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Towards Environmentally Responsive Architecture

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PLEA 2003 - The 20 Conference on Passive and Low Energy Architecture, Santiago – CHILE, 9 - 12 November 2003

Paper Code PL01-UK29 Page 1 of 6

Towards Environmentally-Responsive Architecture

Simos Yannas

Environment & Energy Studies Programme

Architectural Association Graduate School
36 Bedford Square, London WC1B 3ES, UK
Tel.: + 44 20 7887 4069 Fax: + 44 20 7414 0784
Email: simos@aaschool.ac.uk

ABSTRACT: The paper discusses three key issues that are of critical importance in the evolution of
an environmentally-responsive architecture, -that is an architecture aimed at achieving occupant
thermal and visual comfort with little or no recourse to non-renewable energy sources. These are:
knowledge, performance and the urban context. Two of this year’s projects serve to illustrate these
issues in an educational context.

1. INTRODUCTION relate to occupants and their activities, to the city, and

to change, as well as to the outside climate. For our
The architectural literature is abounding with teaching programme at the AA Graduate School this
recent buildings that are claimed to be products of a process starts by looking at three key issues:
strong environmental agenda. On closer inspection,
however, few of these buildings are as - the knowledge that informs design and
“environmental” as claimed. Invariably, projected decision making
energy savings are more modest, and the thermal - the environmental performance targets to be
and visual comfort improvements less consistent or achieved
widespread than assumed. So although regular - the environmental attributes of the urban
exposure in the architectural press helps spread context.
awareness of environmental issues among young
designers and students, the image that emerges is These are briefly discussed below. Acquiring and
hardly promising or inspiring. For commercial maintaining the proficiency needed to create and
buildings, this is essentially little different from “pre- sustain an environmentally-responsive architecture
environmental” models, that is a highly exposed requires motivation, dedication and a considerable
external skin, heavily engineered to counteract the amount of time. There can be conflicts with other
negative effects of excessive glazing, at least partly criteria. For some designers environmental aspects
air-conditioned and closely controlled by a building are just an additional concern; for them environmental
management system. Being more sensitive to climate design is then essentially mainly corrective rather
and site conditions, new built residential schemes than generative. These issues are briefly discussed in
may display more architectural and environmental the final section of the paper and illustrated with some
variety, but claims of environmental-responsiveness of this year’s projects.
need close scrutiny when looking at schemes across
climates and site conditions.
It could be argued that the disparity identified 2 COGNITIVE DOMAINS
above is mainly a matter of opinion, that is a reflection
of different environmental criteria and expectations Interactions between buildings and the natural or
than those that informed the design of these manmade microclimates that surround them vary
buildings. If so, where do such opinions, criteria and across space, as well as over time, generally affecting
expectations come from to inform the environmental- indoor conditions in counter-intuitive and unexpected
responsiveness and performance of buildings ? And, ways. Predicting the outcome of such interactions and
how do these change over time and as a function of modulating their effects to provide thermal and visual
building type, climate, site and local or national comfort in and around buildings are tasks that require
differences in lifestyles or building construction ? specialist knowledge and tools.
One of the lessons of PLEA, now into its twentieth Such knowledge and tools derive from three main
international conference, is that our field is ever sources. First, a good theoretical grounding is
changing. An environmentally-responsive architecture essential to provide designers with the ability to
is not a fixed ideal, but an evolving concept that must conceive ways in which building physics can translate
be redefined and reassessed with each new project. into architecture. We acquire this type of knowledge
The notion of environmental responsiveness should by following specialist studies during or after an
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PLEA 2003 - The 20 Conference on Passive and Low Energy Architecture, Santiago – CHILE, 9 - 12 November 2003

Paper Code PL01-UK29 Page 2 of 6

architectural or engineering degree course. Second, low-energy residential buildings of the last twenty
empirical knowledge is needed that can tell us how years as a function of the buildings’ total heat loss
different techniques have worked in practice, and the coefficient [1].
extent to which their performance has satisfied the 100
environmental design criteria set at the design stage.

