During the early design phases we looked at local organisms and vernacular, the search widened to hot dry climate adaptations, then still further to any climate where it is a survival issue to be bale to influence heat gain or loss.

Below is a draft list summarising some of the findings:

STRATEGY

BIO

TECH

MRITTIKALAYA

The following is a list of adaptations to extreme heat.

An attempt has been made to asses if each is Passive, Dynamic/ Auto-dynamic orBehavoiral.

Also the main heat transfer mechanisms involved are highlighted.

Some natural and man-made examples are given, but its not exhaustive or particularly scientific - it is also frequently stating the obvious! Any suggestions/ additions/ comments are as usual most welcome.

RADIATION

This is of course solar radiation - mostly relating to heat gain from direct beam solar irradiance.

*Shading by massed small structures that also permit ventilation/ (gas exchange and/or evaporative cooling) through these structures (P/AD)

In nature this is found in leaves, hairs, feathers, twigs, thorns, spines. There may often be a conductive/ convective benefit as the massed structures create an insulating boundary layer of realitively slow moving air. The structures may in themselves be specialised insulating e.g. feathers, or radiating (circulation/ albedo) structures.

Often more is found on top of the organism as the sun tends to be high when hottest e.g. hackles on the back, head tufts etc.

Sometimes these structures are 'deployable' or adaptive in various timescales e.g. phototropism (short term) or growing/ shedding in response to seasonal changes in climate.

This deployment can work in reverse - e.g. the daisy which closes at night partly to prevent night-time radiative cooling.

In man-made structures most of this type of shading is for windows and other light admitting apertures. The closest analogues to the massed units approach would be (deployable) venetian blinds, louvers and also other fixed perforated screens such as Indian jali, or middle eastern Mashrabiya. Other materials used in construction have this effect such as thatched roofs or where nature is co-opted with plants climbing on the building envelope. Or where buildings are constructed under the shade of trees. There are also examples of augmented shade combined with evapourative cooling - where matting is wetted like in a desert cooler (e.g. Khus screens).

In Mrittikalaya thatch was not used as water harvest from the envelope was desired, plus there is a significant termite problem. However all windows have multiple deployable and/or perforated shading options including wetted Khus for evaporative cooling.

More interesting however was the deployable/ autodynamic response suggested by the daisy as found in the 'Daisy roof'. There are also a range of deployable living 'Bamboo parasols' which shade during the day and may be gathered (automatically) at night to increase night radiative cooling. More on this later.

*Shading by large structures (P/AD).

Fan leaves. In this case ventilation occurs under and around the structure rather than through it. Stoma are found mainly on the undersides of plant leaves for evapotranspiration. Older larger leaves, often half dead/ dried-out and corky, shade younger leaves below. To some extent these structures deploy on a seasonal or developmental timescale to optimise their effect.

Many parallels in man-made structures:

Fixed (P) - Solid roofs. Jharoukha. Shading elements built into walls as high level projections. Massed buildings that shade each other.

Deployable (D) - hats, tents, umbrellas, roller blinds, Indian chiks, curtains, shutters, awnings etc.

Design improvements are hypothesised that increase the range over which deployment proves effective and have multi-functionality - potentially playing a greater role in the way that air pressure differences are adjusted for ventilation. This is explored in the 'Wing-sails' of Mrittikalaya.

Radiation/ conduction/ convection/ evaporation

*Heat dissipative structures (mainly radiation and convection) with large surface areas and circulation systems to bring heat (or coolth) - usually with blood as heat transfer medium - away from the core (P/AD).

In nature found as skin or specialised ears. These may also sweat for evaporative cooling and/or be actively flapped (e.g. elephant) to increase airflow.

IN man made structures this mechanism is very useful for heating and cooling - found in various types of radiators for collecting or shedding heat. IN terms of passive house design - solar collectors that absorb solar radiation for heating water are very common. Also night radiative cooling can be very effective especially on clear nights.

Heat pumps.

