Around the world, the year 2030 has become a crucial target for many aspects of our global society. These aspects include the building industry and influence what houses may look like in 2030 and beyond. Homeowners need to be building tropical houses that respond to our climate and environment.
United Nations (UN) General Assembly adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in 2015. This Agenda sets out goals that impact issues such as climate change, poverty and equality. Some of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), such as Goal 11 and Goal 13, refer specifically to resilience and mitigating the impacts of climate change.
Governments around the globe have been outlining their policies to achieve their goals for the 2030 deadline.
Several of these goals surround creating infrastructure that is more resilient and sustainable. Many of these strategies focus on a governmental level and cover a wide range of industries and disciplines. Included in this is the aim to reduce our carbon emissions and to become carbon neutral.
The building industry is a significant contributor to carbon emissions throughout the world. From the manufacturing of building materials to the operation of a building, several aspects of the industry can negatively impact our environment. Hence, policies to reduce the adverse effects of buildings on the environment are being implemented.
Some of the fastest-growing populations in the world are in tropical regions. Hence, architecture in tropical areas has a crucial part to play.
Though many of these policies are concerned more with large multistorey commercial buildings and other significant developments, they are things you should consider as an individual homeowner.
The Home Of The Future
If you were to ask someone 60 to 80 years ago, what the houses in the future will look like, they would have described something very space-age. Ideas of a white odd-shaped looking house that hovers in the air or shelters under glass domes may have come to mind. They may have also described high-tech houses with robots performing everyday tasks and all the fanciest gadgets to make our lives simpler.
Today, our concept of how a home in the future will function is slightly different. We still dream of fascinating forms and fancy gadgets. However, we are more focused on sustainability and ensuring that our planet survives to sustain life for our children’s children.
As such, we are looking at more passive strategies for our homes.
Building Industry
Key players in the building industry are looking at more ways to reduce mechanical services such as air conditioning and central heating to control indoor temperature.
In a way, our homes are becoming more low-tech than high-tech.
Instead, we are using natural ventilation and the sun to cool and heat our homes. Hence, we are going back to strategies used in homes many years ago.
I am not suggesting that our future homes will not have cutting-edge technology in them. I believe we will see advances in technology in how we collect and use energy from renewable sources.
Building envelopes will probably become more responsive, adapting to the climatic conditions at the given moment.
Regardless of the advancement of technology, the climate will significantly influence the design and function of future homes.
Tropical architecture and its design strategies will likely be a significant part of the building industry in the tropics.
As we move closer to creating and more sustainable society by 2030, here are some things you can consider as an existing, new or future homeowner.
1. Passive Strategies
Using passive strategies for thermal comfort is one of the most common trends in residential architecture today. In the tropics, keeping homes and buildings cool is the primary concern.
Our days are hotter. The last decade has seen some of the highest temperatures ever recorded.
If the days are becoming hotter, you may think to yourself that the easy fix would be to install and use air conditioning, right? We can close our doors and windows and run our AC. If the sun comes through the window and gets a bit warmer, just lower the temperature on the air conditioning unit, causing it to run more. There! Problem solved. Right?
The sad thing is that air conditioning is one of the leading energy consumers in a home or building. They can significantly increase the energy used in your home.
In a way, air conditioning is part of why we are in this situation in the first place.
We built houses and buildings that used less natural ventilation and solar shading. As a result, our homes got hotter. So, we added air conditioning to make them cooler. This used more energy and burned more fossil fuels which contributed to making our environment warmer. So, we use even more air conditioning. Hence the cycle continues.
Adding passive strategies in your home will help create more thermally comfortable spaces while eliminating high energy consumption.
In the tropics, the main focus is on keeping your home cool. The sweltering tropical heat may be great for a day at the beach. However, in your home, you want to remain a bit cooler and more comfortable.
They are two main ways to reduce the indoor temperature of your tropical home through passive methods.
Passive Ventilation
The first is through passive or natural ventilation. Promoting air movement through your home by natural methods creates this.
Cross ventilation is the most common one of these and is ideal for hot, humid climates. Well-positioned exterior openings like windows and doors can help move air from one end of your home to the other. You can even increase the speed of how air flows through your home by strategic sizing of window openings.
In addition, selecting window types that maximise the amount of natural ventilation will be crucial. Windows such as jalousies are unpopular now but are one of the best windows for passive ventilation. Jalousies have many benefits, including permitting almost 100% of their area for ventilation.
Another vital factor to consider is ensuring that the path of the air moving through your rooms will pass across your skin. This means that the direction of the wind passes where you are likely to be in the room. For example, in a living room, you want the air to flow where your chairs are.
