THE SUSTAINABLE MODERNITY: ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN STRATEGIES FOR ADAPTATION TO CLIMATE IN MODERN ARCHITECTURE

Rivera Soriano, Juan ORCID: 0000-0002-2341-1780 (2025) THE SUSTAINABLE MODERNITY: ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN STRATEGIES FOR ADAPTATION TO CLIMATE IN MODERN ARCHITECTURE PhD thesis, University of Liverpool.

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Abstract

Modern architecture produced from the end of the 19th century till the 1970s has been traditionally labelled as neglecting design considerations related to energy efficiency and sustainability. However, there are some distinctive cases in the architectural production of the mid-century Modern Movement worldwide where a range of design strategies and methods for climatic adaptation in different kinds of weather were applied integrally, achieving functionality, thermal comfort, timelessness, and a new kind of aesthetics. This study set out to investigate the efficiency of four of these distinctive projects in their original intentions for climate adaptation and assess their energetic performance using current environmental standards. The research is approached as a combination of historical investigation of climatic Modernism and an analysis and test of the application of passive design strategies used in the selected cases of study in different geographic locations and climates, using BIM and contemporary validated software tools for climate analysis and energy performance simulation (Climate Consultant and Design Builder with the Energy Plus weather data files). The case studies selected for deep analysis in this research are mentioned in previous publications as paradigmatic projects of the Modern Movement in which high aesthetic quality was combined with climatic adaptation and thermal comfort using the language of Modern architecture. However, no scientifically based assessment or evaluation of them has been carried out. The four case studies are: the Sarabhai and Shodhan Houses by Le Corbusier in India (1956 and 1954); the Herbert Jacobs II House by Frank Lloyd Wright in Middleton, Wisconsin, USA (1948); and Villa Mairea by Alvar Aalto in Pori, Finland (1939). These houses are set in very different climatic contexts: the first two houses are located in a Tropical Savannah climate with very hot summers; the Herbert Jacobs II house is located in a mild continental climate with strong winds, cold winters and warm summers; and Villa Mairea is located in a Hemi boreal climate, with long, dark and very cold winters. The investigation uses original technical material obtained from the archives of these Modern Movement masters, including construction details and architectural drawings, as well as previous historical publications where the intentions of adaptation to climate in their architectural concepts are briefly described by the architects, and even in some 2 cases including comments about the thermal comfort experience of the houses in some periods of the year. By crossing this historical information with the contemporary climatic data and the environmental simulation results using the validated energy simulation software is possible to investigate the efficiency of the set of design strategies and techniques for adaptation to climate, holistically applied in each case.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Energy Efficiency in Architecture, Modern Architecture, Sustainable Architecture
Divisions:	Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences > School of the Arts
Depositing User:	Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited:	14 Aug 2025 08:45
Last Modified:	14 Aug 2025 12:21
DOI:	10.17638/03193493
Supervisors:	Urbano Gutierrez, Rosa
URI:	https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3193493
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