Abstract:
Bangladelh i, basically a very lradit10nal society in tern" of lj,ing style, living
environment, construction methods and m"lerials. The dwe11Lngform that has
evolved in this region is the result of a long tradition of pnlcliccd tcchmques
a;semblcd by trial, error and experimentation, which became almost intuitive. The
basic thermal laws were implemented not knowing the complexities of laws of
therolD-physiological properties, bul intuitively.
Urban areas are growing [•.,t, life has become complicated and complexity in life
style, method, of li,'log, constructions method and material, and use of modem
facilities, are being introduced. At the same time Bangladesh is one of thnse
unprivileged countries, where most of the people cannot afford luxury in their living
sly1c.
So in the context of Bangladesh, to achieve lhermal comfort, mechanical means
should not be the ,olution, but namral means by appropriate design of buildings that
promote thermal comfort through its natuml inleraction with the outdoor
environment.
This thesis focuses on indoor comfort in urban residential bmldings, in three steps.
F<rSI, the urban climatic situation of Dhaka was ~ludied and !he requirements of
!hermal comfort were established. The impact of climatic elements on comfort were
analysed and it was found that the people in !his area arc accustomed to and
comfortable in higher temperatures and humidity levels than people in the west.
Second, the patterns of urban development in residential areaS were studied and three
types of development patterns were identified in terms of built-form. These are open
siles, medium density Sltes, and dense sites. The thermal behaviour pattern of these
categories of sites were studied and compared. It was found that dense .,ites perform
better than the other two categories of sites, as soiar radiation is the most important
guiding element for indoor environment in the context of Dhaka. The air-flow inside
the buildings studied wa, found to be insignific"nt, the dim:tions being
unpredictable, especially in dense and medium de"-'ity .,ites.
The thi~d and conclusive pari is concerned with design strategies for attempting
towards ,olutions of the problems In the different density sites.
