Lessons from traditional architecture: Design for a climatic responsive contemporary house in Thailand

The question posed in this paper is whether traditional Thai houses perform better than a typical contemporary Thai house in creating comfortable internal conditions. And if they do how is it possible for the contemporary house to benefit from the advantages presented in the design of the traditional house in terms of thermal performance while maintaining thermal comfort conditions for its occupants. The thermal performance of both types of buildings is therefore investigated, using a simulation model and based on a selection of thermal performance criteria of local traditional and contemporary house models in Thailand. The results indicate that improved performance might be achieved by combining selected lessons from the traditional design e.g. improved shading, regional variations in window size related to orientation, and adoption of adjustable ventilation and window openings.