AR25303 Climate and Built Environment – Semester III – Arch – R-2025

Subject Code & Name: AR25303 – Climate and Built Environment

Regulation: R-2025

Semester: III (Third Semester)

Branch: B. Arch. (Arch)

Credits / L-T-P: 3 Credits | L-T-P: 3-0-0

Course Objectives

• To introduce climate and concept of human comfort.
• To inform about the effects of atmosphere sky and sun on the earth and building.
• To inform about the effects of wind and air with respect to siting and design of buildings.
• To inform about principles of day lighting in architecture.
• To understand architecture as a response to environment in totality, including climate, sun, sky, wind, lighting, vegetation, microclimate.

Full Unit-wise Syllabus

Unit I – Climate, Classification and Human Comfort

Climate and Civilisation. Components and characteristics of climate. Classification of climate for building designers in tropics. Human body heat balance and heat loss. Effects of climatic factors on human body heat loss. Effective temperature, human thermal comfort. Use of C. Mahoney’s tables. Introduction to Urban Heat Island (UHI).

Unit II – Building Response to Sun and Atmosphere

Movement of sun. Locating the position of sun. Sun path diagram. Azimuth and altitude angles. Overheated period. Solar shading. Shadow angles. Exercise in the design of shading devices through models/ calculations/ drawings/ software. Concepts and principles of daylight in buildings- transmission, reflection, glare, daylight factor, room proportion, opening size and distribution.

Unit III – Heat Flow Through Building Envelope- Concepts

The transfer of heat through solids. Definitions- Conductivity, Resistivity, Specific heat, Conductance, Resistance and Thermal capacity. Surface resistance and air cavities. Air to air transmittance (U value). Time lag and decrement. Material qualities of envelopes. Exercise involving heat flow through building envelope involving calculations. Demonstration of software for design analysis.

Unit IV – Air Movement and Buildings

The wind. The effects of topography on wind patterns. Air currents around building. Air movement through buildings. The use of fans. Thermally induced air currents – Stack effect, Venturi effect, scoop, court yards. Exercise exploring air movement in architecture with physical models. Demonstration of simulation through software.

Unit V – Environment and Design of Buildings

Design strategies in warm and humid climates, hot and humid climates, hot and dry climates and Tropical Island climate and cold climates. Understanding through case studies and site visits. A brief introduction to ENS 2024 (Energy Conservation and Sustainable Building Code for Residential Buildings)

Course Outcomes (COs)

• CO1: An understanding of climate, comfort and heat balance in human beings.
• CO2: An understanding of material effects in buildings.
• CO3: Ability to conceptually design buildings considering the effect of sun and wind on buildings.
• CO4: Ability to interpret design strategies of different climatic zones.
• CO5: Ability to analyze dynamics of climate parameters.

Assessment Pattern (Quick Note)

• Weightage: Continuous Internal Assessment 40% | End Semester Examinations 60%
• Internal methodology: Two Assessments with equal weightage. One Assessment as Internal written Test/Examination (50%), second as Assignment (50%) of any mode such as study, seminar, and or a combination of modes, etc

Source: Official Anna University – B. Arch. R-2025 Syllabus
Last Updated: September 2026