Case Studies Selection Method: Climate Adaptation of the Modern Movement in the Equatorial Warm Climate

Abstract

The regulations that aim to reduce energy consumption in buildings are increasingly strict, and their medium-term goal is to achieve buildings with zero consumption. The necessary updating of heritage buildings faces several limitations, since protection standards reduce possible interventions, leading to energy efficiency and user comfort. This article presents a replicable methodology that identifies the most used deep-envelope typologies during the beginnings of the Modern Movement in Cali, Colombia. It classifies them according to their geometric characteristics, highlighting the most representative ones. The article’s objective is to analyse existing typologies, creating a classification that can be used to determine their efficiency regarding indoor environment quality in hot equatorial climates. A wide review of data was used to define a purposive non-probabilistic sample, refined according to building use, height, year of construction, and conservation condition. These criteria allowed to identify the types of deep-envelope used in the office buildings built in Cali in the 1950s: with vertical elements, with horizontal elements, and with a combination of vertical and horizontal elements. Finally, the buildings that best represented the deep-envelope systems in Cali were selected and used as case studies to identify replicable strategies for the design of facades.

The regulations that aim to reduce energy consumption in buildings are increasingly strict, and their medium-term goal is to achieve buildings with zero consumption. The necessary updating of heritage buildings faces several limitations, since protection standards reduce possible interventions, leading to energy efficiency and user comfort. This article presents a replicable methodology that identifies the most used deep-envelope typologies during the beginnings of the Modern Movement in Cali, Colombia. It classifies them according to their geometric characteristics, highlighting the most representative ones. The article’s objective is to analyse existing typologies, creating a classification that can be used to determine their efficiency regarding indoor environment quality in hot equatorial climates. A wide review of data was used to define a purposive non-probabilistic sample, refined according to building use, height, year of construction, and conservation condition. These criteria allowed to identify the types of deep-envelope used in the office buildings built in Cali in the 1950s: with vertical elements, with horizontal elements, and with a combination of vertical and horizontal elements. Finally, the buildings that best represented the deep-envelope systems in Cali were selected and used as case studies to identify replicable strategies for the design of facades.