Climate change and Interior design

The rainy season is gradually setting in Nigeria and the Monsoons have arrived in India, read an article somewhere online about the rising floods in Europe. Alot of people are taking precautions.

Architecture has seen remarkable change from the days of caves to beautiful landscapes including interior design. Technology advancements has made it possible to have Computer Aided Designs even in 3D. Despite the evolution, the primary function of a building is still the same... Simply put, its an envelope, a protection from outside environment and natural calamities.

From protection to a place of status symbol. A space is now a true reflection of the owners personality. A house though built primarily for protection will function differently from an Office. Apart from functions another very important factor determines the Interior design of a space "Geographical location".

The way houses are built in Nigeria is different from the way houses are built in Japan for example. Apart from the location, weather, houses in Japan are built to withstand earthquakes.

 

So what factors can affect Interior design solution of a space?

1) Amount of direct sunlight.

Locations on the far northern or southern receive less amount of sunlight than those at the east and west. That's why buildings with more use of plane glass are used. Also artificial lighting is given much importance.

2) External temperature.

External temperature directly affects the comfort level of internal spaces. Since external walls act as a "buffer" between internal and external climate, it is necessary to use the right construction material for walls. Depending upon the wall material the internal finishes also have limitations. This is especially true for structure that face extreme climatic ups and downs, such as locations in the gulf countries. Hence selecting materials that can sustain heavy climatic changes on a daily scale is challenging.

3) Humidity and Rainfall.

Because of the salty nature of air around coastal areas extra care is taken for building construction materials (type of cement used), which can directly affect the entire budget of the project.

4)Wind Direction.

Wind direction and wind speed also has direct affect on the interiors. Heavy winds exert a load on the external walls of the structure, thus affecting the construction technology.

5)Land Structure and Topography.

Land structure is the nature of land on which the structure stands. Various types of land structures include rock solid, marshy land, etc...Topography of land is classified as plane or a site with slope.
If the site of the structure is on a hill slope, extra precautions are taken to allow the natural flow of rainwater that the structure might block. Depending upon the quality of land surface the construction
technology will change. As far as interiors are concerned a well planned structure with properly thought spaces is a must because internally the spaces get divided into various floors.

The above short discussion explains that external factors and environment greatly affect the way structures are built and thus directly affecting the interior qualities of the structure.

Technological advancements have allowed us to artificially control the internal environment of a building irrespective of what's happening outside. But a carefully studied and well planned architectural space can easily cut the extra cost of air conditioning and other ventilation services.

Source: http://cleverchronicles.blogspot.com/2012/06/5-external-climatic-factors-that-affect.html