuildingDesign.htm
De Jesus, A.2011. Green architrends. Philippine daily inquirer-tropical architecture
Design490. 2014. Tropical climate-building design considerations. Retrived from:
http://design490.org/tropical-climate-building-design-considerations/

CLIMATE RESPONSIVE ARCHITECTURE THROUGH TROPICAL

DESIGN

Garcia, Pauline Gaile D.

5AR9
Tropical Design
02.06.16