This research focussed on the identification, evaluation and recommendation of passive design strategies suitable for housing design in hot and dry climates in India. The term 'passive' refers to those design techniques which, in order to enhance thermal comfort, utilize the favourable and mininimize the unfavourable elements of the local climate. The objective of the research was to determine means by which reliance on mechanical means of achieving comfort and associated socio-economic costs can be minimized. The thesis is divided into two parts. The first part identifies and evaluates the passive design techniques used in the dwellings of pre-industrial and post-industrial cities located in hot and dry region in India. Climate, environmental problems (primarily cooling), and indoor comfort criteria were analysed to establish preliminary criteria for evaluating the thermal performance of design techniques. The main objective was to enable designers to identify those techniques which can be used in contemporary dwelling designs. The second part proposes strategies to incorporate passive techniques in contemporary housing design. General strategies recommended at various levels of design include the following: -minimize solar gain -minimize conductive heat flow -promote ventilation -minimize internal heat gains -promote radiant cooling -delay periodic heat flow -promote evaporative cooling -control high velocity wind -control glare These strategies, which recognize the comfort-related needs of dwelling occupants, promote the use of local construction practices. The application of passive techniques presents architects with a considerable scope for creativity in housing design. However, at the outset, it is necessary to define priorities in the selection of design strategies, and to ensure these priorities are addressed through each level of design. The strategies selected in this thesis emphasize the need for minimizing heat gain during day time, and maximizing heat loss at night. It is concluded from this research that the application of passive techniques in contemporary housing design allows for maintenance of most thermal comfort needs, thereby reducing reliance on mechanical means of control. At the same time, the use of passive techniques provides a potential for the housing designs to respond effectively to certain socio-cultural needs of the occupants. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Architecture and Landscape Architecture (SALA), School of / Received degree under the name Bhatia / Graduate

Access to abstract permanently restricted to Ball State community only / Housing crisis in India -- What is vernacular? -- Vernacular as timeless -- Vernacular aesthetics : the legacy of craft -- Disengagement of vernacular from architectural practice in India -- Revisiting architectural academics -- Conclusion : applicability of vernacular studies -- Vernacular studies at Auroville Earth Institute, Auroville, India -- Low cost building technologies at Auroville Earth Institute, India -- Vernacular architecture : exemplary projects -- The joy of building. / Access to thesis permanently restricted to Ball State community only / Accompanying CD-ROM contains additional copy of chapters 8-10. / Department of Architecture

This paper presents a conceptual framework of important cultural values, activity patterns and environmental patterns in the home environment of a typical middle-income family in Madras a South Indian City. The position of this paper is that cultural variables should play an important part in determining the form of housing; they should be explicitly accounted for and values should be related to the different components of the built environment. This framework is intended to serve as a guide suggesting programmatic criteria for design of culturally-responsive housing. As it relates abstract values to components of the built environment, and design patterns, the framework includes descriptive graphics and images.The main body of the framework is a summary of societal and activity patterns, and elements of design. A descriptive analysis of societal and family patterns looks at the interactions between society, family and the individual. Activity patterns in and around the home with their symbolic associations are examined in detail. Implications for the home environment are drawn from the observations made in these sections. This is followed by a look at the elements of design that have been manipulated in existing house forms to create culturally appropriate environments.The concluding part of the framework presents a way in which the earlier observations can be assimilated into the design process. A sample set of environmental patterns are presented using images, with their cultural purpose, design descriptions and variants. This is followed by a matrix where family types, individual roles and activities are related to the environmental qualities and in some cases to sample environmental patterns.The research involved anthropological studies for an understanding of the cultural elements like family and kinship structure, myths and beliefs, values and priorities, etc., in the Indian context. Analysis of changing house forms in response to social and cultural changes in history, and designs of culture sensitive architects, helped to identify the environmental components that relate to specific values. Christopher Alexander's idea of `patterns' was used as a tool to translate abstract cultural criteria into recognizable environmental settings. / Department of Architecture

