Introduction
Passive design does not require mechanical heating or cooling. Buildings that are passively designed take
advantage of natural climate to maintain thermal comfort.
Incorporating the principles of passive design in building:
• Significantly improves comfort
• Reduces or eliminates heating and cooling bills
• Reduces greenhouse gas emissions from heating, cooling, mechanical ventilation and lighting.
Building envelope is a term used to describe the roof, walls, windows, floors and internal walls of a building. In a
tropical climate, the envelope should controls heat gain and exclusion of rainwater. Well-designed envelopes
maximize cooling through air movement and exclude the solar radiation. The fundamental principles of passive
design are relatively simple and can be applied to various climate zones, house types and construction systems.
Learning Outcome
Upon successful completion of the module, students will be able to:
1. Identify environmental conditions related to site conditions, climate, etc.
2. Explain the effects of the sun on the thermal performance of buildings
3. Explain the effect of insulation, thermal mass and air movement on thermal performance of buildings.
Tasks
In a group of maximum 6, students are to produce the following task:
- Choose a building and analysis the two passive design strategies that have been used
Submission
Site Chosen: Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 (KLIA 2)
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| Passive Design I : Shading Device |
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| Passive Design II : Natural Ventilation |
Reflection
Throughout this project, I have learnt the knowledge not only in group teamwork management but also the architectural passive design strategies of a building (Kuala Lumpur International Airport, KLIA 2). Two thermal passive strategies that used in this building are
Natural Ventilation and
Shading Device which successfully reduce the energy consumption while provide the thermal comfort within the building.
Passive Design Strategies

Greenhouse effect have become one of greatest threats facing the planet. Research also shown the increasing temperature in various region, and extremities in weather pattern recently. No doubt the current global warming trend is human expansion of "greenhouse effect", it is human-included which produced mainly by the burning of fossil fuels and forest.
It is everyone's responsibility to maintain the earth health and our own health. As a successful designer, we should always consider the 3-tier design approach in our design. Active or mechanical system can precisely control the building comfort however it's not the aim for the designers as we should have to use ambient energy sources instead of purchased energy. Passive design maximizes the use of free natural sources (solar energy, ventilation, day lighting etc.) to create comfortable condition inside a building. Through the passive design strategies, we can substantially reduce the task of the active systems.
Throughout this Project I also know more about the requirement of MS1525 and GBI that we have to consider not to collect the points in first place but to achieve the standard or create a higher green awareness throughout building design.
Digital Literacy

This case study which require us to use the analysis software (Revit, Ecotect etc.) also give me advantage of have an opportunity to learn the software to conduct an accurate analysis. It's important for us to give an accurate data as a honest and responsible designer. It's difficult and new for us to use such professional softwa
re but we do really learn the basic function through this project.
Group Teamwork

As a leader in this group, I'm so glad to have this cooperative and friendly teammates. It's true that I learnt a lot from them while conducting analysis. I admit that I can be a very good follower in a group, but I'm still learning to be a good leader who stand in front and lead the team. I personally want to thank to Chia Wee Min who always help me and help to control the team. I do learn a lot from her. However, there's still many things we have to improve to be a better team in term of behavior and procedure of project.
Design Studio III
I put theories of Passive Design Strategies into Design Studio III project (Visitor Interpretive Center Design). I have include the main passive design strategy of
Stack Ventilation in my building according to my concept to achieve both aesthetic and thermal comfort.
Conclusion
As a successful architect, we have to know general knowledge comprehensively. Not only basic building design but also art, geography, philosophy, psychology, built environment, ecosystem and more and more.
Throughout this case study project, the main architectural knowledge I have learnt is that to create the building thermal comfort we have to use the right combination of passive and active design strategies. High-performance buildings use the right blend of passive and active design strategies to minimize the energy, material water and land use.