Chapter 2 - Design Strategies
Since housing for traditional cultures around the globe typically had a fairly low environmental impact, in today’s terms, was “green”. This “greenness” of houses was born out of necessity rather than choice. Local materials were used, because of what was available at that time. Placement and construction of houses were tailored to local environmental conditions that worked with the wind, sun, and topography of the area. Thus, the thermally responsive traditional methods can be implemented into modern building techniques.
Βioclimatic design is based on analysis of the climate, including ambient energy of sun, wind, temperature and humidity. Furthermore, it utilizes passive and ambient energy sources to achieve human comfort through building design and construction, including heating, cooling and daylighting techniques. Derived from regional and local conditions and opportunities, bioclimatic analysis and design provide both a knowledge base and an inspiration for architecture and sustainable design.
The following table is the well known as “Watson and Labs matrix” (1973) and it became current in the literature of architectural design, since is a result of the bioclimatic design research.