This The End of Air Conditioning?
This The End of Air Conditioning?
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HO CHI MINH CITY - Try to spend five minutes in humid Ho Chi Minh City and you'll probably be running for cover into the nearest air conditioned refuge.
In the Vietnamese city and many developing subtropical countries across Asia, such as Indonesia and the Philippines, air conditioning (AC) is increasingly being considered a necessity. But one architecture firm is advocating a different way to keep cool.
T3 Architecture Asia, which has offices in Vietnam and France, specializes in back-to-basics "bioclimatic architecture", which it says could make energy-guzzling AC units redundant.
By harnessing the local topography, climate, and vegetation, as well as cleverly manipulating a building's orientation, the firm can naturally create a comfortable indoor climate.
"It is crucial for all new building designs in cities to encompass bioclimatic architectural features," Myles McCarthy, director of implementation at the Carbon Trust consultancy and research firm tells.
"As demands in Asian cities for buildings, both domestic and commercial increases, and the need for higher density living continues to climb with urban populations, it will be crucial to ensure this growth does not drive energy and water consumptions higher."
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Charles Gallavardin, director of T3 Architecture Asia, first forayed into bioclimatic architecture in 2005. In cooperation with the World Bank, he built an affordable apartment building in Ho Chi Minh City, which houses 350 families in an impoverished neighborhood where AC bills were to be avoided.
"You don't need to spend money on air conditioning, even in a hot climate like Ho Chi Minh, as long as your building is well designed," Gallavardin tells.
Covered open air corridors, ventilated roofs, fiber glass insulation and the use of natural materials meant the Ho Chi Minh City units offered both natural light and ventilation.
"We try to avoid big glass facades facing east or west, because that would make the building like an oven in a tropical climate," he says.
In the Vietnamese city and many developing subtropical countries across Asia, such as Indonesia and the Philippines, air conditioning (AC) is increasingly being considered a necessity. But one architecture firm is advocating a different way to keep cool.
T3 Architecture Asia, which has offices in Vietnam and France, specializes in back-to-basics "bioclimatic architecture", which it says could make energy-guzzling AC units redundant.
By harnessing the local topography, climate, and vegetation, as well as cleverly manipulating a building's orientation, the firm can naturally create a comfortable indoor climate.
"It is crucial for all new building designs in cities to encompass bioclimatic architectural features," Myles McCarthy, director of implementation at the Carbon Trust consultancy and research firm tells.
"As demands in Asian cities for buildings, both domestic and commercial increases, and the need for higher density living continues to climb with urban populations, it will be crucial to ensure this growth does not drive energy and water consumptions higher."
Charles Gallavardin, director of T3 Architecture Asia, first forayed into bioclimatic architecture in 2005. In cooperation with the World Bank, he built an affordable apartment building in Ho Chi Minh City, which houses 350 families in an impoverished neighborhood where AC bills were to be avoided.
"You don't need to spend money on air conditioning, even in a hot climate like Ho Chi Minh, as long as your building is well designed," Gallavardin tells.
Covered open air corridors, ventilated roofs, fiber glass insulation and the use of natural materials meant the Ho Chi Minh City units offered both natural light and ventilation.
"We try to avoid big glass facades facing east or west, because that would make the building like an oven in a tropical climate," he says.
(rnz)
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