Just having two windows in the room, though necessary, is not enough.
Another natural ventilation method is the stack effect. As the air heats up, it gets lighter and rises. You should provide a place for that warm air to escape, such as louvre windows. Cooler air from outside can come in and replace it.
As passive ventilation strategies become more important in 2030 and beyond, I believe we will see more advancement in window automation. In high-level windows that are hard to reach, this is particularly important. Being able to operate these by a switch or smart device would be ideal.
Equipping these with sensors to allow them to close when it rains should also become more accessible.
In commercial applications, I believe automated windows will gain popularity. Systems that allow them to open to various extents would increase or decrease the indoor airspeed depending on the conditions outside. In time, these technologies could trickle down to residential architecture.
Sun Shading
Another primary passive strategy for the tropics is solar or sun shading. Direct sunlight impacting or entering a home will increase the heat inside.
Adding shading devices to the exterior glazed openings is critical. Horizontal shading, like roof overhangs or window hoods, can decrease or eliminate direct sunlight on north and south-facing walls.
However, east and west-facing walls and windows would benefit from vertical shades. These may include vertical slatted screens or louvres. Trees are also effective in these locations.
As shading devices become more common in residences, I feel we will see more automation in this area.
Adjusting the angle of the slats, louvres, or the screens themselves would be ideal. This would ensure they could allow as much daylight into your home while preventing direct sunlight from entering.
Throughout the year, the sun can impact your home from different angles. Having adjustable screens and shading devices would offer greater flexibility.
Roofs are also a significant source of heat gain in a house. They are the single most exposed area of the home to direct sunlight.
Double roofs are an excellent way to reduce the heat that enters. This system uses two roof layers with airspace between them. The upper roof protects the lower roof from the sun. This makes it much cooler. Heat gained on the upper roof can dissipate because of the space between.
2. Renewable Energy
Incorporating renewable sources of energy is going to be crucial as we approach 2030 and beyond. This is becoming a necessity if we are to create a sustainable environment in the future.
Renewable energy is the energy obtained from naturally self-replenishing sources. These sources essentially will not deplete.
Our energy traditionally comes from burning fossil fuels such as gas, coal and oil. They have a limited supply and have contributed to the carbon and other harmful gases released into our atmosphere. These gases have contributed to global warming and climate change.
To impact these effects, there need to be significant changes in almost every aspect of how we live, work and produce. Everything, including manufacturing, transportation, agriculture and construction, needs to be overhauled.
The little three-bedroom and two-bathroom home you plan for you and your family may seem like a mere drop in the ocean. This is true, but collectively, all the houses worldwide will have a massive impact on the industry.
Solar Energy
Solar will likely be one of the primary sources of renewable energy in the tropics. Our abundance of sunshine all year round makes it an essential energy source for our climate.
In small island states, like many of our tropical nations, land is scarce. Therefore, setting up large solar farms will take up too much of our precious land. Harvesting solar energy may end up relying heavily on the roofs of our homes. This could either be a grid connection or an off-grid installation.
Regardless of the system used or the type of renewable energy source being harvested, renewable energy will be a significant part of our lives as we move towards carbon neutrality.
As a result, we are likely to see more innovative ways of harvesting energy from renewable sources. Photovoltaics are cells that collect solar energy and converts it into electricity. These are likely to become more integrated into architectural elements such as roof coverings and wall claddings.
3. Resilient Design
Resilient design for buildings, cities and infrastructure has become an essential factor of innovation recently. The effects of climate change have brought with it more devasting natural disasters, like hurricanes and wildfires. Extreme, unpredictable weather patterns such as droughts are already causing severe strains on societies across the globe.
Tropical regions are especially vulnerable to the impact of climate change. Rising sea levels on small tropical islands could end up devastating entire countries. Droughts will trigger water scarcity and food production issues.
Resilient building design relates to how robust a building is. It looks at how well a structure can withstand the effects of a natural disaster. Having the resources to prepare and maintain systems against damage is necessary. A prime aspect is also to allow persons to rapidly recover and return to a satisfactory lifestyle as quickly as possible. Redundant systems can assist with the ability to bounce back after a natural disaster.
Resilient Strategies
Our homes need to be as resilient as practically possible. They should be able to resist the most common natural disasters of their region. Roof, wall and foundation connections are critical and should be well constructed.
Resilient roof designs and durable windows and doors must resist high winds in a tropical storm or hurricane.
Rising sea levels are expected to cause more devasting flooding from storm surges. Coastal and flood-prone areas need to be resilient to the effects of flooding.