In Mrittikalaya this a major element in the cooling strategy. Most of the roof is devoted to night radiative cooling (insulated during the day 'Daisy roof'). The 'Wing walls', 'Bamboo parasols' and other deployable shading elements are retracted at night when necessary to help cool the enelope and surrounding surfaces.

P

Radiation/

convection

*Self-shading from surface morphology (P/AD).

In nature this is found in cactus ribs or hypothesised - termite mounds.

The theory is that the greater part of the cactus exposed to direct beam solar radiation is shaded by its ribs - and the hottest parts are the tips of the ribs, furthest from the core. Heat is being lost by radiation at a greater rate than it is being gained. The increased surface area means that heat is gained and lost more quickly by conduction with the air - and the organism's tempertaure will therefore track air tempertaure more closely compared to one with a smaller surface area to volume ratio - however damage to the organism is unlikely to come from air tempertaure. A similar self-shading mechanism operates with massed leaves of desert plants.

There is a possible convection benefit – areas of varying tempertaure may create convection currents which could be important.

To some extent this is an auto-dynamic effect - the cactus responds to heat (and more importantly water) by shrinking or expanding - the ribs facilitating a bellows-like effect. THis means that the fissures deepen as water becomes less available - a positive feedback loop.

Buildings with deeply textured/ ribbed structures are rare, but many examples exist, although non-thermal reasons are often cited for the form. It is suggested that this would be a useful area for further research and I have personally spoken to various tribal elders (Mousgoum, WItchita, various THar Deseert Tribes) about this. The Telek/ Mousgoum mud dwellings have a famous deeply textured surface that has the primary functions of reducing cracking, reducing errosion from rainfall, and providing footholds for climbing/ repairing the building. However there may be benefit to heat gain which could act as an unconscious design driver supporting continuance of this craft form. Many other examples - particularly in vernacular architecture where mud, cob, adobe or other plastic materials are used in construction surface texturing is common. In Rajasthan for example, where again the function is not explicitly heat related -rather its about decoration and cracking.

Witchita grass huts have vertical bundles of grasses that create a deep fissured rib-like surface form - but the origin of this is as an artefact of the construction process.

Perhaps the Brise Soleil or ‘sun breakers’ of Corbusier would be an example from modern architecture.

In Mrittikalaya, a large portion of the exposed envelope is deeply fissured with ribs like the barrel cactus. These ribs get deeper to the East and West as suggested by a basic analysis of solar geometry. There are also horizontal projections over the windows which tend to be taller and thinner in the East and West, shorter/ wider in the South. Further, exposed surface renders are textured at a smaller scale - more like the vernacular, partly for similar benefits, but also for shading and possible convective benefits.

This is an important area for further research and a whole range of structures can be imagined with very specific functions. Nature doesn't optimise of course - it simply does enough to survive long enough to reproduce. Fixed forms could be designed to shade at particular times of the day / year whilst allowing penetration of direct (at very particuar times as necessary) or diffuse light whilst encouraging convective benefits, adjusting air pressures for cross ventilation or creating boundary layers for insulation, plus funneling rain, trapping dust etc. whatever...

Further, if we consider these structures to be variously deployable/ tuneable some very interesting possibilities emerge.

Stoma

Peyote

P(AD)

Radiation Orientation / incidence / reflection-

*Orientation.

More or less vertically oriented leaves such as commonly found in various desert plants – Yucca, Agave etc can reduce heat gain from direct beam solar irradiance as the high sun strikes mostly their edge, which is often corky as in e.g. prickly pear cactus. At other times the steep angles mean that the sun is projected over a larger area and thus decreased power. In this situation rfelectance may be significant - and with certain leaf coverings - waxy finishes for example - the critical angle of incidence may be important.

There are also whole plants that lean towards the sun e.g. certain barrel cacti. This can be extreme and in certain circumstances can result in the plant falling over. The repsonse may be dynamic and related to turgidity - this is where water loss (rather than heat gain) shows as the (usual) more important driver of form.

