Story at a glance:
- Climate responsive architecture is designed with local weather patterns in mind to reduce energy needs.
- Most climate responsive buildings implement elements of passive solar design and utilize passive ventilation strategies.
- Implementing climate responsive architecture on a large scale is key to mitigating the effects of climate change.
In 2022 the built environment was responsible for producing 14.6 gigatons of carbon dioxide, making it one of the largest contributors of greenhouse gas emissions and a driving force of climate change. With severe, climate change-–induced weather events increasing in frequency each year, the need for resilient, energy-efficient architecture has never been more apparent.
In order to achieve this, some of today’s common architectural designs have to be adapted in favor of designs that reflect for the changing world of weather conditions. To reduce energy demands from heating, cooling, and powering built structures, architects must utilize passive design strategies informed by a project site’s unique environmental characteristics. In short, we must prioritize climate responsive architecture.
What is Climate Responsive Architecture?
Designed by Whitten Architects, the Binnacle Hill Residence is strategically oriented to make efficient use of natural sunlight and solar energy. Photo by Trent Bell Photography
In the fundamental sense climate responsive architecture is the architectural approach that focuses on designing energy-efficient buildings uniquely suited to the climate in which they are constructed. These buildings’ designs are informed by, and reflective of, local weather conditions.
By taking into account things like seasonality, solar pathing, natural shading, ambient humidity, and annual rainfall patterns, climate responsive buildings and infrastructure work with, rather than against, the local climate to provide occupant comfort using the least amount of energy possible. This approach is also crucial in preparing towns and cities for the increasing frequency of severe weather events linked to climate change. It was only within the last century or so that many traditional architectural practices were abandoned in favor of universal architectural designs that typically fail to take into account local climate factors—something many architects are beginning to see the pitfalls of.
“Increasingly architects and designers are realizing that building designs need to reflect the conditions of the area in which they are located,” Prasoon Shrivastava, CEO and founder of Prasoon Design Studio, previously wrote for gb&d. “For example, buildings in warm climates should utilize tinted windows to cool off the space, rather than air conditioning units.” In designing with local climatic factors in mind, architects are able to both reduce their projects’ carbon emissions and create healthier spaces for their clients, Shrivastava says.
Why is Climate Responsive Architecture Important?
The new headquarters for The David and Lucile Packard Foundation was designed to serve as a catalyst for broader organizational sustainability initiatives by achieving net zero energy use and LEED Platinum certification. Photo by Jeremy Bitterman
As our world continues to suffer the consequences of advanced climate change, we must radically rethink the way in which the built environment is designed. New construction projects should be designed to withstand extreme weather events while also contributing as little as possible to the very factors responsible for changing climate patterns—namely the burning of fossil fuels and destruction of carbon-sequestering natural resources.
Emphasizing climate responsive architecture is important because it addresses both of these concerns. As one of its core principles, climate responsive design prioritizes passive heating, cooling, and ventilation strategies—all of which reduce a building’s energy consumption and carbon emissions. Climate responsive architecture also seeks to construct buildings that are capable of surviving the natural disasters endemic to a region, as this reduces the amount of energy, money, and resources spent on repairs or rebuilding entirely.
All in all, climate responsive design is important because it ultimately helps reduce carbon emissions, limits waste production, and creates safe, long-lasting structures.
Elements of Climate Responsive Design
These key elements tie the field of climate responsive architecture together.
Site Analysis
Climate responsive design starts with a thorough site analysis—that is, a detailed examination of a proposed project site’s geographical and climatic characteristics. In conducting a site analysis, architects are able to collect data on the natural topography, average annual rainfall, high and low temperatures, humidity patterns, sunlight exposure throughout the year, and more.
In knowing how these factors impact a project site, architects can make more informed design decisions as to the building’s orientation, layout, ventilation, and heating/cooling needs while also providing insight as to the types of weather events and disasters it must be able to withstand.
Passive Solar Design & Energy Efficiency
Westcoat offers both solar reflective waterproofing and concrete coating systems. These systems help combat the urban heat island effect and cooling loads by lowering surface temperatures. Photo by Westcoat
In order to reduce a building’s electric heating and cooling loads, climate responsive architecture employs a design strategy known as passive solar design. Passive solar design seeks to use the building’s basic features—that is, windows, floors, and walls—to reflect, store, and redistribute solar heat as a means of controlling interior temperatures without the aid of mechanical systems.
