ABSTRACT
Most of the current research on sustainable architecture is directed to improving established technologies, such as HVAC systems, while making buildings tighter and better insulated. However, as Harold Hay used to say, it is not about getting more energy but about how to store energy and keep it in place. All buildings are heated up during the day by solar radiation and cooled during the night by convection and radiant loss to the sky. Passive architecture can harness this energy through smart building design. Passive cooling systems are capable of transferring heat from a building to various natural heat sinks while passive heating systems collect and store solar energy for heating. Passive buildings use heat flow paths that do not exist in conventional buildings.
Is it still possible to develop alternative building solutions in both developed and developing countries? Appropriate architectural education and the development of sustainable and socially responsible architecture are two strategies that help to achieve this. This chapter deals with the intersection of these two in architectural education through a series of hands-on design studios and seminars that also help communities in need. The students in design studios design the projects to a conceptual level, while the students in the seminars continue developing the design, but also build and test passive and active systems that are proposed in the initial designs. Because of their simple design, passive cooling systems can be built at lower costs and using local labor and resources, generating income that stays in the community and contributes to economic and social sustainability. There is also a haptic quality about passive cooling systems because the occupant can see and feel the effect of the system as it works to harness the natural forces to provide cooling. Since passive cooling systems rely on building design and materials to control natural forces, they establish a closer connection between building occupants and nature’s rhythms.