N-S/ E-W orientation of vertical structures, depending on function, are also common in nature e.g. compass termite mounds. Warm up in the morning, present minimal surface are at mid-day (reducing heat gain), then allow for evening warming (to preper for the comming night?)

Buildings are frequently oriented with regard to solar geometry - over heating/ passive heating and daylighting are significant drivers of form. Much of this is unconscious - embedded into craft traditions and cultural practices. In the northern hemisphere, and particularly as you approach the equator - shading a south facing facade is easier than a west- or east-facing one as the shading elements can be relatively small. The hottest part of the day is mid afternoon where the sun is in the West and may be low, therefore shading elements might have to be very large if views are not to excluded. It is usually easier to avoid west-facing apertures or arrange for shading that can compltetely cover openings in summer afternoons.

Frequently buildings in hot countries overhang on the 1st, 2nd floors etc.

Radiation

*Gross form - domed/ globe & barrel forms

As in for example the barrel cactus - this is simply about surface area exposed to the sun. The cactus needs to store lots of water so needs some bulk - it also needs to breathe and photosynthesise - so needs some surface area. The dome or barrel seems to meets these objectives.

Common of course in vernacular architecture, partly because it is structurally sound, and provides good volume for minimal materials.

Radiation/ conduction/ evaporation

*High albedo/ relective underbelly - often with long/tall skinny legs.

Hypothesised to keep the body away from the hot ground, reduce radiative heat gain (albedo) whilst simultaneously shading and allowing ventilation to the underside.

Quite frequently found - e.g. antelope whose underbelly is lighter than the rest of the hide, for obvious camoflage benefits. There is also a possible reduction in heat gain from the earth due to reflected light.

Stilted buildings are common especially in hot humid conditions, to promote air flow - air speed increases with height - as little as one meter height will move out of the boundary layer. Treehouses.

The shaded but ventilated ground below these buildings will probably be cooler than surrounding areas.

Radiation/ Conduction

*Transparent Insulation (P/AD)

As found in the Window Plant which lives mainly underground - and recieves light through a clear gel. This may help reduce heat gain partly because the earth is buffereing temperature swings. For the plant to continue functioning it still needs to photosynthesise so the chloroplasts need to be underground too. They are found around the insides of a cone-like structure filled with gel. The gel probably simply stops the funnel filling with dust - but there may be some insulative benefit too. It seems unlikely that air temperature would damage a plant - proteins only start to denature at 60degC or so. But perhaps the gel allows the plant to control heat gain from radiation (and possible UV damage) by altering (perhaps dynamically) transmission, absorption and reflectance, (perhaps selective wavelengths) and thus controlling radiative heat gain/loss whilst still allowing photosynthesis.

Transparent Insulation Materials of various kinds are common in architecture. Buildings (and people) differ from plants in that they can seek or create shade (people don't photosynthesise - air temperature is more likely to be the major concern rather than radiation driven surface temperatures. So although the window plant may not really be transparent insulation as such - it could suggest usefull strategies - gels and liquids as useful components of window systems. Further research could be fruitful - (how) do/ can plants actively/ selectively control radiative exchange? This may suggest improvements to coated glass.

I am particularly interested to further research how a simple thing like colour may influence radiative heat exchange. Is it possible that certain colours allow greater heat loss (long wave radiation) than gain (especially in shaded areas) by diffuse or scattered short wave radiation?

Peyote

*Tanning (AD)

Many examples where pigmentation changes to prevent damage from UV. This is not specifically about, but could relate to, heat gain. Indeed it seems a contradiction in that darker skin means more heat gain from radiation. Probably UV is more of a threat than temperature.

Human technological analogues mights include photo/ electro-chromic glass e.g. 'Reactolites' and other smart phase change materials.

In Mrittikalaya most exposed surfaces will be white unless heat gain is required (Suck Tower and Solar Water Heaters). In addition a proposed device ('Eco-orifice') would essentially change the colour of the walls by rotating modular units (more below).

