Manual of Tropical Housing and Building

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The United Nations estimate the urban housing needs of the developing countries to bemore than 20 million units a year. Almost all developing countries have tropical climates. The villagers of tropical countries have known for centuries how to construct buildings that were suited to hot climates and satisfied their social needs. Unfortunately, their traditional skills and materials are not adaptable to urban conditions – nor does it help to copy the town houses of Western cities. In fact, the copying of foreign house patterns has done untold harm to the people of the tropics. New methods of tropical house design have been developed in the last twenty years. There is an urgent need for these methods to be assembled, assessed and presented for practical use. The Manual of Tropical Housing is designed as a textbook for student of architecture, housing, environmental design and climate control in tropical countries. It will serve also as a reference work for practitioners and as a guide book for developers and investors. The Manual deals with the theory of climate design and show how practical solutions are derived from theoretical understanding. The analysis begins with the effect of climate on the human body and mind and on human working and living patterns. This is followed by the technical means of protecting the human body from climatic extremes and advice on the choice and combination of such means for different types of tropical climates. The climatic analysis is related to different stages of the design process. Decision aids and design tools for the practitioner are given in appendices. The book is essential for the students of architecture and building, especially in tropical countries; it will also be useful supplementary reading for all students of architecture, since a study of the problems of tropical housing may well throwlight on related problem in temperate regions. At the same time, practitioners will find it a useful reference work. Table of Contents List of figures List of Symbols Preface and acknowledgements Introduction 1 Climate: The given conditions 1.1 Global climatic factors 1.2 Elements of climates 1.3 Classification of tropical climates 1.4 Site climate 2. Comfort: The desirable conditions 2.1 Thermal comfort factors 2.2 Thermal comfort indices 2.3 Effective temperature – its use 3. Principles of thermal design 3.1 Thermal quantities 3.2 Heat exchange of buildings 3.3 Periodic heat flow 4. Means of thermal control 4.1 Mechanical controls 4.2 Structural controls 4.3 Ventilation and air movement 5. Light and Lighting 5.1 Light: principles 5.2 Daylighting 5.3 Prediction techniques 6. Noise and noise control 6.1 Sound: principles 6.2 Noise control 6.3 Noise problem in the tropics 7. Application 7.1 Shelter for hot-dry climates 7.2 Shelter for warm-humid climates 7.3 Shelter for composite climates 7.4 Shelter for tropical upland climates 8. Design aids 8.1 Forward analysis stage 8.2 Plan development stage 8.3 Element design stage 8.4 Models and analogues 9. Bibliography 10. Appendices Index