Sustainable spatial development under the conditions of dry, humid and mixed climate on the examples of some tropical countries

Abstract

The towns in the tropical climate zone are characterized by their bioclimatic factors, which are repeated around the world in the function of geographical features and climate dependent differences among the large regional areas. In these regions, the space in its synthetic form, through it’s vastness, warmth, sandstorms and the shortage of drinking water, at present represents a unique determinant dictating the structure and shape of these settlements, architecture of buildings, the shaping of open spaces, and consequently people’s behaviour. Certain spatial occurrences can unwillingly provoke some changes which can establish new systems of physical relationships. Hence, climate has to be taken into account before the conceptualization of a project as a whole, as well as in its elements. The example of Calcutta, which is in a warm humid zone, shows the sustainable development characteristics. However, there are examples which do not comply with the requirements of climate, such as the case of Islamabad. Having this problem in mind, the authors of a project are faced with the question: how to start with regard to climate? The transformation of the climatic data into the specifications for buildings is relatively easy if the weather is invariably dry or wet. However, a large number of settlements have a mixed climate requiring an adequate approach. An irresponsible designer makes his decisions on the basis of his intuition and thus transfers the risk to the client. In order to eliminate these difficulties Carl Mahoney has developed a simple set of tables for showing climate information. In that context, the steps needed for completion of these tables are shown. Geoffrey Bawa shows a good example of the adaptation of architecture to the bioclimatic conditions. Finally, the concrete benefit of these analyses is shown on the examples such as: 1- Layout of buildings for warm and humid climate and 2 - Layout of buildings for warm and dry climate.