*Reflective Surfaces (P/AD)

In nature reflective surfaces are found in manty desert plants e.g. Wet Leaf, Creosote Bush - probably reducing radiative heat gain. The reflective quality is often produced by various oily/ waxy secretions, but also suface morphology. This may be partly about controlling water loss. In animals, oils and sweat may have this effect too.

Reflective coatings are common on glass for obvious reasons. Also found as a decorative layer on some buildings e.g. use of ceramic tiled faïence, with possible benefits.

IN Mrittikalaya some surfaces may be waxed and polished but for this primarily heavy building night radiative cooling is important and of course reflectance effects radiative heat gain and loss equally. Albedo will be more important in this regard (white absorbs less than black but radiates at the same rate). Again the 'Eco-orifice' can adjust this so that during the day the building is reflective but at night not.

*Albedo (P/B)

Many hot climate organisms are light in colour - high albedo - which reduces absorbtance.

Common in hot climate buildings and clothing too, and the bulk of Mrittikalaya will be whitewashed with several coats of limewash - cheap and easy.

Self-cleaning finishes.

*Other Coatings (P/AD)

As previously mentioned - there may be various other ways that organisms control radiative exchange through the material properties of their surface layers, secretions or coatings.

*Mud Pack (B)

Many wallowing animals e.g. buffalo - get additional benefit for long after they leave the mud hollow. As the mud dries there is evaporative cooling and the dried mud often has a high albedo and serves as an insulative layer?

*Active shading/ tracking (AD)

In plants this is (negative) photropism – tracking, bending, folding, rolling. Leguminosae (shading) Sunflower, Daisy, (helitropism) Woodsorrel (folds at night to prevet heat loss)

In buildings this might be analogous to louvers, screens, sun shields and canopies. (B) Active mechanical aperture systems e.g. Institute du Monde Arabe. Also deployable shading including automatic such as ‘Solarfin’ www.coltgroup.com

See discussion re deployable/dynamic/responsive

*Diurnal/ Seasonal changes to form (AD/B)

Very common and widely used E.g. in India seasonal changes in verandah living, 'chics' rolled down in summer and put away in monsoon/ winter

*Seek shade (AD/B)

Possibly the most common hot climate behavoir found in many animals.

Many examples. E.g. towns that grow out of the shaow of a hill or fort, self shading from neighbours.

CONVECTION/ CONDUCTION

Zebra Skin Effect?

Heat Exchange

Conduction/ convection

Trapping air (corky cells, hair, fat, fur, down, fluff, feathers, quills, pleats) Hooves/ feet pads.

Clothing of envelope/ epidermis, e.g. Thatch or insulative renders

Cavities/ Insulated Cavities

Structural insulation panels

High U and SHC

C.f. other facades Various insulated/ vented wall structures/ double wall.

Encouraging plants to climb buildings (additional evap. cooling benefit)

Differential placement

P

Convection/ conduction

Termites mound - air as heat transport medium

Earth pipe cooling. Atria, Chimneys, Windscoops

B

Convection/ conduction/ evaporation

water transport (e.g. termite’s active transport from water table to main nest)

Pumping/ moving cool water or air from wells/ water table

B

Conduction

Seek or create thermally massive spaces – earth shelter for roots.

Constructed or ad hoc earth shelters e.g. basking on hot rocks, burrows etc.

This is of course the mainstay for hot/ dry (and cold) climate shelters. Underground or earth sheltered buildings, cellars, earth cooled air pipes, thick walls, turf roofs etc. are common.

Nature can provide design guidance when engineers are unavailable. (see Columbian ground squirrel mentioned above). Could be extended as a principle if resources allow – termite nests are mainly solid, contrasting with our buildings.

P

Conduction

Thermal mass – most plants and animals have thermally massive bodies (mainly water).

No buildings made from water could be found (apart from ice and snow structures). Houseboats undoubtedly benefit and many buildings (and towns) incorporate large pools or water coolth stores, often downwind to benefit from additional evapourative cooling.

