A Pilot Study on the Indoor Thermal Comfort of the "Wind-Rain" House

The ‘Wind-Rain’ House, was designed by the New Zealand architect, Nigel Cook. First built in New Zealand in 1985 its design concept for indoor thermal comfort is quite different from local conventional houses. This building has a courtyard with a glazed roof, which allows more direct sunlight to come into the building. The glazed roof can be partially opened or closed and is automatically controlled to provide natural ventilation for indoor thermal comfort. The glazed roof can also protect the courtyard space beneath against wind and rain. Since its first construction, a number of these houses have been built without detailed engineering analysis of the quality of their indoor thermal conditions. However, over the years, they have been constantly monitored by the designer in order to improve the design, mainly in response to owners’ comments. The first formal field study of an Auckland ‘Wind-Rain’ House, was carried out during the winter of 2009 to evaluate indoor thermal conditions and identify its design advantages. An objective was also to use the results to improve local house design in relation to the local climate. This house has great potential for winter thermal comfort as well as energy efficiency. A further study with more sample houses is needed to develop detailed design guides for new house development.