Learning From The Environment

Before there was cement, before there was electricity, and of course before there was air conditioning and piped water the approach to living 'comfortably' was by incorporation of resources that the environment provides. Natural behavior of the environment and other living systems are taken into consideration as part of the design.
Environment and ecosystem were dominant in the scheme of things, including in the design and construction of dwellings. The design makes use of the path of the sun, North-South orientation, exploitation of topology of the site, streams and lakes, as input variables or boundary conditions. The construction made use of available resources. The environmental impact was minimal then. The design of the traditional Malay house for instance incorporate means for collecting rain water. The floors are raised above ground level, ranging from about 1 meter to several meters high, enough to park a car, to provide air circulation that cools the house. The windows usually are just like doors, with openings right down to the floor level, equipped about half way with decorative wooden railings as safety measures.
As fans and air conditioning became available, and water can be distributed by piping system, environment becomes less and less of a constraint. It is no longer an element in the design and construction. Linked terrace houses have only two paths for air to enter or exit: the front door and the kitchen door. Corner units have one extra path. But no matter. We can air condition the space, the room, and everywhere.
Buildings, according to a report, use about half of the global energy consumption, and is set to increase as urbanization progresses. There are efforts to re-look at traditional philosophy of incorporating the environment in the design. Efforts to use more energy efficient materials; to capture wind to cool the space; capture, collect, and store rain water; making nature as part of the construct of the house. That is the green house, not the kind used in agriculture research, but 'green' as in the context of environment friendliness. This is where we have to re-look and re-visit traditional technology. They look old, simple in design and construction but sophisticated in concept.