PLEA 2003 – The 20th Conference on Passive and Low Energy Architecture, Santiago – CHILE. 9-12 Noviembre 2003-10-07 Paper Code C12. Page 1 of 6
The Pallet House Cristian Suau Ibáñez Architect Ph.D. - MSc E-mail: cristian.suau@usa.net
ABSTRACT. This study has been developed in HDM, Lund University and it focuses on the use of passive technique to achieve indoor thermal comfort in experimental houses in arid coastal lands in the Atacama Desert, Chile. Computer simulations indicates that indoor comfort conditions may improve by simple passive techniques that included the use of recycled and local material for thermal storage/insulation, shading devices and orientation of openings. The case study –Pallet House- formulates a life cycle model by the recycling of timber pallets as constructive units with lightweight materials using for low-income houses. Conference Topic : Light Architecture, Passive Techniques, Experimental Design in Arid Lanscapes Keywords : Architecture in Desert, Recycling Pallet Boards, Light Materials
DESERT AND BIOCLIMATIC ARCHITECTURE Often characterized as an "extreme" environment, the arid lands provide considerable inputs of solar energy and acceptable levels of human comfort. The opportunities for utilizing natural energies -such as solar radiation and across ventilation- are among the many passive systems and design strategies which is especially pronounced in an arid climate. Bio-climatic architecture adapts to climatic and environmental conditions in order to achieve a situation of indoor thermal comfort with design elements and minimazing the use of complex mechanical systems. It retrieves and combines ancient or local techniques and new ones. This architecture considers the environmental impact of all the processes implied in housing. From materials that do not produce toxic waste and do not consume much energy, utilizing a proper use of passive techniques, building location and embodied energy. Bioclimatic or passive architecture is closely related to housing design to get energy efficiency because it reduces impact of energy consumption on it (see figure 1).
On one hand, the geography of most arid regions of the world has dictated a predominant traditional use of earthen and light materials in construction. For dwellers in arid settlements, earthen, local and disposal material has always been affordable, inexpensive or even free and also particularly used as thermal storage. On another hand, population in arid lands mostly establish in port-cities or fertile valleys, where new waves of dwellers –i.e.: low-income immigrants- mostly utilice recycled building material to build temporal shelters and mainly leftover materials such as pallets boards. This is the case study of lightweight houses in the port of Iquique, located in the Atacama Desert, Chile (see figure 3). With sparse population and low rates of development, the Atacama Desert has typically received little attention from planning professionals in Chile. This means that standard building norms are predominantly adapted for non-desert conditions. Figure 2.
Latitude of the Atacama Deset
Climatic map of the Americas and the location of Capricorn tropic. According to UNCHS, a house built primarily with local material consumes 1/3 less embodied energy than a house made primarily with manufactured materials.
BACKGROUND Figure 1. Design of the Pallet House using lightweight and recycled material. This experimental house uses low energy-content materials and applies climatic design principles such us windows orientation, thermal properties of materials, and shading devices. Suau, 2002.
Design for recycling of disposed materials may highly reduce the energy in slight houses set up along emerging port cities, particularly in the northern coast of Chile. Selecting timber boards such as pallets constitute one of the structural and thermal materials.
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