English

Passive and low energy houses are not yet widespread throughout the world. One of the reasons is that their actual performance has not been clarified. In recent years, the number of houses has been increasing in Japan, however, there are very few examples of multiple dwelling building whose performance has been clarified. The annual thermal performance of two dwelling units in a multiple dwelling building in Japan is measured and their high performance is verified.

This paper considers the building's envelope in the design phase. Energy related decisions during the design phase have great influence on the life cycle cost of the building. Since sunlight and climate are changing factors, the envelope is equipped with mobile and adaptable components (shading devices, movable insulation, opening window schedules ...) which can react to climatic conditions. Architects use computer aided design tools to describe a building and its envelope.

Passive solar buildings are expected to provide their intended functions, safely and without adverse health effects, and at substantial energy savings compared to conventional buildings. Moreover, passive solar buildings are frequently considered as appropriate technology in parts of the world where the incidence rates of diseases associated with indoor exposures may be the highest.

The application of a continuous thermal insulation on the external face of building walls ameliorates the thermal performance of external walls and alleviates problems related to thermal bridges. However a further improvement of this insulation system may be achieved by using ventilated walls, which consist of an open ended cavity placed between an insulating board {directly applied on the external side of outer walls) and an external cladding.

ln the past, passive solar buildings were specifically designed with respect to energy and thermal comfort requirements. Within this framework a fa9ade able to collect solar energy and bring indoor suitable conditions for occupants was thought of as an optimal building device. On the contrary, little attention was paid to their acoustic behaviour.

The examination of the "Young-am House", a traditional folk house located in the middle region of the Korean peninsula, aims to analyze and to inform the bio-climatic design of the building and interior spaces based in the traditional architecture of Korea. As a consequence of the examination, it was evident that bioclimatic design performed an important part in creating a natural environment for comfortable living by taking consideration of the changing local climatic conditions.

Thermal comfort in transitional spaces of buildings is established from a field study conducted in the cool season of Bangkok, Thailand. IL involved 302 indoor subjects occupying either air-conditioned or naturally ventilated environments and 291 outdoor subjects who were leaving the indoors. The data were analysed by using a calculating method, "Griffiths" values, giving neutral temperatures, and a quadratic regression for thermal acceptability.