living building design for the tropics: Kansas it’s not
Notice the kewl trend toward “passive” homes and offices, yet also notice the virtually exclusive focus on buildings in the temperate zone.
Since 1/3 of humans live in the tropics, it bears noting that “passive” design for this climate is exactly the opposite of design for northern climes.
For one thing, “passive” in the north requires airtightness, whereas “open air” is elemental in the tropics as seen in this fabulous “Casa Tropical” design from Brazil (via archmag).
Most notably, this means tropical designs can use the wind to cool and freshen the interior air and vent the hot air.
In the north, materials must do double duty: both absorb and reflect heat, whereas the tropics demand reflective materials or designs to use the heat for other purposes (e.g. hot water).
Architect Dan Chiras is one of the few offering solid advice for tropical housing designs. Reduce both the internal heat gain (minimize lighting and heat-generating appliances) and external heat gain (maximize shade and reflective roof surfaces), as well as purge heat (optimize natural ventilation).
Of course, as Chiras and others point out, passive designs are much easier when built into a house rather than added on after construction.
Perhaps we can use these clues as we retrofit our buildings for smarter energy use here in the tropics.
IMHO, we would be smart to incorporate all these design principles as we contemplate what to do with our roofs.
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