Essay: Climate Effect On Building facade

Abstract : Building facade is one of an important element of the architecture. It have a significant effect on energy conservation and the comfort of the building users. The facade is affected by the environmental conditions and it designs should take into consideration the climate of it regions this research will explain the facade treatment on different region, also the Basic methods for designing high-performance building facade it will explain two case studies that illustrate facade design methods for two different climate conditions.
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Content
1. Introduction ”””””””””””””….. 3
2. Literature Review””””””””””””’ 4
3. Research discussion and data analysis””””””””’ 5
3.1. Design criteria For Mixed Climate”””””””’.. 5
3.2. Design criteria For Hot Climates””””””””.8
4. Conclusion””””””””””’..”””11
5. References”””””””””””””’11
1. Introduction
Climate is always affect our daily life ether if it’s sunny ,cloudy ,rainy it have an Influences on our sense of comfortable when we go outside the building. When we are inside the building, the building separate use from the outer environment and. It have it own conditions depend on the technology inside the building such as , HVAC systems which allows us to change the temperature or humidity’etc . Building protects us from the Weather problems that are not favored to stay out in it. Building interior spaces conditions also depends on the exterior facade treatment For example the interior heat or lighting that comes through the glazed windows will affect the temperature of the interior.
This research will explain the influence of the climate on the building facade , what is the main factor that affect the facade of the architecture on the other hand ,the techniques of treatment the facade to provide a suitable interior environment for it users in cretin climate condition, also how can we design the facade in simple way to fit with the changing in the climate , and facade materials selection to help in adaptation the building to the climate conditions.
2. Literature Review
Across the history Human used the shelter to protect them from danger Such as wailed animals and Climatic conditions. Later on with the evolution of human the dwellings has developed after it was a cave in Mount it became a building in various forms and functions. Buildings provide the foundation for our daily activities, for example ,educational ,commercial , Health care ‘. Etc.
Climate is generally the weather conditions of a region, as temperature, air pressure, humidity, precipitation, sunshine, cloudiness, and winds, throughout the year, averaged over a series of years (n.d, The American Heritage?? New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy). Every region have it own climatic characteristics that can affect the architecture facade differently, for example In warm areas like middle east region, people avoid the glare and the heat of the sun, as demonstrated by the decreasing size of the windows. On the other hand in north Europe they use glass in Exaggeration way to allow the sun light to inter the building and heat the interior space because of the cold weather of their region (””””” 2010).
3. Research Discussion And Data Analysis
facade is generally one exterior side of a building, usually but not always, the front side of the building(n.d, 2011). The building facade acts as a skin that wraps around the building and affects the internal environment as it interacts with the external one. Building facades is not only about the aesthetic of the building, it’s also perform as the barriers that separate a building’s interior from the external environment. facades are one of the most Important contributors to the energy consumptions and the comfort norms of any building. facade designs and performance are one of the main factors for sustainable, energy-efficient, and high performance buildings. A facade should satisfy the design as well as the functional requirements .The Climate of the area plays a major role in designing the facade, different design strategies are required for different climatic zones. One of the traditional way to deal with the climate in the Middle East the use of small opining and Mashrabia or (Roshan) to cover the windows. this techniques that characterized the facade in this region were use to prevent the heat to enter the building and to Imprisonment the cool inside the building, also to filter the air from the dust associated with it (Mady, 2010).
3.1. Design Criteria For Mixed Climate
the Center for Urban Waters is a Public laboratory building, in Tacoma, Wash. A Tacoma is in a region with a mixed marine climate. Designed by Perkins+Will and got LEED Platinum award.
Figure 1 shows average daily temperatures and the solar radiation for each month.
This temperature of this climate zone allows cooling by natural ventilation, and the quite soft winters with low solar radiation .This climate conditions using a reasonable amount of glazing on the south and west orientations will not have a negative affect a building’s energy performance.
This view of the building is the west and south facade. It shows the differ??ent treatments for different building sides.
– The west facade consists of an aluminum cladded rain screen system, with integration of win??dows that some of it operable and non operable, and exterior blinds.
– The south facade consists of a curtain wall of fritted glass and external hori-zontal shading devices.
It is located in industrial waterfront on a long narrow site. The building program element located according it’s possible needs of air and natural ventilation. The waterside of the building provides a fresh cold air which is idle foe ventilation, so the designer placed offices on the waterway to provide a good ventilation. On the road and industrial side the opportunities of fresh airs is reduced so the designer placed the laboratories on this side because of it need of mechanical ventilation.
The shading strategies used based on the facade orientation. The western orientation of the building receives the greatest solar heat gain so it designed with a low window to wall ratio, vertical Shading devices used to moderate the solar heat gain and glare from low afternoon sun. the south facade consist of a curtain wall that provide clear views to the waterside, while horizontal shading devices obstruct the solar heat gain. The north facade mainly consists of solid elements and minimum amounts of glass. This design approach improves thermal resistance , limiting the heat transmit from exterior to interior environment. The rain screen on the east facade are made of horizontal corrugated metal panels faces the industrial side. It covered the upper half of the 2nd and 3rd level with small win??dows opining on the corrugated metal screens. These aluminum screens help to manage the early morning sun and reduce it poten-tial glare, on the other hand maintaining of the exterior views and maximizing natural day lighting of the interior spaces. It uses natural ventilation to decrease the building’s energy loads, also control the amount of natural ventilation through the Operable windows.
In summary the center for urban water designed consist of many sustainable elements not only in the facade but also in the roof system sewage and mechanical system , see building section on (Figure 3).These sustainable systems will rise the building performance and suitable the real-time energy use(Aksamija, 2014).
3.2. Design Criteria For Hot Climates
The University of Texas at Dallas. It’s a Student Services Building located Texas ,USA. It’s in a hot climate region. Designed by Perkins+Will and got LEED Platinum award.
Figure 4 shows annual average daily temperatures in rela??tion to thermal comfort zone and the available solar radiation.
In designing the facade of this building, the main con??cern was the hot climate conditions, because In this region the climate is usually hot and sunny at the summer session ,while the other sea??sons are relatively mild.
The longer sides of the rectangular form building is facing north and south orientations. All sides of the build??ing are covered by a curtain wall. Add to that the shading devices which supported by the curtain wall are wrapping the east, west, south, and small part of north facade. The shading system consists of horizontal terra-cotta louvers and vertical stainless steel rods (Figure5). The shading devices are distributed around the building creating an asymmetrical pat??tern over the building facades however, the terra-cotta shading element is important for reduc??ing solar heat gain in summer hot climate.
In the interior of the Building there are three internal atriums pro??vide daylight to interior spaces (Figure6).
The location of the lobby is on the east side of the building in one of the atriums, it provide natural day light and limit the gaining of the heat.
This design strategy is suitable for hot climates regions, especially when reducing solar heat gain while providing a natural daylight for the interior spaces. The arrangement of shad??ing devices along the facade and internal atriums is an ideal for providing a natural daylight. Almost all of the spaces in the Building have views to the outside. The building also contains other sustainable design strategies which improves the energy efficiency and the comforts interior spaces (Aksamija, 2014).
4. Conclusion
Design the facade is important because it’s the connection between building exterior and interior. Architect has to take in consideration the building’s location and climate to make a high performance facades and to provide a sustainable and com-fortable spaces for building occu??pants, also significantly reducing a building’s energy consumption. Strategies differentiate from each other depending on the geographical and climatic regions, so criteria that work best in hot climates are different from those in hot and humid or cold regions. Architect should know the characteristics of each climatic condition and location as well as the program and function requirements to create a sustainable facade fit to it environment.