ANNUAL SPACE HEATING ENERGY in kWh per m floor

We acquire this type of knowledge from fieldwork, 90
with direct observations and measurements, and by

2
80
interviewing occupants after the buildings are
completed. Third, we need analytic tools and 70

simulation techniques to use at different stages of 60

design to make performance predictions on which to
50
compare and fine-tune designs thus helping to test
hypotheses derived from theoretical knowledge, as 40
well as to draw generalised conclusions from limited
30
measurements and observations. For successful
results we need proficiency in all three of these 20
cognitive domains. At present few architects and
10
students of architecture have specific knowledge in
any of these three cognitive domains. It should be 0
possible to introduce all three into the architectural 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0
curriculum without marginalizing them in the form of HEAT LOSS COEFFICIENT W/K per m 2 dwelling floor area
technical or auxiliary studies. However, there are also
important questions concerning the current state of Figure 1: Normalised annual space heating energy
available environmental design knowledge and tools. use of 1980’s UK low energy houses (after [1])
Essentially, both are at their weakest, least accessible
and most complex in the areas of highest design In the mid-1980’s a building heat loss coefficient in
uncertainty where most help would be needed by the region of 1.0 W/K per m2 dwelling floor area
students and designers. For example, the represented a level of thermal insulation that was
characterisation of urban microclimates, the study of termed “superinsulated” and was considered to be
airflow in and around buildings, and the design experimental for the UK construction industry. Today
implications of interactions between lighting and this should be achievable by any new built scheme
thermal processes. Given the propensity of architects that considers itself “low energy”. In conjunction with
and students of architecture to invite complexity from good solar access and judicious distribution,
the earliest stages, it is invariably disappointing when orientation and specification of window frames and
the tools available are unable to handle such glazing this would bring the line on the graph closer to
complexity, or when the right tools are themselves too making the installation of a conventional heating
complex to use or unavailable to designers. system redundant. In Northern Europe the high levels
Theoretical and empirical knowledge and analytic of internal heat gains that have been common to
tools must continue to develop closer to design. office buildings could have displaced conventional
heating for that building type. Moreover, the sensitivity
of office work to solar gains should have resulted in
3 PERFORMANCE more attention to orientation, lower levels of glazing
and better solar protection thus improving daylighting,
What should we expect from an environmentally- preventing overheating and avoiding the need for air
responsive architecture ? What kind of environmental conditioning. These, together with clearer notions of
conditions should it attain, what margins of variation what would constitute acceptable ranges of thermal
should it encompass to accommodate variations and visual comfort for occupants should be the
across spaces, over time and between different performance targets for this building type, though not
occupants and activities ? What materials and yet commonly achieved. Other building types and
construction techniques should be chosen ? How other climatic regions will require different strategies.
much non-renewable energy use should be targeted Consideration of performance also leads to
for construction, operation, reuse or recycling of a questions on how any given performance is to be
building ? Should we aim to displace all conventional achieved. Will it be a matter of prosthetic technology,
HVAC equipment ? How should environmental that is the addition of a further layer of skin over or
performance relate to building form and function ? under another ? Is it the product of the use of new
These are critical questions that we have to go on materials, such as high-tech glazing systems, or
asking. Most of the answers will change each time we recycled and recyclable ones ? Are there special
ask the questions. For new buildings a trend towards merits in biomimetic applications derived from natural
zero use of non-renewable energy seems to have and biological processes ?
begun in some Northern European countries. For
these cooler climates this was fostered by successive
improvements in the levels of thermal insulation 4 THE URBAN ENVIRONMENT
applied to the building envelope. For the UK such
trend can be observed in Fig. 1 that shows the It is well known that urbanisation changes the
normalised annual space heating energy demand of climate of a place. This change initiates a feedback
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PLEA 2003 - The 20 Conference on Passive and Low Energy Architecture, Santiago – CHILE, 9 - 12 November 2003

