Impact Of Solar Characteristics On Building Design In Menindee: Traditional And Natural Methods

Climate Conditions of Menindee and its Impact on Building Design

1. What is the impact of solar characteristics on the design of the buildings in the city Menindee?

2. How atmospheric conditions such as mist and rain affect the building design of Menindee?

1. Menindee is a small city in South Wales Australia with a desert type climatic condition. The temperatures in summer rise above 40 degree at times however, average temperature ranges between 32-36 degrees. The structures of the buildings can be prone to climatic changes that might increase the risk of collapsing. Currently the buildings has to be constructed keeping in mind to reduce global warming and carbon footprint. In order to withstand the heat in Menindee, the buildings are using latest technologies of cooling their house and internal environment. As mentioned by Soares et al., (2013, p.82), excessive heat can severely affect the construction of buildings as the material used can unable to withstand the extreme the heat. Therefore, with due time the material might degrade resulting in collapsing of the building eventually.

Menindee is a small town in New South Wales, Australia on the bank of river Darling with a few populations. The climate of Menindee is very dry and typically desert type. The solar characteristics such as solar path and intensity are very high thereby, resulting in higher dry and temperature. Menindee has an average rainfall of only 245.8 mm that is considered to be significantly low annually. As the rainfall is very low, the temperature of the region is always higher. At certain instances, Menindee has received considerably higher amount of rainfall. The summer prevails in Menindee from January to May and from October to December. During these months, the temperatures generally range between 41-49 degree Celsius. Therefore, the houses built in these areas needs to provide an overall cooling effect for the residents. In order to save economy and environment, traditional methods of building houses can be opted by the people of Menindee. Dallol in Ethiopia has an extreme desert type of climate. Reports suggest Dallol has the highest temperature for an inhibited location on Earth (All That Is Interesting, 2017). The temperature throughout the year in this place ranges between 36-49 degree Celsius that is considerably high. Moreover, the climate in this place is very dry and arid and the average rainfall received in this area is very less. Such a dry and hot climate in this area is supposedly due to the Red Sea and the proximity with the equator. This place also lacks the effect of nigh time cooling thereby, making the climate very hot.  In order to cope up with such dry and hot climate, traditional methods of construction are used in order to save economy and environment. Dallol in Ethiopia uses earth clay as their construction material. On the contrary, only clay is not considered strong enough to withstand adverse climates. Therefore, cob is used as an alternative construction material to ensure safety and cooling of the house.

Traditional Methods of Construction in Menindee

Therefore, traditional methods of construction having similar weather conditions as Menindee can act as an initiative in reducing the carbon footprint. As mentioned by Madurwar et al., (2013, p.872), traditionally earth clay was used for as material for construction of buildings as it was easily accessible and increased the ability of the houses to withstand heat. However, as argued by Hejazi et al., (2012, p.100), constructing only with natural earth minimizes the strength of the building. In order to make the construction materials stronger, cob was suggested as an alternative construction material. As mentioned by Keefe (2012, p.56), cob is a mixture of straw, sand and clay soil. Constructing the buildings with cob and natural earth will make the internal environment of the house much cooler. This natural way of cooling the houses in Menindee can be considered as an initiative towards reducing the carbon footprint. The presence of buildings constructed by cob materials dates back centuries ago (Slocombe, 2012).

Another significant way of withstanding the extreme heat is the use of straw bale. As asserted by Bhatttarai et al., (2012, p.422), straw bales are type of timbers that acts as natural insulators with high performance. This traditional method of construction was used as the building material in Africa. The use of straw bales acts as natural insulators thereby, preventing the entry of heat within the house. The solar radiation directly falls on the roofs of the house thereby, making the roofs more vulnerable to heat of the sun. As commented by Arnaud and Gourlay (2012, p.50), hempcrete is a mixture of water, hemp and lime can be used as a construction material and beneficial for cooling the house. This acts as insulating materials for the roofs thereby, preventing the entry of solar heat and radiation. In order to provide cooling effect on an entire locality, large wind towers can be installed in the grounds that will eventually transform the warm air into cold air thereby, providing a cooling effect on the entire locality.

