In the temperate climate, the consistency of bioclimatic designs for heating and cooling is essential. However, the traditional Japanese houses which have excellent cooling techniques often disclose their poor thermal performance in the winter time. Since Jong it has been said that they sacrificed the heating performance in return for the cooling performance, as a result of their choice in the time when the consistency was technically impossible.

Samyn & Partners conceived with the studies of the Belgian Building Research Institute, the refurbishment of an existing office building in one of the most polluted avenues in Brussels. Designed to save maximum energy, the building meets all modem comfort standards, respects the environment and creates attractive and enjoyable working space.

Passive and low energy houses are not yet widespread throughout the world. One of the reasons is that their actual performance has not been clarified. In recent years, the number of houses has been increasing in Japan, however, there are very few examples of multiple dwelling building whose performance has been clarified. The annual thermal performance of two dwelling units in a multiple dwelling building in Japan is measured and their high performance is verified.

This paper will describe a proposal to upgrade a thermally sub-standard multi-storey housing block (Type T84), where height and climatic exposure are significant, to demonstrate the effectiveness of passive, active and hybrid solar techniques to minimise space and water heating loads while enhancing the quality of air in both shared and private spaces.

lsrael not unlike other Mediterranean country , experienced a housing construction boom in the 1950s and 1960s. Many projects from that period are currently undergoing renovation and refurbishment. This study reviewed the thermal characteristics of such projects and evaluated the current refurbishment practices vis-a- vis a combined effort including retrofit. Different solutions for a specific case study were evaluated.

The examination of the "Young-am House", a traditional folk house located in the middle region of the Korean peninsula, aims to analyze and to inform the bio-climatic design of the building and interior spaces based in the traditional architecture of Korea. As a consequence of the examination, it was evident that bioclimatic design performed an important part in creating a natural environment for comfortable living by taking consideration of the changing local climatic conditions.

A bioclimatic house for Tamare, Venezuela, designed to provide psychological, physical and social well being through improved comfort and less energy consumption is explained. Digital and analog models were built to analyze sunlight and shadow behavior and computer simulations to predict thermal performance. Assuming a maximum comfort temperature of 30° C we achieve<! 95% of satisfaction when we ventilated at night and closed the building during daytime.

The paper presents a bioclimatic house in the Negev Desert, lsrael, as a case study through which it attempts to present a comprehensive and critical view of bioclimatic architecture, design support tools, and appropriate details vis-a-vis common construction technologies and practices, assessing their relative impact and limitations. A number of topics are examined from different aspects, such as insulation and thermal mass, window systems incorporating double glazing, insulated shutters and window screens, vis-a-vis solar gains.lr ventilation and infiltration.

Confronting the high density of town planning, architects and towr1 planners are led to design mall outdoor places which are inserted into the city but offer specified properties: serenity, calmness, unusual surrounding ... Within the framework of the CERMA laboratory, we are looking for reference architectural examples likely to meet such needs and transposable into a contemporary architectural project.