i think vitruvius may have had some interesting things to say about the wind.

most contemporary (developer designed) houses ignore the impact of wind and sun. vernacular houses are often oriented to take advantage of cooling breezes or to avoid winter winds. Out in the deserts of the middle east, houses often are designed around a courtyard with a fountain/pool to cool the air, and wind scoops/solar chimneys. in cold northern climes, small or no windows on the northern facade are an attempt to limit air infiltration in older leaky construction

An example of good design that tries to shelter the outdoor living spaces from the wind is Moore's Sea Ranch.

now it's time to hit the library. there are lots of books that cover climate appropriate design.

hello kken...

after reading your query, my mind immediately went to lateral forces study materials, including both wind and earthquake design. if i were you, i would definitely try to get my hands on these materials for a simple and straightforward explanation of how wind affects a building and exactly what the variables are in this equation (height of building, surrounding topography/terrain/type of environment, orientation of the building in relation to the wind, etc.). there are also some pretty basic diagrams that would be worth investigating in these materials, especially if your entire studio project is focusing on this one element. i would be surprised if your school library does not have the following:

"architecture exam review": volume i: structural topics (by steven e. o'hara and david kent ballast). check out chapter 13, pages 13-1 through 13-4

if you can't find the first suggestion, try this one:
kaplan's lateral forces study guide for ARE version 3.1 (the test is now on 4.0, which combines lateral forces and general structures into one test and not being familiar with that test prep content, i'm not sure where the lf content exists in that version. if you only have the newest version, i know it includes wind design, but you'll have to dig for it). in the 3.1 book, check out pages 47-53 for some very simple diagrams and answers to your questions above.

ching's "building construction illustrated" is also worth looking into (third edition, page 2.09 on wind loads).

there are a lot of materials out there that will be very helpful to you. good luck with your project...and off to the library you go!

Yeah, I read about vitruvius explanation about wind movement in term of site before but can't really recall em at the moment. However, I do remember that he said something like wind from the swamp is not good for the health, and also any windows facing a constant mist is also not good

haha, yeah, I'm on holiday at the moment and therefore, do not have access to these books but I do have some short notes on em.

also, i wonder if anyone ever come across this term called cross ventilation and stack effect? they are suppose to aid a house design in term of natural ventilation but how do they work?

also, is there anyone that can point to me the answers regarding the massing diagram that I asked earlier?

thank you!

oh these informations are really helpful! coincidentally, I do have the ching's building construction illustrated! will dig it out right away! lol :)

these are not for the projects. I just came across them when I read architecture magazines and thought of finding them out for future references :) thank you :)

When you get back take a look at Fuller Moore's book Environmental Control Systems. There is an entire chapter on passive ventilation techniques.

shear. that's how.

Have a look at the work of Paul Morgan Architects, particularly the Avenel House which has a building envelope modelled on the sun and wind characteristics of the site.

emilio w/ the wind catcher reference.



the zero energy house @ BRE utilizes a wind catcher


andrade morettin has several houses that open up to wind to maximize cross ventilation


steven holl's failure of a prefab [turbulence house] is wind-influenced

Ask yourself why and Eskimo builds and Igloo.....it is all about wind....and fricking cold tempertures.