The Infinity Dimension

Building Massing

Massing is the geometry shape and size of the building, compact buildings use less energy; the greater the surface area of a building envelope, the more energy will be needed to overcome heat losses. A sphere has the smallest surface area by volume of any form. A slightly elongated solar-oriented form provides the best balance between heat loss and beneficial solar gain. Successful massing uses the minimum energy loads and the maximum free energy from the sun and wind. 

 

Massing for Thermal Comfort

The passive heat is unlike the passive light it does not come from all directions; facades facing the sun's path get the most light and the most heat. Windows facing east are warmed in the morning, and windows facing west are heated in the afternoon when spaces are generally already warm.

 

 

Massing for solar heat gain

In hot climates it is essential to reduce the heat gain by using shading elements, tall building usually gain less heat because sun strikes hits the roof rather than the facades, in addition tall buildings enrich the power of ventilation and make it more effective. While in cold climates, minimizing the surface area as much as possible can help in reducing the heat loss. The façade exposed to the sun must be increased as much as possible to increase the heat gain too.

 

 

Building Program

The right massing depends on the building's program and the internal loads in generated by the occupancy; the spaces which is always occupied must be placed in the essential place with consideration of the time of occupancy, the dense of users.  

 

 

Building Orientation

Knowing the orientation of a building in relation to the sun and wind is fundamental to climate-responsive architecture. Orientation dictates whether solar shading is needed or winter sun is desirable and whether a windbreak will be effective. Always put a north arrow on your drawings, and carry a compass at all times in order to check your global position and orientation.

 

 

Different building orientations

Orientation is simply what compass direction the building faces. Along with massing, orientation can be the most important step in providing a building with passive thermal and visual comfort. Orientation should be decided together with massing early in the design process, as neither can be truly optimized without the other.  

Orientation is measured by the azimuth angle of a surface relative to true north. Successful orientation rotates the building to minimize energy loads and maximize free energy from the sun and wind.  

Successful orientation can also take advantage of other site conditions, such as rainwater harvesting driven by prevailing winds. It can even help the building contribute to the health and vitality of the surrounding social, and economic communities, by orienting courtyards or other social spaces to connect to street life.

 

Orientation for Thermal Comfort: Solar Heat Gain

Different facades of the building get very different amounts of heat from the sun. As with massing, orientation for thermal comfort is similar to orientation for daylighting, with some exceptions. First, the amount of sunlight that is optimal for daylighting is often not optimal for solar heat gain. Second, since the sun's heat does not come from all directions like the sun's light can, walls facing away from the sun's path get no heat gain, even though they can still get large amounts of diffuse light. Third, the sun's heat can be stored by thermal mass, which the suns’ light cannot. This can be useful for west-facing walls to store heat for the night.

To optimize the design, choose to analyse the solar radiation on a single day (like the summer solstice) or over multiple days (like the entire year). To understand the maximum loads look at the peak solar radiation. To get a sense for how much total solar energy is available for direct-gain passive solar heating, estimate the cumulative solar radiation on the building’s face.

Thus, buildings that are longer than they are wide should usually be oriented east west rather than north south. This orientation consistently harnesses thermal gain, or consistently avoids it, along the long face of the building. It also minimizes the area that is subject to faster energy swings from the rising or setting sun. Solar heat gain on the east side can be acceptable or even useful, because it happens in the morning after the cooler night; but solar heat gain on the west side is rarely desirable at the end of an already warm day.

 

Glazing and Materials on different faces

 

 

Material choices and glazing are part of a building's orientation for thermal comfort. They can avoid solar heat gain, or they can store the sun's heat with thermal mass.  

The orientation that supplies just enough daylight may supply too much heat, or vice-versa.  

Equator-facing sides of the building are well suited to capture and store the sun's heat via large windows and materials with high thermal mass, while sides facing away from the sun's path are not.  

To even out temperature swings at sunrise and sunset, east sides may benefit from more window area for direct solar heat gain, while west sides may benefit from smaller window areas and high thermal mass to absorb the heat and release it through the night. The right strategy depends on the climate.

 

More glazing to the east and more thermal mass to the west can even out temperature swings from the sun’s heat.

In cold climates, sides facing away from the sun's path will usually benefit from more insulation than sides facing the sun that means in design less openings, while in hot climates the opposite is true.

 

Orientation for Thermal Comfort: Natural Ventilation

Buildings should be oriented to maximize benefits from cooling breezes in hot weather and shelter from undesirable winds in cold weather. Look at the prevailing winds for your site throughout the year, using a "wind rose" diagram, to see which winds to take advantage of or avoid.

 

Wind-rose diagram, showing statistics of wind speed and direction throughout the year

Generally, orienting the building so that its shorter axis aligns with prevailing winds will provide the most wind ventilation, while orienting it perpendicular to prevailing winds will provide the least passive ventilation.  

 

Orientation for maximum passive ventilation

However, buildings do not have to face directly into the wind to achieve good cross-ventilation. Internal spaces and structural elements can be designed to channel air through the building in different directions. In addition, the prevailing wind directions listed by weather data may not be the actual prevailing wind directions, depending on local site obstructions, such as trees or other buildings.

 

 

Aperture Placement & Area

"Aperture" refers to any area allows daylight source to enter the building. Aperture placement and area is important because strategic use of windows and skylights can help in achieving thermal and visual comfort passively.