An interesting possibility would be structures that incorporate water, perhaps also providing ‘sweating’, light transmission, radiative cooling/ coolth transport medium, and waste-water treatment functions. Or underwater houses?

B

Thermal mass/ evap cooling

Seek the thermal mass (and evap cooling benefit) of water by bathing, wallowing or

Humans commonly do this when water is available. Pools are common in larger buildings.

Probably unfeasible – but a structure could be daubed with wet mud

AD

Deployable insulation - Hackles/ Ruffling

Fluffing up the duvet etc is common in cold climates, otherwise few direct analogues could be found.

Micro-deployable insulation could be very useful instead of trying to move larger insulative panels (which might fail catastrophically) for e.g. NRC.

AD

Conduction

Shedding (or growing) of hair, feathers, skin? To adjust insulation

Clothing is adjusted in a similar manner. Deployable insulation works in a similar way for nigh-time radiative cooling.

B

Conduction

Nesting/ lining of burrows

B

Conduction/ con/

Create/ don insulation (that allows ventilation)

Loose fitting light clothing is common to desert peoples. In buildings, it is important to be able to control ventilation to avoid heat gains from hot air, unless the climate is humid when the structures become more permeable.

Convection/ condcution

Minimise heat gain from hot/ dry winds by seeking shelter or orienting into wind and acquiring low profile

Desert tents hug the ground with aerodynamic profiles. Well designed buildings orient to avoid the hottest winds, or are built behind windbreaks – walls, screens or planted shelterbelts.

B

Minimise contact with hot surfaces – dancing/ hopping, raising one leg at a time.

Shoes!

In buildings, this is normally done by insulating the envelope, as the external faces are usually the hottest.

Could suggest more rapid transport between cool shelters where essential – e.g. slides/ travelators, or perhaps low thermal mass reflective stepping stones, cooled paths, covered walkways or tunnels.

EVAPORATION/ Ventilation

AD

Evap

Evapotranspiration in plants

Sweating in animals (sweat pores)

Wine coolers, or porous clay vessels in draughts like wind towers/ windows

Few direct analogues but locally controlled systems could be imagined combining night condensation/ storage and day evaporation, with waste treatment and/ or water purification.

AD

Convection/ condcution

Dynamic structures – blood vessels, stomata, erection, dilation/ construction, circulation changes (increase of volume / speed of circulation – heart rate, breating)

Many indirect analogues of deployable valves – doors, windows, screens etc.

A more localised autonomous system can again be imagined with multiple small, or micro valves self deploying in response to heat or humidity with differential expansion. Nature is rich with examples of deployment mechanisms - phototropism, stoma, etc.

Convection

Use thermal chimney effect in structures driven by metabolism or surface heating – termites, burrowers

Thermal flues/ solar chimneys traditionally common.

More sophistication is undoubtedly achievable with dynamic/ passive heating of the flue, aerodynamic and materials optimisation etc.

Convection

Use Bernoulli effect in structures

Suction towers, roof profiles etc

More inspiration from ‘life in moving fluids’

AD/B

Evaporation

Fanning – e.g. ears

Fans – manual or mechanical

In elephants, the fan itself is also the heat exchange surface…

Improved propeller (impeller) designs have been developed based on observations of kelp

AD/B

R/CD/CV/E

Posture (open/ closed)

AD/B

Panting

Desert coolers/ various evaporative cooling mechanisms – e.g. Indian Khus screens (also shade – can be wind driven)

Water is often in short supply limiting extravagant use of these methods in the desert. Although grey water could be used combined with irrigation of productive gardens.

AD/B

Urohydrosis e.g. condor other body wetting such as e.g. elephant back spraying

Spray roof systems for buildings and cold showers for people. Fountains are common in courtyards, and Mogul / middle eastern shadirwan or salsabils

See above – also profligate use of evaporative cooling will also raise humidity which can be an issue in itself.

B

E

Wallowing

Wallowing could be encouraged especially given the reputed health benefits of certain muds!

