The paper is structured in four sections. The introduction sets the notion of solar control as a fundamental issue in deciding the priorities of climate-responsive design for different building types and locations in Europe. The second section presents an overview of application contexts and means of solar control, and discusses design priorities and threshold conditions for different space functions and environmental design requirements.
This paper summarizes recent developments in natural and passive cooling in buildings and the main results from the European research project P ASCOOL. The project was completed at the end of 1995, after 2i'months of theoretical and experimental work resulting in a better understanding of passive cooling techniques and the development of tools and design guidelines. The project was a collaboration of 29 European universities and research organizations from 12 countries.
There has been a recent growth of interest in the use of passive cooling in buildings, particularly in the use of chilled ceilings, including both beams and radiant panels. However, there is still concern about the risk of condensation on cold surf aces and water dripping onto occupants or furnishings, especially where there is no control over the level of humidity for instance in naturally ventilated buildings.
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