Building on stilts or limiting non-essential areas on ground floor levels will minimise damage by floodwaters. You can also design the lower level of your home to be resistant to floodwaters. Either by preventing floodwater from entering or by using water-resistant materials and construction for your home and furniture.
The future of resilient residential design is likely to see more engineered systems. Building codes and regulations will likely become more regulated and mandated.
Safe or panic rooms for emergencies may also be worth considering for your home project.
Potable water storage and rainwater harvesting are vital. This, along with renewable energy generation and storage, will be ideal for returning your family to a usual way of life after a natural disaster.
We will be exploring buildings that float and other innovative strategies as well.
4. Biophilic Design
Biophilic design is an approach to design that incorporates nature into a building. Natural elements such as vegetation, natural light, and water elements can significantly impact the spaces we inhabit.
We are already starting to see the influence biophilic design has on new and future buildings. Many futuristic buildings incorporate plants and trees as a vital part of the design.
Our love and connection to the natural environment have always been strong. We love to admire the trees, birds, ocean and other natural elements. They provide physical and mental benefits to our health and well-being.
Vegetation
But they do much more than that. Plants and trees near your home can help maintain cooler temperatures inside.
They can provide solar shading to your home. Trees along east and west-facing walls can reduce direct sunlight from heating your walls. Also, they prevent direct sunlight from entering through glazed windows and door openings.
Large shady trees can also shade the ground surfaces outside your house while allowing breezes to flow through. This results in cooler air blowing through your home and provides better thermal comfort.
Trees and vegetation are also great ways to absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. This can help offset our carbon footprint.
In addition, I personally believe that in the tropics, a large part of the landscaping of each home should be food-bearing plants and trees. A mango tree could provide great shade for your home, as well as delicious fruit. Hence, providing food for your family and community. This will also assist with another of the UN SDGs of food security and zero hunger.
Site Impact
Almost all development we do harms the natural site. Providing as much area for vegetation will assist in minimising the effects. More landscaping than hardscaping is preferred.
Preserving the natural terrain as much as possible will also be ideal. Not disturbing the land’s natural slope usually avoids issues with rainwater drainage and soil erosion.
Green roofs
Green roofs have also gained a lot of popularity across the world. They can help replace some of the green areas used by your home.
In addition, they provide insulation to the roof of your home while providing an additional green space to use.
5. Sustainable Building Materials
The construction industry consumes a lot of building materials. Unfortunately, many of these materials have manufacturing processes that are detrimental to our environment.
In addition, having to transport these materials far distances further contributes to the amount of fossil fuel consumed. By extension, more carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere.
Hence, natural materials like wood and bamboo are better in the environment than steel or concrete. It is good to use materials that are locally sourced.
Reusing or upcycling materials can extend the life of the material while reducing the production of new materials. Products using recycled materials are also popular and should be encouraged in your new home or building project.
Also, try to source products that emit low-volatile organic compounds or VOCs. These are better for the environment and create a cleaner and healthier indoor space.
These strategies will assist in creating better sustainable buildings.
Conclusion
Our planet is facing immense challenges. This and the next few decades will be a critical turning point. It needs the participation of every human being alive to be on board.
Tropical regions are especially vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Our territories are likely to be the most impacted and could trigger mass migration like never seen before.
Though your small home renovation or new build may seem insignificant, we all have an essential role in achieving the goals of creating a more sustainable environment for our future. Building tropical houses for our climate is essential.
Strategies
Passive strategies such as natural ventilation and sun shading are vital aspects of designing for the tropics. This is important to achieve adequate thermal comfort. As temperatures become warmer, it is ideal to find ways to ensure your home stays cool. In addition, avoiding air conditioning as much as possible will help prevent increased, unnecessary energy consumption.
Renewable energy is a crucial part of our ability to reach net zero. In the future, a large amount of our energy is likely to come from renewable sources. Tropical regions will depend heavily on solar energy. Incorporating this as part of the architectural design of your home is a good idea.
Resilient design is and will continue to be a focus for us in the tropics. As natural disasters become more common, we will need to find better ways of protecting our families.
Relating and responding to our natural environment through biophilic design will also be a considerable aspect of home designs in the future. Plants, trees and other natural elements have significant benefits to our physical and psychological health. They have several environmental benefits as well.
Using materials that do not have highly intensive manufacturing processes will also help decrease the dangerous gases released into our atmosphere.
Consumers have a significant influence on emerging technology and manufacturing trends. We should insist that our homes and buildings use products, materials, technologies and design strategies that benefit us and our environment.
Featured image by Oliver Sjöström from Pixabay