by Shrinath Tandur. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1995. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 122-125). / Chapter 1.0 --- BACKGROUND --- p.13 / Chapter 1.1 --- The Site --- p.19 / Chapter 1.2 --- Low-rise housing for Low and Middle Income groups (LIG & MIG) --- p.20 / Chapter 1.3 --- Use of space with respect to time --- p.28 / Chapter 1.4 --- Adapting for comfort --- p.31 / Chapter 1.5 --- The roof as a sleeping area --- p.32 / Chapter 2.0 --- OBJECTIVE --- p.34 / Chapter 3.0 --- METHODOLOGY --- p.35 / Chapter 3.1 --- DEROB - an overview --- p.38 / Chapter 3.2 --- Modelling the climate --- p.42 / Chapter 3.2.1 --- The climate of --- p.42 / Chapter 3.2.2 --- Modelling the climate --- p.44 / Chapter 3.2.3 --- Special weather files --- p.50 / Chapter 3.3 --- Fanger's Comfort Equation --- p.54 / Chapter 3.3.1 --- The Predicted Mean Vote --- p.56 / Chapter 3.3.2 --- The Predicted Percentage Dissatisfied --- p.58 / Chapter 3.3.3 --- Range of values --- p.60 / Chapter 3.4 --- Modelling the housing unit on DEROB --- p.64 / Chapter 3.4.1 --- Standard building materials --- p.64 / Chapter 3.4.2 --- Modelling building materials --- p.65 / Chapter 3.4.3 --- Development of a method --- p.66 / Chapter 3.4.4 --- The simplified cube --- p.69 / Chapter 4.0 --- The -DEROB exercises --- p.72 / Chapter 4.1 --- A study of variations air changes rates & times --- p.72 / Chapter 4.2 --- The damping effect of the earth's mass --- p.76 / Chapter 4.3 --- The effect of orientation --- p.79 / Chapter 4.4 --- The effect of external wall mass --- p.82 / Chapter 4.5 --- The effect of colour upon external wall mass --- p.84 / Chapter 4.6 --- The effect of shadowing upon a building --- p.87 / Chapter 4.7 --- The influence of internal wall mass --- p.91 / Chapter 4.8 --- The effect of the roof --- p.94 / Chapter 4.9 --- An analysis of parapet walls --- p.97 / Chapter 4.10 --- The effect of openings and shading --- p.103 / Chapter 5.0 --- A SUMMARY OF RESULTS --- p.106 / Chapter 5.0.1 --- A summary brief --- p.109 / Chapter 5.1 --- Preliminary Design Guidelines --- p.110 / Chapter 5.2 --- A validation of results using a model of a complete housing unit --- p.118 / Chapter 5.3 --- Afterword --- p.121 / Chapter 6.0 --- BIBLIOGRAPHY --- p.122 / Chapter 7.0 --- APPENDICES --- p.126 / Chapter 7.1 --- Appendix A： Activity Chart --- p.126 / Chapter 7.2 --- Appendix B： Clo values --- p.127 / Chapter 7.3 --- Appendix C： Sundials for latitudes 12°. 14° & 16° N --- p.129 / Chapter 7.4 --- Appendix D; A shortlist of digital simulation models --- p.131 / Chapter 7.5 --- Appendix E: Weather Data for Chitradurga District --- p.133 / Chapter 7.6 --- Appendix F: HUDCO' s classification of income groups --- p.143

Thesis (M.Arch.A.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 1976. / MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND ROTCH / Bibliography: p. 118. / by Nimish Patel. / M.Arch.A.S.

Thesis: M.S., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Architecture, 1981 / Bibliography: p. 68. / by Mayank Shah. / M.S. / M.S. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Architecture

Thesis. 1976. M.ArchAS--Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Architecture. / Microfiche copy available in Archives and Rotch. / Bibliography: p. 84. / by Ravindra Kamat. / M.ArchAS