Incorporation of the principles of nature in architecture: Sun, shade and temperature control in the Sonoran Desert Item Type text; Thesis-Reproduction (electronic) Authors Gupta, Mridula, 1966- Publisher The University of Arizona. Rights Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. Download date 30/09/2021 12:31:24 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/278568 INFORMATION TO USERS This manuscript has been reproduced from the microfilm master. UMI films the text directly from the original or copy submitted. Thus, some thesis and dissertation copies are in typewriter face, while others may be from any type of computer printer. The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. 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Contact UMI directly to order. UMI A Bell & Howell Infonnation Company 300 Noith Zed} Road, Ann Aitx>r MI 48106-1346 USA 313 A761-4700 800/521-0600 INCORPORATION OF THE PRINCIPLES OF NATURE IN ARCHITECTURE; SUN, SHADE AND TEMPERATURE CONTROL IN THE SONORAN DESERT by Mriduia Gupta Copyright © Mriduia Gupta 1996 A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of the COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of MASTER OF ARCHITECTURE In the Graduate College THE UNIVERSITY OF ARI2'.0NA 1 996 UMI Number: 1382636 Copyright 1996 by- Gupta, Hridula All rights reserved. UMI Microform 1382636 Copyright 1997, by UMI Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. UMI 300 North Zeeb Road Ann Arbor, MI 48103 2 STATEMENT BY AUTHOR This thesis has been submitted in partial fulfillment of requirements for an advanced degree at the University of Arizona and is deposited in the University Library to be made available to borrowers under rules of the Library. Brief quotations from this thesis are allowed without special permission, provided that accurate acknowledgement of source is made. Requests for pennission for extended quotation from or reproduction of this manuscript in whole or in part may be granted by the copyright holder. SIGNED: (9. APPROVAL BY THESIS DIRECTOR This thesis has been approved on the date shown below: Fred S. Mattei Date Professor of Architecture 3 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Many people have contributed to the completion of my thesis in diverse ways. I would like to gratefully acknowledge them. There are a number of professors who provided me with inspiration and guidance through the preparation of this thesis. My sincere appreciation and gratitude are extended to Professor Fred S. Matter, my thesis committee chairperson, for his continual encouragement, advice and guidance during the entire course of this study, and to Professor Martin R. Yoklic, professor of Planning, my boss and thesis committee member, for his willingness to listen to my thoughts and ideas and his ability to clarify and comprehend what I was trying to express, while providing a direction for me to follow. I would also like to thank Professors Susan K.E. Moody, Nader V. Chalfoun, Judith Chafee, Harris Sobin and A. Richard Williams, for their guidance. My deepest gratitude go to my family and friends for their loving support and encouragement during the ebbs and flows of my thesis process. Many thanks to my parents for never doubting my abilities and for instilling in me a love for learning. I dedicate my thesis to them. 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 8 ABSTRACT 11 Chapter 1 BACKGROUND INFORMATION 1.1 INTRODUCTION 12 1.2 SCOPE OF STUDY AND METHODOLOGY 14 1.2.1 Hypothesis 14 1.2.2 Outline of thesis 15 1.2.3 Mode of inquiry 17 1.2.4 Contents of thesis 17 1.3 ART, FUNCTION AND SUSTAINABILITY 19 1.4 SCHOOLS OF THOUGHTS ON NATURE IN ARCHITECTURE 21 1.4.1 AlvarAalto 21 1.4.2 Frank Lloyd Wright 22 1.4.3 FreiOtto 23 1.4.4 Louis Sullivan 23 1.4.5 Malcolm Wells 23 1.4.6 Victor Olgyay 24 1.4.7 Organic architecture 24 1.4.8 Geomorphic architecture 25 1.4.9 Green architecture 25 1.4.10 Sustainable design 26 1.4.11 Bioclimatic design 27 1.5 USE OF ENERGY IN THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT 28 1.6 ADAPTATION, SUSTAINABILITY AND LIFE 30 1.7 SUMMARY 33 5 TABLE OF CONTENTS - Continued Chapter 2 STUDIES IN NATURE AND THEIR ADAPTATIONS 2.1 THE SONORAN DESERT 35 PLANT KINGDOM; 2.2 CACTUS COUNTRY 37 2.2.1 Saguaro 38 2.2.2 Saguaro's adaptations to the desert 39 2.3 TREES IN THE DESERT 43 2.3.1 Mesquite 45 2.3.2 Adaptive principles of the mesquite 46 ANIMAL KINGDOM: 2.4 TERMITES 51 2.4.1 The Hodotermitidae 55 2.4.2 Adaptive principles of Hodotermitidae 57 2.5 THE HORNED LIZARDS 