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loop that affects inhabitants’ choices, way of life and to illustrate the programme’s current approach and
use of energy resources. For example, the heat island some of the issues faced in the process.
that follows high density urban development
accelerates the take-up of air-conditioning equipment 5.1 Form and Performance
which in turn steps up demand for electricity, as well This year’s first project highlighted the
as contributing to further warming-up of the city relationship between form and performance and
environment [2]. There are further issues arising from provided opportunities for using a variety of tools and
the urban climate change that should have a bearing techniques to develop building-like forms with specific
on urban design. One such issue is that the urban environmental design attributes. The project started
tissue accommodates distinct microclimatic niches of with the analysis of some well known recent buildings.
unknown characteristics and variability. On any given Critical information derived from these studies was
urban site, air and radiant temperatures, relative used as input for the investigation of new forms using
humidity and air movement may vary both exploratory modelling techniques, Fig.2. The forms
considerably and unpredictably in relation to data created by this process were tested and modified to
available from nearby weather stations. On the other achieve desirable environmental design attributes.
hand, the coexistence in close proximity of different Following a stage using physical models and testing
microclimates suggests that a process of ecological based on measurements, heliodon and wind tunnel,
regeneration can be initiated in the form of local work continued with digital modelling so that the
interventions [3]. environmental simulation tools introduced by the
taught programme could be applied to assess the
relationship between form and performance. As
5 TEACHING PROGRAMME AND PROJECTS students’ knowledge and use of tools improved the
project’s brief was directed on the design of a new
The one-year Master of Art (MA) programme in built structure for a village school outside Accra,
Environment & Energy Studies at the Architectural Ghana, Fig. 3. Designs for the school structure were
Association Graduate School looks at these issues developed over the last few weeks of the first
through its taught programme of lectures, seminars trimester of the academic year. In early February
and practical workshops, and through projects that 2003 design proposals were merged and in the
combine design research with environmental course of a ten-day study trip a structure was erected
analysis. Two of this year’s design projects will serve by student teams at Pankese village, Ghana, Fig. 4.

Figure 2: Models produced and testing of forms developed for tropical climate on wind tunnel and digital heliodon
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PLEA 2003 - The 20 Conference on Passive and Low Energy Architecture, Santiago – CHILE, 9 - 12 November 2003

Paper Code PL01-UK29 Page 4 of 6

Figure 3: One of the designs developed for the village school at Pankese, Ghana

Research on the structure’s roof finishing to provide shaped current trends in housing demand in London.
solar control without inhibiting air movement forms The brief also called for research on the relationship
part of an ongoing dissertation project. between home and work, and on consideration of
processes and techniques for responding to future
5.2 In the City: Goodsyard, Bishopsgate , London change and upgrading. The site’s elongated form and
The brief of this year’s second project was aimed its elevation above street level over a network of
at mixed-use development combining residential units Victorian brick arches offer excellent conditions of
with workspaces and shops. The site, Goodsyard, in access to sun and wind. London (latitude 51o28’N)
London’s Bishopsgate area is a redundant 19th has a temperate climate with a mean annual air
century railway interchange adjacent to the city’s temperature of 10.6oC and annual average of 4.18
financial centre. The project’s building programmes sunshine hours per day. Monthly values vary between
and spatial organisation of uses were to be developed means of 4.2oC and 1.54 sunshine hours in January
by student teams from studies of the changes in to 17.5oC and 6.34 hours respectively in July [4]. New
family structure and household composition that have buildings on site were expected to be self-sustaining

Figure 4: Students on fieldwork at Pankese village, Ghana and views of structure erected for the village school
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PLEA 2003 - The 20 Conference on Passive and Low Energy Architecture, Santiago – CHILE, 9 - 12 November 2003