AD

?active control of water in structures – bound in the materials of the structure but free to evaporate – e.g. termites, wasps and ? various earth burrowers

This happens in a limited way with some evaporative cooling systems like Khus screens.

AD

Alter permeability of structures – e.g. termites and other shelter builders?

Doors, windows, shutters and other apertures provide this function in buildings. Clothing can often be adjusted to encourage ventilation.

In terms of the structure of building elements like walls there is no direct analogue. Developments in ‘smart’ or nano-materials will allow us to explore this.

Refrigeration – heat pumps

B

Seek cool drafts e.g. near rivers, waterfalls (passive/ entrained down-draught) or shaded outcrops (scooping/ funnelling wind and cooling by conduction)

Passive down-draught.

Scoops and wind-towers.

Further inspiration for this (scooping) effect will likely come from observation of organisms that live in flows – fish mouths, caddis larvae nets, wings etc.

B

Minimise activity in hot periods

Siestas and other behavioural modifications are common in hot countries.

In buildings this would suggest the same – shutting down all sources of heat – lighting and cooking – midday and design that encourages crepuscular / nocturnal activity.

B

Dispersal v.s. crowding

Often done at the level of urban planning with various trade-offs between e.g. increased shade and reduced ventilation. It also occurs when we seek the heat of another or the coolth at separate ends of the bed!

AD/B

R/CD/CV/E

Sensing the climatic environment and responding dynamically by altering any of the above on various timescales.

This is what we do with varying degrees of consciousness when we open windows, remove clothing, seek shade or the pool, or when our surface capillaries dilate and we start sweating. So-called ‘intelligent’ buildings exist, which so far have been disappointing.

This is will be the key to optimising the environmentally responsive (and responsible) buildings of the future, through evolutionary design and control with learning genetic algorithms etcetcetc. See disscussion

POSITIVE IMPACT DESIGN #1

Just to get this going :)

My name is John-Paul Frazer

I'm a designer-maker - have been all my 41 years.

I want to dump a load of stuff here! Probably better than just sitting on my laptop... probably.

Would also like to get some dicussions and experiments going on design.

The first project is a building that aims to have a net positive impact on the environment.

The following description is work in progress - so lots of loose ends... for the moment. But I'll tie them up over the next weeks.

Mrittikalaya 'Abode of Earth'

A bio-inspired positive impact building proposal

Background

About ten years ago I was travelling in Rajasthan India, visiting the Ranthambhore National Park. where I met a hotelier /conservationist couple who expressed their desire to build an eco-hotel.

I spent the next five or six years on R&D but eventually project was shelved for various reasons, many cash flow! However I am keen to share what was learnt and hope to apply some of the work to a different site, which I am currently on the lookout for (and would welcome any suggestions in this regard). I have lectured extensively on this and similar projects, and biomimetic design for sustainable architecture in general, and have a keen interest in dissemination – I also keep being contacted by various researchers internationally - hence the reason for making my work accessible here.

Methodology

A biomimetic design methodology was selected and many months were spent mapping the site, monitoring the local climate, surveying the local flora, fauna and vernacular.

To really get to grips with the problem a wide range of survey methods were employed including weather stations, dozens of temperature dataloggers, hundreds of hours of video tape of e.g. stone masons and weaverbirds at work, soil testing, interviews with the locals etc...

The definition of 'biomimicry' that I work with perhaps needs a little explanation, as well as the design methodology. 'Bio' I take to include life at all scales from DNA to Gaia. As well as physical processes, materials and morphologies, I would also include e.g. systems and behaviour. It also includes man-made artifacts such as vernacular architecture, these being evolved solutions no different in essence to the termite's nest, and possibly other technologies (although as Janine mentions we need ask if they are adapted to long-term survival i.e. are ecologically sustainable). It might also include geological patterns that have been formed as part of the action of Life's processes. It does not include 'biomorphic' forms as aesthetic statements – although I do believe that well-designed function solutions solutions are often, as in nature, beautiful.

