Modern Architecture A Continous Deviance From Nature.

A few years ago Professor Harold Clark of Columbia University completed an environment study which included visits to over 40 countries. Upon his return he told university students that he found hardly one instance of a private dwelling designed to suit its environmental climate. He deplored the fact that practically all modern dwellings throughout the world are patterned after the box-like European houses which fit the cold European climate. If Professor Clark could have conducted his environment study a few centuries ago, however, I am sure that his concluding observations would have been more favorable. For the indigenous and often primitive architectural forms of that time had become adjusted to local climate through a long process of trial and error.


Architecture these days ignores environment. Witness the growth of the world's cities, which violate natural principles of summer cooling. Contrast the cool, shady meadow found in nature with the exposed acres of urban pavement, concrete buildings, and reflecting roof-tops. Compatibility of the building to its environment is currently neglected as modern designers devote a disproportionate amount of attention to appearance and fashion — which, of course, boost the sale value of the package.

Traditional Japanese A-frame house

Not too long ago, building practices were almost entirely a cultural process, based on tradition. Building styles were developed over time to suit the local climate and building techniques made use of available, often local, building materials. Since World War II many countries have established and set standards of construction for safety. Weather - related events such as extreme cold, extreme heat, extreme wind, heavy snow conditions effect the efficiency, running costs of buildings and their failures. So there is good reason for using climate services to define building standards and performance.
 
Building construction since the 20th century has being characterized by widespread adoption of concrete, metals and glass as basic materials. Reinforced concrete provided strength and glass permitted light to enter without the nuisance of wind, dust and insects, etc. Such construction methods are common from the tropics to the near-polar regions. The thermal limitations of these materials have largely been countered by the use of artificial air conditioning – cooling in the hotter lands and heating where it is colder. On the downside, cement manufacture and air conditioning are both major contributors to the build-up of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere, and hence to global warming. The building industry and its design and construction methods offer significant potential for reduction in the future contribution to greenhouse gas emissions. Research is being carried out in many parts of the world to identify building designs that are more energy efficient. In many instances, architects are reverting to indigenous designs that had been discarded in favour of imported mass-production building methods. All these require the past and the projected climate characteristics.

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