Conference Agenda

In the tropical environment, air conditioning has become a popular yet high-energy-consuming solution for interior cooling in urban households. With the rising trends in global warming, continued increase in air-conditioners usage has been serious environmental concerns over the past decades, calling for the need to rethink of more sustainable resolutions. While heat is alleged to be the main reason that creates discomfort, humidity also furtively plays a significant role. Sweaty and sticky feeling caused by humid environment deceive people to feel hotter than it truly is. As a matter of fact, rather than the heat itself, the discomfort triggered by humid environment could be the actual root for the high demand of air-conditioners in the tropic. This paper discussed the undesirable effects of humidity on people’s sensation and health which subsequently leads to the introduction to awareness of benefits of humidity control. The paper results in suggestions of how architectural design could take parts in controlling indoor moisture level by proposing a sustainable, energy-efficient, free-running design solutions to help people stay drier and cooler indoor. The research features materiality research and design experimentation regarding key humidity management strategies.

As the most widely applied residential building type in China, the form of residential areas composed of multi-storey residential building are strictly restricted by the sunlight standard in the design code. However, sunlight can still be inadequate in open spaces and overshadowed buildings in a compacted layout. Using a theoretical model, this paper identified the problem of sunlight and seeks to improve the sunlight performance in the type multi-storey residential building through formal modification of the building. The results showed the efficiency of the modification, which represented both in the open space and overshadowed building.

The application of studies of environmental quality of buildings and public spaces into practice and the way the planning of cities will face the climate changing challenge depends strongly on political will and governmental capacity to create appropriate management tools. While countries as Australia, the United Kingdom, and Canada adopted continuous updated performance-based Building Codes, Sao Paulo city laws have lost over the last century, almost all the prescriptive construction requirements, which influence the environmental quality of buildings, such as the orientation of facades and the minimum sun hours on the openings. In the Code in effect, parameters as the minimum size of windows or the need to provide openings facing the exterior of buildings, or even the adequate room dimensions according to use were excluded. This paper aims to be critical and to make an alert to Sao Paulo’s planners about the risk of building such a complex city not regarding the quality of constructions.