Introduction: Environmental Comfort and Beyond

Abstract

At this time of writing, the fi eld of Environmental Comfort does not in fact exist. This is so even though the topic is taught in nearly all schools of architecture and forms the core of much architectural discourse. It is to be found mainly in subjects like architectural science (e.g., Szokolay 2008), 1 environmental or climatic design (e.g., Drake 2009; Olgyay 1963), or architectural technology (e.g., Bougdah and Sharples 2009; Lechner 2009). The titles of these subjects allude to the scientifi c and engineering foundation of the topic and explain the emphasis on technology and scientifi cally derived criteria in current literature on the topic. To some extent, therein lie the constraints beyond which the current book attempts to expand.