Climate Sensitive Design

Abstract

Climate-sensitive design is the approach to architectural design which is routed in the understanding of specific climate conditions and its impacts on building design. Primarily it is related to issues of achieving human comfort in buildings through building design that is aligned with local climate conditions. It is similar to terms climate responsive design, bio-climatic design, or design with climate, last referring to the seminal book of Victor Olgyay (1963, Princeton University Press). This design approach today is considered a basis for energy-efficient, green or sustainable design. It is also deeply connected to studies of vernacular architecture as part of the built heritage, since vernacular architecture is always climate sensitive and offers lessons for contemporary reinterpretation. It may appear strange to even highlight the importance of education on climate-sensitive design, since it should be the basis for any design, but too many decades of uniform design solutions across different climates gave poor results in terms of energy efficiency and quality of buildings, so it is necessary to emphasize the importance of these issues.