Use of traditional method of construction provides added advantages to both economy and the environment. Natural resources are easily available resources that are also cost effective. Moreover, when required the natural resources used for construction can be modified without much hassle. In case of electronic and technological forms of keeping the house, cool by installing cooling machineries, such machines can break down any time giving them uncertainty. Moreover, having natural forms of cooling also saves the electricity bill of the household.

Importance of Natural Methods in Building Design

2. Menindee is a city in Australia whose climatic condition resembles the climatic condition of desert. As per the weather reports of Menindee, the city receives an average of 242 mm of rainfall annually that is considered significantly low. Therefore, receiving such low amount of rainfall signifies desert type climatic conditions in Menindee (Finlayson et al., 2013, p.73). Receiving less rainfall highlights the severely high temperatures in Menindee thereby, the construction of buildings have to be conducted in such a way that it promotes cool environment within the buildings. As asserted by Shillington (2012, p.23), previously, the Africans used to narrow down the streets in order to accelerate the flow of air. Therefore, while undertaking the construction, the pathways are cut at specific angles to save the people from the heat of the summer. In modern construction, the walls of the buildings generally constructed with single layer of brick thereby, making the penetration of heat easy.  Therefore, constructing the houses thick-layered walls can compensate the heat due to less rain received by Menindee. The city can harvest the rainwater received during the rainy season for future use. This will decrease the water scarcity within the city thereby, providing an opportunity to use the stored water for other purposes. The rainwater harvesting system can be constructed within the houses, as this requires less space. Moreover, flowing of water throughout the house to reach the harvesting chamber keeps the overall house much cooler.

Harvesting of rainwater is extensively beneficial for areas that receive less rainfall throughout the year. This provides them an opportunity of storing water and using it in future use. While constructing the houses in areas with less rainfall, the walls can contain water bags that will enable a cooling effect on the entire house. Use of water bags is a traditional way of constructing buildings used before 1900’s. Therefore, incorporation of water bags within the walls of the houses is beneficial due to the extreme weather conditions. This will act as insulators and prevent the heat from outside to enter the house.

While constructing the houses, provision for planting trees can also be beneficial. As mentioned by Chan (2012, p.516), having trees planted in the surrounding of the house will provide an overall cooling effect in the house. These natural ways for cooling is a huge initiative towards promoting a healthy and pollution free environment. This provides an opportunity of using the naturally available resources thereby, minimizing the use of technology that increases the carbon footprint. According to Pacheco-Torgal and Jalali (2012, p.512), rammed earth comprises of clay, sand and gravel along with a stabilizer and put into moulds to undertake the specific shape. Traditionally additives were also added in order to stabilize the moulds. The walls of the houses can also have water bags that will provide cooling impact on the entire house. Therefore, different forms of natural earth such as cob, rammed earth for construction. Furthermore, water can also be added in the cob mixture and be molded into structures of bricks for construction. This strengthens the structure of the building while construction. Use of the natural resources for construction of buildings is a huge initiative for reducing the impacts of global warming and carbon footprint.

Rainwater Harvesting System and Water Bags in Building Design

The climatic condition of Menindee is dry and desert thereby, resulting in less rainfall. In order to cope up with the impact of less rainfall, the houses in Menindee are built using traditional methods in order to save the environment. As Menindee receives very less annual rainfall, amount of precipitation is also comparatively less. Therefore, the atmospheric condition of Menindee is dry and dusty. Straw bales can also be used on the roof top in order to provide an overall cooling effect as they act as natural insulators. This will provide an overall cooling effect on the entire house. Dallol in Ethiopia has similar climatic conditions as Menindee, that is, dry and desert type. One of the traditional methods of construction in Dallol is by using hempcrete, a composition of hemp hurds and lime. This acts as natural insulators for the houses of Dallol thereby, acting as an initiative towards reducing the carbon footprint and saving the environment.

References

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