By taking into account the sun’s position throughout the year, windows and sun-shades can be effectively placed so as to allow high solar heat admittance during the colder months and low solar heat during warm months.
In urban areas where shade is scarce, climate responsive architecture may make use of solar-reflective or cooling coatings—such as those offered by APV or Westcoat—on concrete and paved surfaces. When applied, these coatings help redirect sunlight (instead of absorbing it) and reduce surface temperatures, which in turn reduces energy needed for air conditioning and combats the urban heat island effect.
“We are no stranger to sustainability and energy efficiency initiatives,” Mallory Cabading, Westcoat’s architectural representative, previously told gb&d. “With the addition of the solar reflective series, we can provide a California Title 24, Cool Roof Rated waterproof deck coating solution.”
Passive solar design also prioritizes the use of high thermal mass flooring materials—such as stone, concrete, brick, or dirt—as these materials collect and store heat during the day and release it gradually throughout the night. When paired with proper insulation and ventilation, this heat can either be trapped during the winter or directed back outside during the summer.
Optimizing Natural Airflow & Ventilation
Similarly, climate responsive architecture seeks to utilize natural airflow as much as possible while still maintaining adequate ventilation, as this too helps reduce the need for electric cooling.
Generally speaking, there are two types of natural ventilation methods: wind-driven and buoyancy-driven. Predictably, wind-based ventilation—which may or may not be paired with evaporative cooling techniques—uses natural air currents to move cool air throughout a building, whereas buoyancy-driven ventilation utilizes the differences in density between warm and cool air to create an upward airstream.
Wind-driven ventilation has a long history in traditional climate responsive architectural styles, with perhaps the most well-known being the wind towers, or badgir, of Iran, which feature openings at the top that capture prevailing winds and redirect them through ducts into a building’s interior. Similar styles of towers and wind-driven ventilation systems exist in many dry, arid climates, providing plenty of design inspiration and knowledge to draw from.
Carbon Reduction & Sustainable Materials
As we’ve already touched on, climate responsive architecture aims to reduce carbon emissions by reducing the amount of energy required to heat and cool a building. In-use carbon emissions, however, only account for a portion of a building’s overall carbon footprint, as carbon is also produced to create the building materials used during construction.
“The carbon impact of commonly used building materials needs to be considered, both from initial procurement and over a building’s estimated life span of 60 years,” Kirsten Ritchie, global design resilience leader and principal at Gensler, previously wrote for gb&d.
For this reason, climate responsive architecture attempts to use natural building materials wherever possible, as these products typically have lower embodied carbon. Similarly, recycled materials are also implemented when feasible.
Green Features
Green walls and roofs containing indigenous plant life can help absorb carbon, cool buildings, and retain rainwater. Photo by greenscreen
Plants and overall biophilic design also plays an important role in climate responsive architecture. Green roofs and walls incorporating indigenous flora, for example, are a popular design element in regions with heavy rainfall, as they help absorb water that might otherwise contribute to flooding.
Green features also help dampen sound, absorb carbon dioxide, and regulate both interior and exterior temperatures, making for more energy efficient buildings.
“Nature based solutions such as planting trees, adding green roofs and walls, maintaining natural river systems, and implementing coastal-based storm surge protection like mangroves and wetlands to combat storm surges can have a significant effect on cities,” Charlene Mortale, division vice president of project management at greenscreen, previously wrote for gb&d. “At the same time these additions provide other benefits such as cooling the street level, adding pleasurable biophilic elements to our hardscapes, and making our cities livable.”
Companies like greenscreen make it easier for architects to incorporate green features into their climate responsive projects, especially those located in urban areas where natural greenery is scarce.
Disaster Resilience
As wildfires and other severe climate events become more frequent, it becomes increasingly important to design with disaster resiliency in mind. Photo by ROCKWOOL North America
The number of weather-related disasters—be it tropical storms, tornadoes, flooding, prolonged drought, wildfires, etc.—has increased by a factor of five over the last 50 years, largely due to the effects of climate change, according to a 2021 press-release issued by the World Meteorological Organization.
Fortunately disaster resiliency is something climate responsive architecture prioritizes, as a building that can withstand severe weather events and disasters while sustaining only minimal damage is a building that requires less energy and resources to repair or rebuild.
