This paper examines the conditions of a relatively large courtyard (45 by 10 meters), enclosed by a one-story building, located in the Negev Lowlands. The region is characterised by hot, dry summer days, and wide temperature and relative humidity fluctuations. The courtyard was monitored under extreme conditions typical of the hot spells, common during transition periods, during which even night minima are sometimes well above the comfort zone.

This paper presents the design of an urban, low-cost and progressive enlargement house following sustainable, bio-climatic and energy conservation criteria in a tropical and humid climate. This building design is based on results of experimental and numerical research on passive cooling systems and heat gain control mechanisms carried out by the authors. This house is intended to be a bio-climatic response to the housing need for low-income social groups. The individual integral comfort and his relation with the environment are the most important concern.

An environmental prototype, single family dwelling has been constructed on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. The project was an attempt to produce a house that represents the best practice in the environmental design of a new house. A holistic environmental assessment is being undertaken on the house, post-construction. This paper presents the methodology underlying that assessment. The aim of the assessment is to produce data that will represent a high level of environmental performance in the house design.

The use of superinsulation is normally associated with climates that are colder and less temperate than that of Auckland, New Zealand. However, if life-cycle energy analysis is undertaken, which incorporates operating and embodied energies and the energy of replacement parts over the life of the building, it can be shown that superinsulation of standard New Zealand lightweight construction more than halves the life-cycle energy of a typical house.

The paper traces the paradigm changes for house design in warm-humid climates, from the preference for traditional elevated, lightweight, ventilated buildings, through the advocacy for heavy construction, to the present conclusion that both can be equally good. The extension of selection criteria is suggested, to include psychological factors, which seem to favour the lightweight, cross-ventilated buildings. The success of these depends on the cooling effect of air movement, hence an attempt is made to quantify this effect.

This paper describes the Architectural Design Studies undertaken by Mario Cucinella Architects as part of a three year JOULE research project into the application of Passive Downdraught Evaporative Cooling (PDEC) in non-domestic buildings. The objective of the research was to develop a viable passive alternative to air-conditioning through architectural design, experimentation and performance assessment.

Passive Downdraught Cooling is a technique which will potentially become a substitute for conventional air-conditioning in Southern Europe and the hot dry regions of the world. As well as providing substantial energy savings, the technique avoids the need for ductwork, fans and suspended ceilings, and reduces the need for refrigerant based cooling. However, this approach has architectural implications which extends the vocabulary of 'passive design'.

In recent years, natural ventilation has been gaining credibility as a suitable passive design strategy for non domestic UK buildings. Many of the recently built naturally ventilated buildings in the UK incorporate ventilation stacks in various forms with the purpose of increasing ventilation during the summer months so that some cooling is provided during the day or by utilising night ventilation. This paper first describes briefly the stack ventilation strategies employed in a number of recently completed buildings in the UK.

In Switzerland, even if the average daily temperature rarely exceeds 25º C during the summer months, more and more cooling plants are being installed in administrative buildings. The CUEPE participated as experts in some realisations that showed (simulat