Paper Code PL01-UK29 Page 5 of 6

in energy and to contribute to the urban microclimate rainwater collection. The roof of the organic form
by making use of local resources. resulting from this study is then developed as a green
Design research and environmental analysis landscape. Figure 7 illustrates the generative
procedures for the project consisted of the following concepts of another scheme that was inspired by
steps: extrusion and transformation of the forms of the 19th
century brick arches resulting in a series of linear
1 Development of building programme building forms facing into transitional spaces and
2 Setting of environmental design targets landscaped segments. Figure 8 shows a scheme for
3 Climate and site analysis which the zoning of uses by orientation (residential to
4 Reference thermal studies south, offices to north) became the generative
5 Review of options for building form concept for the building form and environmental
6 Research, design and representation of proposals design strategy.
7 Testing and revisions.
5.3 Educational issues
Steps 6 and 7 were to be repeated as needed to Given the single calendar year span of the MA
refine solutions. Figures 5-8 highlight some of the key programme the amount of time available to each of
concepts from four out of a of twelve schemes the projects described above is limited to about 10-12
produced for this project by the MA students. Figure 5 weeks each. The projects take place in parallel to an
shows proposals for the narrowest section of the site. intensive programme of lectures and seminars which
The building form is oriented and shaped to provide restricts further the time available to students for in
daylighting and solar control as a function of depth study. Working in teams can balance time with
orientation and space functions with variable manpower and complementarity of skills within a
responses built into the southern elevation. Figure 6 team can provide further advantages. Irrespective of
shows a proposal for the wider section of the site with duration, the scheduling of projects in parallel to the
a building form that is shaped by voids defined in formal programme of lectures and workshops helps
response to solar access, air movement and

Figure 5: Single, long building form for narrowest

segment of site with building section design reflecting
space functions and orientation.
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PLEA 2003 - The 20 Conference on Passive and Low Energy Architecture, Santiago – CHILE, 9 - 12 November 2003

Paper Code PL01-UK29 Page 6 of 6

Figure 6: Heliodon studies to help shape the “sun voids” and resulting plans overlaid.

Figure 7: Generative concept for Goodsyard site

students assimilate and apply the knowledge and
tools provided by the course. Jointly they provide the REFERENCES
basic training on which is built the more in-depth
research that characterises the work for the
dissertation projects which occupy the second half of [1] Yannas, S. (1994). Solar Energy and Housing
the one-year MA Programme. Design. Volume 1. AA Publications, London.
2
The linear correlation (R =0.932) was derived
from measured and calculated data for sixteen
monitored schemes that were occupied since the
mid-1980’s. The annual space heating energy is
estimated on the same basis so that differences
are due to building design parameters only.
[2] see for example Proceedings of the PLEA 1998
and 2000 Conferences, James & James
(Science Publishers) Ltd., London.
[3] Yannas, S. (1998). Living with the City: urban
design and environmental sustainability. In Proc.
of PLEA 98 “Environmentally Friendly Cities”.
James & James (Science Publishers) Ltd.
[4] Page, J.K. and R. Lebens (Eds 1986). Climate in
the UK. HMSO.
Figure 8: Section folds zoning residential to south
and office to north ACKNOWLEDGMENT

CONCLUSION Models and drawings illustrated in Figs. 2-8

produced by Santiago Aguerrebere, Paolo Cascone,
An environmentally-responsive architecture is not a Angeliki Chatzidimitriou, Annie Cheung, James
fixed ideal, but an evolving concept to be redefined Erickson, Robert Fryer, Werner Gaiser, Anthony
with project. Education should take a driving role in Gavalas, Alexander Herrera-Rojas, Ren Ito,
this evolution. We need to move beyond the technical Hrishikesh Kulkarni, Autumn Peterson, Cheryl Pilliner-
fixes perpetrated by current practice and start Reeves, Anuradha Sabherwal, students in the 2002-
extending the architectural vocabulary towards 03 MA programme. The structure erected at Pankese
expressing the temporality of natural and operational village, Ghana was built in collaboration with the AA
cycles in more diverse and creative ways. School’s Intermediate Unit 4 led by Mark Hemel.

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