61–70 of 87 posts
Earlier quoted context omitted.
actually - not 19, but mid 20s - https://www.dezeen.com/2021/05/15/diana-kellogg-architects-o...
I'm extremely uncomfortable by 20° C. By 21° C, that's 3-showers-a-day for me. I'm all for sustainable technology improvements, and this certainly appears to be a valuable tool for reducing AC costs, but I'm not on board with decreasing my quality of life in the process, so this isn't a replacement for AC by itself.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm extremely uncomfortable by 20° C. By 21° C, that's 3-showers-a-day for me. I'm all for sustainable technology improvements, and this certainly appears to be a valuable tool for reducing AC costs, but I'm not on board with decreasing my quality of life in the process, so this isn't a replacement for AC by itself.
are you in a really hot climate? and humid? or dry?
They also make it impossible to add air conditioning if I'm reading this right and can only really cool things down to the surrounding temperature (basically attempts to keep buildings from turning into greenhouses). Very cool but I don't see this being implemented anywhere where someone can afford AC
I wonder how this would work in someplace like Ohio that's hot in the summers but cold in the winters. Would it make the home even colder in the winter? If so, is there some variation that works both ways? I've heard of overhangs that block the sun in the summer when it's more directly overhead, but allow direct sunlight into the home in the winter when it's at more of an angle, so there are certainly some things tha…
> I've heard of overhangs that block the sun in the summer when it's more directly overhead, but allow direct sunlight into the home in the winter when it's at more of an angle, so there are certainly some things that can be done. This is the best approach to take almost anywhere that experiences hot weather, which is almost anywhere these days. It works like a cowboy hat or an rice field worker's conical hat. In add…
North-side should always be low-window, but south-side depends on levels of winter insolation. If there's a lot, then south-facing glazing, with a suitable overhang to block summer sun, and a large thermal mass right behind them, is very desirable for winter warming.
Modern Indian housing in major Indian cities has done a complete 180 from these tried-and-tested architectural practices. The materials used seem to be deliberately chosen to maximize human misery. There's glass everywhere which, besides being impossible to keep clean in India's dusty summers, also retains heat and makes most housing unbearable without AC. Then there are the designs themselves. Faux wood is everywher…
My parents recently moved to a similar building with huge glass windows (different part of the world). They ended up installing black mesh roller shades, and pretty much need to keep them down half the year, to keep out the heat. For all intents and purposes, they now dwell in darkness. That kind of architecture basically creates new problems, rather than solves them.
It's a neat technique, but there are some problems: * Permanent architectural features to reduce sunlight absorption only make sense where its consistently hot, year round. In areas with cold winters, its not grate. * Perforated walls offer very little privacy or protection from the environment, animals, or people. * Cleaning and maintenance of these perforated walls requires more intricate and costly effort * Suscep…
Was this an intentional pun or a hilarious typo?
Modern Indian housing in major Indian cities has done a complete 180 from these tried-and-tested architectural practices. The materials used seem to be deliberately chosen to maximize human misery. There's glass everywhere which, besides being impossible to keep clean in India's dusty summers, also retains heat and makes most housing unbearable without AC. Then there are the designs themselves. Faux wood is everywher…
To me this looks like the natural consequence of people not cleaning their own houses. Same thing with 3000sqft/300m^2 houses in the US for that matter.
I could get the same result living in a garden shed, but I won't, because it sucks.
Because these are from an "exotic" location apparently they are worthy of an article in a Western publication that treats them like some kind of amazing eco-friendly cultural marvel, when really all they are is just the best people could do before they had modern technology.
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20210810-the-ancient-pers...
Two great pdfs contained within "malqaf architecture" about two pages down.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
> I've heard of overhangs that block the sun in the summer when it's more directly overhead, but allow direct sunlight into the home in the winter when it's at more of an angle, so there are certainly some things that can be done. This is the best approach to take almost anywhere that experiences hot weather, which is almost anywhere these days. It works like a cowboy hat or an rice field worker's conical hat. In add…
> it's wise to minimize windows on the side of the building facing the poles, both to reduce winter heat loss, and minimize summer heat gain. North-side should always be low-window, but south-side depends on levels of winter insolation. If there's a lot, then south-facing glazing, with a suitable overhang to block summer sun, and a large thermal mass right behind them, is very desirable for winter warming.