Design Primer for Hot Climates

Design Primer for Hot Climates offers a discussion of architecture and planning for hot climates. The hot tropical and sub-tropical regions contain most of the world's population and, it is here that the majority of new buildings will be built. For this reason this book concentrates on these regions but serves only as a broad outline of the climatic, environmental, and technological conditions. The book begins with a discussion of climatic elements, climatic zones, and comfort. This is followed by separate chapters on climatic design; regional hazards (e.g., condensation, lightning, storms, earthquakes, etc.) that must be considered during the design stage; and factors such as site accessibility, materials selection, water and labor supply, and building regulations and standards. This book is meant not only for designers from temperate climatic areas but also for those who live in these regions, in the hope that they will be stimulated to re-examine conditions which may have become over-familiar to them.