Thermal Delight

A Reaction Paper to Thermal Delight in Architecture by Lisa Heschong 

and the Thermal Comfort and Building Energy Consumption 

in the Philippine Context by Mary Myla  Andamon.  

I.                   General Information:

This reaction Paper is prepared for the Thermal Delight in Architecture by Lisa Heschong and the Thermal Comfort and Building Energy Consumption in the Philippine Context by Mary Myla  Andamon.  Both subjects focusses on the Effects and would-be effects of Thermal Comfort and its flexibilities. There is a clear contrast between the two views, as  both comes from different context.

 Thermal Delight in Architecture states the Necessity, Delight, Affection and Sacredness in Thermal Comfort as a gift from nature. It is on the creativity of the designer to unfold this in the design.  The  Thermal Comfort and Building Energy Consumption in the Philippine Context presents  a proof that people especially Filipinos working in Makati Office Buildings will desire a more cooler work environment. .

II.                Bibliographic Information

Heschong,  Lisa,  (1979).  Thermal Delight in Architecture. The Massachusetts Institute of  Technology

Andamon, Mary Myla,  (2016).  Thermal Comfort and Building Energy Consumption in the Philippine Context, PLEA2006 - The 23^rd Conference on Passive and Low Energy Architecture, Geneva, Switzerland

III.             Major points in the article: Thermal Delight in Architecture

a.      The book  was written with no conclusions, no guidelines and considered as best Design  Reference. It’s a matter of  playing safe on the writer side, probably because it is mentioned that  there are a few references on which to validate this with. Information here cannot be used for a design data, instead it is the Best Inspiration.

b.       There is a romantic and poetic presentation of the experiences of the senses which dealt much with colors and fire. The sensitivity on the delight of the sixteenth-century traveler furnished an eye witness description of the delights of a Persian Garden. These can be referred to as classic but rarely applicable to the

present day metropolis. Today’s  situation dictates high-cost of living nowadays to a lifestyle following or submitting to the delights of nature. This is where luxurious vacation hide-aways gets the priority. Nowadays, to be with nature and to embrace nature is a luxury.

c.       To explore more on the Affection and Necessity, Delight , Affection and Sacredness, the writer had expressed her own passionate interpretation on how these phenomenon in mother earth can sway human being yet it all depends on the human being, practicality and availability of all these wonders of nature.

IV.              Major points in the article: Thermal Comfort and Building Energy Consumption in the Philippine Context

a.      The writer had made her views for the isolated areas of the Metropolis like Makati and probably the wall street of Ayala and Buendia Avenue. By saying, “Air conditioning technologies have transformed what is regarded as a “normal” building in many different parts of the world….” this is applicable to buildings in tight envelop and does not include buildings in passive cooling which are also in Makati.

b.      Automatically, individual desire is  expressed when asked, and as normal, people will answer what is best or more than best and most of the time what they wanted and not just what they need.

Meaning, when asked what temperature you prefer, you say..cold and colder because the Philippines is a Tropical Country and being in a cool place means comfort if not really luxury.

c.       The 5 air conditioned office buildings and the  277 office workers who were interviewed is not enough to represent the whole of Makati. Should the actual and current statistics shall be referred to, surprises can be seen in the result. But since societal behavior were looked into by the writer, the facts presented herewith is acceptable by the mere notion that to work in Makati, wherever your location will be,  is really expected to be a cool and sufficiently air conditioned place.

V.                Knowledge of the contents that may improve the Practice in Architectural Design.

a.      The Thermal Delight in Architecture had fully illustrated that aside from the necessity of the knowledge of thermal comfort and its flexibilities,  there is delight in the sense

of the matter and that can be considered as early as the conceptualization of the project. Though the nostalgia of the romanticism in the sixteenth century garden is now unattainable, yet the creativity of the Designer is unlimited.

VI.             Contradictory Information

a.      The Thermal Delight in Architecture mentioned LIGHT as one of the Design Elements. This is confusing as to the conventional teaching especially when referred to the Sensory Design Elements like the lines, shapes and textures. In architecture, we are aiming for the mood or metaphor expressed by the architectural design.

b.       LIGHTING is considered as Expressive Element as it gives a structure or an environment the appearance of having a mood, emotional state, character and / or dynamic qualities.  In line with thermal sensitivities, human Sensations  due to thermal flexibilities and adjustments when aesthetically introduced with the aid of technology can definitely be an Expressive Element.

 For our Cheerful  Graduate School Days Memoir 

with  Architects Leonard Briones, Elma Bulayo and Cheery Dominguiano 

Building and Environmental Control Systems, Graduate School,  Mapua Institute of Technology

                                                    Auguist 22, 2014