Behaviours, opportunities and expectations as thermal defences

Abstract

Three papers were presented in this workshop. The first was on the subject of the Wintry Thermal Environment and Domestic Energy Use in Nepal. It was presented by Pokharel Ram and co-written with Hom Rijal and Masanori Shukuya from Tokyo City University (CATE 2019 Proceedings, pp. 377-382). This paper introduced several unique elements to the discussion if climate and comfort. The most glaring was that of altitude, that in Nepal dictates to a large extent the climate of a settlement. The verticality of the country offered a new insight into the impact of elevation on comfort. The second paper was on Indoor air quality, cold stress and thermal comfort in multi-family timber frame buildings by Timothy O. Adekunle, University of Hartford, Connecticut, USA (CATE 19 Proceedings, pp. 383-394). The paper provided an overview of environmental conditions measured in the homes in winter and provided an interesting contrast to the Nepalese study. The mean temperatures measured in the homes we above this measured in the Nepalese ones and there were recorded complaints about the stuffiness and the occasional smells and measurements did show theoretically high levels of humidity and CO2 in the occupied homes. However, these may seem insignificant when set against the Nepalese data where in some homes up to a dozen people may sleep in the same room. Clothing and life styles as well as expectations of what is required as a bare minimum for comfort may affect researchers thinking in such studies. The third paper in the workshop was on the surface of it very different. It was given by Kheira Anissa Tabet Aoul of the Architectural Engineering Department, United Arab Emirates University, UAE. It was on the subject of Sustainability, Literacy and Higher Education: Paradigms and Challenges in the Built Environment of the Gulf Region (CATE 19 Proceedings, pp395-406). In this paper Aoul raises the really important question of how best to transform our educational systems into high impact mechanisms for delivering to student's vital education on how they can survive and thrive in a rapidly changing world, with it changing climate. She looked at ways in which her own taught courses address this changing world and shared with the workshop her own endeavours to integrate essential and often basic sustainability and resilience lessons into her education and training programmes.