Climate-responsive design in the tropics
Designing for Climate
(Building and Urban Design in the Tropics) PDF file.
This document
gathers together basic CRD information, climatic research, and
experience. It began as course notes for my teaching work at the PNG
University of Technology Department of Architecture in the 1980s, and
has been updated on a regular basis. Some of the material in this
document formed part of award-winning planning scheme policies at the
former Thuringowa City Council, and one element continues as a
policy on residential lot design in the 2014 planning scheme for the expanded city of Townsville.
There
was a time when I was widely regarded as the leading expert on
climate-responsive design, but the situation has changed. All new
dwellings and other buildings must now meet energy efficiency standards
that have progressively become more demanding. It is becoming more
difficult to design a building to be climate-responsive and also be
able to be sealed up so as not to render air-conditioning inefficient.
Australia
used to have cheap and reliable power generation, but the
continuing madness of climate change alarm has resulted in the
cost of electricity going higher and higher. Australia cannot run on
solar panels and wind turbines. A time is rapidly approaching when
blackouts will start to occur and could become long-lasting, so the
priorities now are defence and survival.