61 2.5.1 Adaptations of the regal horned lizard 64 2.6 THE ROADRUNNER 69 2.6.1 Adaptive principles of the roadrunner 72 2.7 JACK RABBITS 73 2.7.1 Adaptive principles of the jack rabbit 75 2.8 DESERT BIGHORN SHEEP 76 2.8.1 Physiological characteristics 77 2.8.2 Thermal adaptive principles of the desert bighorn sheep 80 2.9 SUMMARY OF ADAPTIVE PRINCIPLES 80 6 TABLE OF CONTENTS - Continued Chapter 3 THE HUMAN ELEMENT 3.1 MAN IS A TROPICAL ANIMAL 85 3.2 MAN AND ARCHITECTURE 86 3.3 MAN AS THE THERMAL MACHINE 87 3.4 EVOLUTION AND VERNACULAR ARCHITECTURE 89 3.5 ENERGY AND WATER BALANCE IN THE SONORA DESERT 90 3.6 THERMAL COMFORT OF MAN 91 3.7 TEMPERATURE REGULATION IN MAN 93 3.7.1 Heat balance 93 3.7.2 Body temperature 98 3.7.3 The regulation of body temperature 98 3.7.4 The effector mechanisms 99 3.8 MAN'S ADAPTATION TO THE SONORAN DESERT 100 3.9 THERMAL BALANCE IN THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT ...102 3.10 SUMMARY OF ADAPTIVE PRINCIPLES 107 Chapter 4 SYNTHESIS OF CASES 4.1 INTRODUCTION 108 4.2 ADAPTIVE PRINCIPLES OF EXAMPLES UNDER STUDY 108 4.2.1 Summary of adaptive principles derived 113 4.3 CASE STUDIES 120 4.3.1 Coleman Residence, Tucson 121 4.3.2 Taliesin West, Phoenix 122 7 TABLE OF CONTENTS - Continued 4.3.3 Boyce Thompson Southwestem Arboretum Visitors Center, Superior 124 4.3.4 SunTran Bus Stop, Tucson 127 4.3.5 Hynes Residence, Tucson 128 4.3.6 Broadway Village, shopping complex, Tucson 130 4.3.7 Two Pesos, Mexican restaurant, Tucson 132 4.3.8 The Josler House, Tucson 133 4.3.9 Fraternity House, University of Arizona 134 4.3.10 Chapel of San Pedro at Fort Lowell, Tucson 136 4.3.11 Solomon Residence, Tucson 137 4.3.12 College of Architecture, University of Arizona 138 4.3.13 The Passive Cooling and Heating Experimental Facility, Tucson 139 4.4 CONCLUSIONS 146 REFERENCES 149 8 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Figure 2.1 The Sonoran Desert 36 Figure 2.2 The Sonoran Desert can be divided into seven distinct subdivisions on the basis of vegetation 36 Figure 2.3 Energy transfer in a saguaro 40 Figure 2.4 Shadows cast on the saguaro by its spines and pleats 41 Figure 2.5 Cross-section of saguaro showing central ribs 41 Figure 2.6 Comnnon vertebrates of mesquite 47 Figure 2.7 Evapotranspiration model of mesquite 47 Figure 2.8 Some tennites of different casts 52 Figure 2.9 The interior of a royal cell 52 Figure 2.10 Circulation of air in the nests of Macrotermes bellicosus 54 Figure 2.11 Sections through nests of various species of termites 54 Figure 2.12 Cross-section through ground nests of Hodotermitidae 56 Figure 2.13 The regal horned lizard 63 Figure 2.14 Orientation behavior of a horned lizard 63 Figure 2.15 Behavior patterns of themnoregulation in the horned lizard 66 Figure 2.16 The roadrunner 71 Figure 2.17 The roadrunner builds a cholla prison around the sleeping rattle snake 71 Figure 2.18 The jackrabbit 74 Figure 2.19 Thermal situation for the jackrabbit 74 Figure 2.20 The desert bighorn sheep 79 Figure 2.21 Heat exchange for the bighorn sheep 79 9 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS - Continued Figure 3.1 Schematic diagram of Victor Olgyay's bioclimatic chart 92 Figure 3.2 Channels of heat flow to and from the human body 96 Figure 3.3 Thermal exchange between human body and its environment ....96 Figure 3.4 Diagramatic representation of relations between heat production, evaporation and non-evaporative heat loss and deep body temperature in man 97 Figure 3.5 Representation of the size of the central constant temperature 'core' in conditions ranging from hot to cold 97 Figure 3.6 Schematic depiction of the fluxes involved in the energy balance of (a) a complete building volume, (b) a room in a building, (c) a person In a room 104 Figure 4.1a Comparison of selected life forms to their adaptive principles 119 Figure 4.1 Side view, Coleman Residence 121 Figure 4.2 Front view, Taliesin West 122 Figure 4.3 Side view, Taliesin West 123 Figure 4.4 Rear view, Boyce Thompson Arboretum 124 Figure 4.5 Front view, Boyce Thompson Arboretum 125 Figure 4.6 SunTran bus stop 127 Figure 4.7 Sunspace, Hynes Residence 128 Figure 4.8 Roof detail, Hynes Residence 129 Figure 4.9 Broadway Village (shopping complex) 130 Figure 4.10 Outdoor dining porch of Two Pesos 132 10 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS - Continued Figure 4.11 Josler House 133 Figure 4.12 Aggie House (Fraternity building) 134 Figure 4.13 Chapel of San Pedro 136 Figure 4.14 Front view, Solomon Residence 137 Figure 4.15 South view solar collector.