In areas prone to wildfires, for example, climate responsive buildings should be constructed from the ground up with fire-resistance in mind. This includes obvious features like fireproof or fire-retardant wall and roof materials, but also things like fire-resistant insulation. ROCKWOOL stone insulation, for example, is naturally non-combustible and capable of withstanding temperatures up to 2,150°F—qualities that help it drastically slow the spread of fires.
“Selecting stone wool insulation is an ideal solution for the challenges of building a high-performance home in a WUI [Wildland Urban Interface] zone,” Brendan Knapman, head of product management for ROCKWOOL, previously wrote for gb&d. “It makes it possible to achieve aggressive goals for energy efficiency as well as fire resilience.”
ROCKWOOL stone insulation has an R-value that falls between 3.0 – 3.3 per inch, making it more efficient than most fiberglass insulations, thereby reducing a building’s HVAC energy requirements.
Examples of Climate Responsive Architecture
While there are plenty of excellent examples of climate responsive architecture across the globe, let’s take a look at a few of the more modern examples.
Cowboy Modern Desert Eco-Retreat
Designed by Jeremy Levine, the Cowboy Modern Desert Eco-Retreat uses passive solar design and wind-driven ventilation to reduce energy needs. Photo by Lance Gerber
Designed by Jeremy Levine Design, the Cowboy Modern Desert Eco-Retreat in Pioneertown, California is an excellent example of how climate responsive architecture can be implemented in hot, dry regions.
Located deep in the Mojave desert, the retreat makes use of an open floor-plan and sliding glass doors to allow canyon winds to passively ventilate the building without the need for air conditioning. Other passive design features include the recycling of greywater for irrigation purposes.
The house itself takes the form of a simple rectangle and features a roof with a large overhang to provide ample shading while still allowing natural sunlight to filter in, eliminating the need for electric lighting during daytime hours. All wood used in the building’s construction was reclaimed from local demolition sites—and seeing as reclaimed lumber typically has a lower moisture content than freshly-cut wood, it is stronger and is less susceptible to damage caused by fluctuations in desert temperatures.
121 Seaport
121 Seaport, designed by CBT. Photo by Chuck Choi
Of course, climate responsive architecture isn’t limited to small-scale residences. It can also be realized in the form of skyscrapers and high-rises.
In Boston, 121 Seaport is a 17-story office building designed by CBT that prioritizes sustainability and resilience in the face of adverse climatic events. Recognizable by its unique elliptical design, 121 Seaport is intentionally aligned so as to passively minimize solar heat gain—thereby reducing the need for electric air conditioning—and decrease stress from high winds.
“This building orientation also aligns with the prevailing wind direction, and its aerodynamic design reduces lateral wind force, decreasing the amount of structural reinforcement needed for the building by 30% and lowering the overall construction costs of the project,” David Nagahiro, principal architect at CBT, told gb&d in a previous interview.
121 Seaport also utilizes an energy-efficient chilled-beam system to circulate water—as opposed to air—to regulate temperatures when necessary and collects/recycles rainwater, reducing the building’s water consumption by 30%.
Binnacle Hill Residence
Whitten Architects’ site-specific approach for the Binnacle Hill Residence in Kennebunkport, Maine maximizes solar exposure and forms a connection with the surrounding wooded landscape. Photo by Trent Bell Photography
Completed in 2019 and designed by Whitten Architects, the Binnacle Hill Residence in Kennebunkport, Maine is a private family residence designed with the local climate in mind.
Located in a heavily wooded area, the Binnacle Hill House makes extensive use of passive solar design strategies to reduce heating and cooling loads.
“Our site-specific design angled the house just east of south for ideal solar exposure, while the primary living space was situated toward a sunny lawn space against a wooded edge,” Jessie Carroll, associate principal and project architect at Whiten Architects, previously told gb&d.
South-facing windows were installed to allow natural daylight to illuminate the interior and an exterior soffit helps protect south-facing doors from the elements. The positioning of these features, combined with a high thermal mass polished concrete floor, promote passive solar gains during winter while limiting admittance of solar energy in summer.
Conclusion
Reducing the built environment’s production of carbon emissions is crucial to slowing (and eventually reversing) the detrimental effects of climate change. At the same time the structures we build must be capable of withstanding the increasingly frequent climate disasters we find ourselves facing—and climate responsive architecture is a convenient means of doing both at the same time.
Rather than perpetuate increasingly inefficient and ill-prepared universal architectural designs, climate responsive architecture recognizes that the local climatic and geographic characteristics of a region must be considered when designing efficient, resilient structures.
