Residential cluster based on climate and energy considerations

Abstract

Responsive architecture in general and solar design in particular have been directed in recent years mainly towards the development of individual buildings. This article presents a project for the design of a cluster of 100 residential units in the cold highlands of the Israeli desert — the Negev. The project shows the transformation of environmental conditions to built form at different scales: the entire cluster, the individual building and the architectural components of the building. The trajectory of the sun in winter and summer, the direction of strong disturbing winds, and the daily and annual temperature readings are form determinants that establish the structure of the project. It is suggested that an expansion of this design approach can create a “solar urbanism” that will enhance the adaptation of settlements to their environments and thus form a “new sense of place” that so often does not exist in contemporary town planning and architecture. This project is the winning entry of a national competition for the design of “an urban cluster based on climate and energy considerations” organized by the Ministries of Housing & Construction, and Energy & Infrastructure, together with the Israeli Association of Engineers and Architects.