Cities at 40 degrees and architecture suited to extreme temperatures - What will "anti-heat" buildings of the future look like

According to Dr. Bojana Zeković, assistant professor at the Faculty of Architecture, University of Belgrade, the basis of designing buildings resistant to overheating lies in carefully preventing excessive solar gains and applying the principle of natural cooling.

This implies the correct orientation of the premises, adequately dimensioned openings on facades, protection against direct sunlight, but also enabling high-quality natural ventilation and night-time cooling of the facility.

- Protection against excessive solar gains is primarily achieved by careful orientation of the premises

taking into account their purpose, adequate dimensioning of the openings on the facades and the application of appropriate sun protection elements. In this way, overheating of the space due to direct sunlight is avoided. On the other hand, at high temperatures, it is very important to allow good natural ventilation, which is achieved by enabling cross ventilation of the space, where one side will always be cooler and "extract" excess heat. Allowing space to cool during the night, when the temperatures are lower, it is also one of the useful passive cooling strategies - Dr. Zeković explains.

- Materials with high density and thermal mass, light tones, contribute less to preening. Use of insulating materials, ventilated facades, "cool roof system" as well as glass that transmits less heat from the sun they also significantly contribute to reducing the need for active cooling in modern facilities - she explains.

- Traditional city matrixes in climates with pronounced overheating problems during most of the year are dense, the buildings are compact and positioned so that they create deep shadows on the ground floors, and the architecture and construction method follow the logic of preventing overheating - built with materials with a high thermal mass (earth, stone, brick), the openings on the facades are smaller and positioned to contribute to improved natural ventilation. Buildings are designed with atriums that often have elements of water areas in the center or green courtyards, she says.

- In temperate climates, where the creasing problem occurs seasonally, abundance of green areas and thick canopy of trees that form shade in wider streets and along boulevards, and also the shadow on the street facades of buildings are a valuable element of "urban air conditioning". The building is not an isolated system, but is in direct cooperation with its environment. The more resistant the environment is to high temperatures, the more green infrastructure and porous surfaces there are,

the buildings will suffer less thermal load and will overheat less - he points out.

- Orientation, sheltering and exposure to wind are key bioclimatic parameters, in addition to which it is necessary to take into account some microlocation parameters, such as potential sources of noise and other pollutants, favorable views, soil quality, the possibility of using geothermal energy... When all these influences intersect with the functional requirements of the architectural program, as well as restrictions imposed by regulation and budget, you get a very complicated equation with a multitude of variables, the solution of which lies in the beauty of the call of the architect - Dr. Zeković explains.

Although it is often assumed that the answers to climate challenges will come solely through new technologies, the interlocutor recalls that many principles of sustainable construction have been present for centuries.

- Traditional architecture is everywhere very well rooted in complex climatic response, in all its aspects: from urban structures, through the design of the buildings themselves, their functional organization and all the way to their materialization. The selection of local, readily available materials is also conditioned by the climatic characteristics of the location. The modern paradigm of sustainable construction which strives for a more rational attitude towards natural resources, therefore very often takes over some of the principles of traditional construction - Dr. Zeković says.

Traditional Balkan architecture, according to her words, abounds with examples of architecture well adapted to temperature extremes.

- From the Pannonian earthen houses, whose thick walls made of compacted earth in summer maintain a pleasant interior temperature, to Mediterranean stone houses that take a long time to warm up, but have no problem with overheating. There are also characteristic functional and formative elements which enable a pleasant stay during the warm months, such as covered porches or doxata in the shadows of deep eaves, but also rationally dimensioned window openings and a characteristic ratio of full and "empty" parts of the facade - our interlocutor explains.

- With careful and comprehensive energy restoration these and many other settlements and existing buildings can be successfully adapted to future challenges without losing the qualities achieved by the original conception, urban setting and architectural design - she explains.

- I expect that the backbone of future architecture will primarily be existing buildings, which represent a significant material resource. By modernizing them and adapting them to contemporary challenges we can extend their lifespan and significantly reduce resource consumption required by the construction of new facilities - Dr. Bojana Zeković concludes.