The methodology was, and is, a rough and ready one – I am not a scientist but rather a designer – and as such more interested in strategies rather than, say, specific details of biochemistry. So, as well as the more direct 'copying', some of the inspiration, the 'mimesis', is indirect – from 'co-opting', to simply 'being inspired by-'...

It is also important to note that many of the solutions have multiple sources of inspiration; and also that in finding solutions, the importance of correctly stating the brief cannot be overemphasized. For example, rather than the problem here being to 'keep cool' it is perhaps better stated as 'work with energy flow'. This resulted in a wide search of natural adaptations from a wide range of extreme climate zones, but strangely some of the inspiration, as will be seen, came from apparently unrelated sources. Of course 'work with energy flow' is very general but the risk of starting with too tight a problem definition is possibly missing solutions outside the 'normal' search space; the brief can and should be restated as design iterations progress and converge on solutions.

We quickly realised that much of what was proposed was untested and so the main focus of the project became developing a proof of concept prototype building that would be tested empirically over a couple of years. It was decided that this kind of analysis would be more useful and cheaper that modeling with e.g. CFD, partly because the design is holistic - employing a wide range of interconnected technologies - but also because it requires a new relationship between the building and its occupants. This is the key idea that the building should be 'sailed', that is, actively tuned in response to what is a very dynamic environment. Some of this could eventually be 'auto-dynamic' like the sunflower solar tracking, but occupant interaction is also vital and thus the ergonomics need exploring.

The Brief

1.To design and build a two person house that provides year-round thermal comfort for a site in the extreme climate of Eastern Rajasthan (Climate type ). This climate is typified by extremely hot-dry summers and a significant hot and humid rainy season (when there is no drought);

2.The building should be 'positive impact' :that is sustainable in the way that a rainforest might be – rather than simply 'not reducing the ability of future generations to meet their needs' it seeks to 'improve...';

3.The building should also be water and energy autonomous, and ideally also, among other things, recycle its waste and provide food for its occupants;

4.The building will, on the whole, use materials found on site or within a short camel ride;

5.Nothing more technologically complex than a hinge or a pulley should be employed to meet the requirements.

In this description I will focus on thermal comfort. Strategies for energy, food, water etc will be discussed separately – but just to say that I have worked with Tohn Todd, Ken Yeang, various permaculture designers etc and am well aware of most of the issues - I'm not ignoring them :)

There are several interlinked cooling strategies:

Orientation

The larger part of the exposed building faces South – this is the easiest direction to control insolation from as the sun is high so relatively small shades can achieve a lot. Hot dry winds and dust storms are are also avoided (SW-NW).

Form

1.Gross morphology – projection, cactus and openings

2.Surface Morphology (also re cracks and rain)

Earth Shelter

Albedo

Reflectance (V emissivity) sails as reflective

Insulation

1.Plastic waste is scavenged from the local tourist industry and used as loose fill around the entire submerged parts of the building.

2.Whole bottles are used – tied together for roof insulation.

3.Oriented straw channels in the render allow mini-convective currents to help cool the fabric.

4.Deployable insulation panels 'petals' made from plastic bottles cover the master bedroom roof.

5.Eco-orifice.

Night Radiative Cooling

1.Insulated roof petals open at night over the master bedroom to reveal a network of water pipes. These circulate cooled water to storage tanks in the basement and building fabric. Various qualities are accepted.

2.The roof of the main living space opens allowing some radiative cooling and night ventilation.

3.Various other shading devices retract to expose the thermal mass of the building and its systems to the night sky.

4.A system of rotating thermal masses rotate essentially turning sections of the walls inside out ('Eco-orifice')

Ventilation via earth pipe and (interseasonal) coolth stores

Passive Downdraft Cooling

Evaporative Cooling

Monsoon Terrace – behavioral issues

Surface Morphologies

Windows and lighting

Lansdscaping

The ventilation system needs further explanation and can operate in various modes

Suction Tower

Scoop Tower

Wing Shades