Architecture and Urban Climates

Abstract

The seminar highlights the manifold implications of the notion of "urban climate" for architecture and urban design. By looking at the historical emergence of this concept (as urban climatology) and the complex adaptation in the field of architecture and urban design, a robust architectural knowledge for today's discussions on the"climate adaptation of cities" shall be provided.

Objective

Ultimately the seminar aims at rethinking climate control - a key concern of the discipline of architecture - through the lens of city climate phenomena. Architecture's one-sided obsession today with controlling the indoor climate of individual buildings will be questioned and the thermal dialectics between inside and outside in cities examined instead.

Content

The seminar highlights the manifold implications of the notion of "urban climate" for architecture and urban design. Due to its man-made character, the city climate differs fundamentally from the natural climate. By looking at the historical emergence of this concept since the beginning of the 20th century (as urban climatology) and the complex adaptation in the field of architecture and urban design, a robust architectural knowledge for today's discussions on the "climate adaptation of cities" shall be provided. After an introduction into the history of modern architecture and urban planning, striving for new "climate cities," case studies and methods with particular relevance for today's architects will be addressed. The seminar sheds light on the growing capacities of urban societies to provide urban climatic data (via thermal measurements, wind tunnel modelling, simulation techniques), while at the same time highlighting evidence-based design strategies referring to urban climates (such as heliomorphism). Relying on the theoretical approaches discussed in the seminar, selected case study cities will be examined by the students. Heating and cooling practices connecting to urban microclimates will be explored and strategies of climate control on other scales (considering groups of buildings, green spaces, urban topography etc.) discussed.

Resources