Towards Passive Working Environments : Free Running Office in Guadalajara, Mexico

Abstract

[Abstract] Unlike vernacular architecture, most of the newly built office buildings in Mexico are poorly adapted to the climate. The main reason is a lack of normative to limit and regulate the environmental performance of office buildings, since the existing one, is focused on active methods, disregarding the possibility of free-running buildings. This research focuses on the interaction between architecture and the climate to design comfortable environments for office workers in the region of Guadalajara, Mexico. The investigation starts with a climate analysis to reveal the climate’s challenges and opportunities as well as the potential for passive design strategies. Fieldwork was conducted in an office tower originally designed following the results of a predesign analysis. With the outcome from the case study, a building module was developed, and the initial parameters were set for further parametric analysis. The results were measured considering the percentage of time in comfort of each different case, as well as the percentage of time overheated. The study identified solar protection as the most effective passive strategy for the location, for the cases where is not possible, a high resistance building envelope is recommended with the inclusion of thermal mass, and insulation.