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How the inner courtyard design achieve thermal comfort on a ‘Four Season’ Climate ?

How the inner courtyard design achieve thermal comfort on a ‘Four

Season’ Climate ?

Table of Contents PageHow the inner court yard design achieve thermal comfort on a ‘Four Season Climate’ ? 1.0) Introduction 32.0 ) Overview of Ga On Jai House 5

3.0) Thermal comfort achieved via inner courtyard 7 design on a low season climate3.1) Layout of courtyard and building 73.2) Materiality 9

4.0) Thermal comfort achieved via inner courtyard 10 design on a high season climate 4.1) Layout of courtyard and building 104.2) Materiality 12

5.0) Conclusion 13

6.0) Reference 14

ARC 2213/2234 Asian Architecture !1


Abstract

The purpose of this research is to investigate how inner courtyard in designed in order to achieve thermal comfort on a ‘four season’ climate. A study on how the inner courtyard can respond to both hot and cold weather of the current location of the building. The contextual and vernacular architecture is derived from the past and is being applied on the modern contemporary buildings. Research on the traditional Korean Architecture buildings is conducted so that the similarity of concept can be proven. IROJE KHM Architects is well-known for deriving the traditional architecture onto the modern contemporary buildings. With the Hanok, Korean architecture style houses as the case study for this research, this paper reviews the function and importance of the inner courtyard to the Ga On Jai house, South Korea while responding to its four season climate to achieve thermal comfort.

The Ga On Jai house has successfully integrated the features of the Hanok houses with a more modern looking design, while containing the contextual and vernacular architecture. The Ga On Jai house has got the modern building features with the use of concrete, glass and steel. The planning of the house includes the consideration of the contextual elements of the site, for example the mountain surrounding it and also responding to the climate. The central position of the courtyard enhance the natural ventilation during the hot weather and also allow shelter from the wind during the cold weather, therefore thermal comfort can be achieved. It improves the natural ventilation of the building as well as providing enough privacy for the users. It has come to a conclusion that both this contemporary architecture has its similarity and was able to present the value of the traditional style of the Korean architecture, which maintaining its modern design. The building itself is also juxtaposition at the site, outstanding and been proven as a good modern contemporary building with contextual and vernacular architecture.



1. Introduction

Traditional Korean architecture includes a lot of elements and principles of sustainable design and partly this is true of most vernacular architecture. Hanok is a term to describe Korean traditional houses. Korean architecture is always in consideration to the positioning of the house in relation to the contextual surroundings, with thought given to the land and seasons. It attempts no ostentatious displays but its depth and subtle beauty can be realised in its respect for nature and he virtues of the commonplace, the simplicity of Hanok could feel forlorn and desolate sometimes, as it had a natural aesthetic that lacks any artificial touch. Moreover, Korea is has got a diversity of natural resources which is a huge benefit because Korean traditional houses were built from a variety of materials including wood, stone, earth and others. Most of the vernacular architecture is heavily inclined by the climate however Hanok has four distinct characteristics that control for heat, cooling, and ventilation. Hanok is a very unique vernacular architecture style in the Middle East Asia that copes with the climate conditions of the Korean Peninsular. It is designed to overcome humidity and high temperature in summer and cold and dry in winter seasons. The highlight of the Hanok is the inner courtyard, which is called as ‘Madang’. The inner courtyard functions to provide natural ventilation and also helps to achieve thermal comfort in the building of four season climate. Not only that it also creates open space by connecting human living unit and the surroundings, it is a good balance between man-made space and nature by creating a greater harmony and health for the people. This architecture of Hanok does not emphasise on the construction and design but how it is related to the holistic environment in contextual. The visual and physical harmony between the nature and architecture is a precious factor.



The climate of South Korea

This paper will investigate on how the inner courtyard design achieve thermal comfort on a four season climate by responding to the following research questions:

Question 1 : Why the inner courtyard is considered as part of the nature driven design ?

Question 2: In terms of contextual climate, what is the problem encountered by applying this design into Ga On Jai House ?

Question 3: How does the inner courtyard design respond to low season climate ?

Question 4: How does the inner courtyard design respond to high season climate ?

Question 5: How does each features acts as a solution and help in solving problem faced to achieve thermal comfort ?



2. Overview of Ga On Jai House

The building which stands out with the grey cantilevered roof if the Ga On Ji House. Ga On Jai is designed by Korean architectural firm IROJE KHM Architects, completed in 2013, located in Seongam, South Korea and comes with a bold statement with its imaginative cutout house design. The contemporary residence showcases an inner courtyard and has a 3,541 square foot (329 square meters) of living space. The design of the home allows the owners to enjoy both the indoor and outdoor areas. Most importantly, it is a great example of the revival of traditional Korean architecture.

The highlight of the building is that it complies the three main elements of the traditional Korean architecture. The first is by introducing ‘Madang’ which is the Korean inner courtyard, the purpose of this inner courtyard is to solve the requirement of introvert space, useful outdoor space, ecological environment and gives a healthy nature, live environment and landscape. The inner courtyard also helps to maintain thermal comfort in the building on a four season climate. the second element is by introducing ‘Ru’ which is Korean-piloted architecture, this element absorbs the dynamic and picturesque landscape of near mountain, according to turn the axis of mass of living room to top of the surrounding mountain. Not only that, the third is by introducing curved ‘Cheoma’ which is the cantilevered roof of Korea for the floating roof of this



house. The cantilevered roof can help to overcome the rough weather condition and also device the traditional language of architecture by also introducing oval patterned concrete wall which was derived from the traditional stone wall, which all can be found in the Hanok.



3. Thermal Comfort achieved via inner courtyard design on a low season weather

The “Madang” in the Ga On Jai house is a multifunction inner courtyard, which helps to maintain the thermal comfort in the building during the low season weather. Low season weather is also called as winter in general. During the low season, snow falls and temperature plummet. Therefore, there are a lot of characteristics of this inner courtyard, which functions to overcome the strong wind and also obstructs the breezes that are an essential component to achieve thermal comfort by passive means in cold climate.

3.1. Layout of Courtyard and Building

The first feature of the inner courtyard is the position itself in the building. The inner courtyard is being centralised in the building as shown in the plan and it acts as a connector of the spaces and is surrounded by the building.


Figure : traditional Korean architecture spatial planning of inner courtyard


The height of the building surrounding the inner courtyard is two levels, which is high enough to block the breeze wind from entering the building. In addition to the cantilevered roof, which has a curvy surface upwards helping to prevent cool breeze from entering as well. Moreover, the ratio of the wide area of courtyard and the height of building is suitable and perfectly angled to allow for huge amount of sunlight entering the building during the cold season to preserve the thermal comfort indoor.


Inner Courtyard

Figure : section of Ga On Jai house


3.2. Materiality

The material used in the building also plays a role in achieving thermal comfort in the building. Oval patterned concrete wall is used in this building in purpose to revive the material used in the traditional Korean architecture. Concrete is widely used in cold weather countries because it can store heat itself and also the indoor spaces. Therefore concrete wall used can preserve the heat in the building and maintain the average temperature in the building.



4.0 Thermal comfort achieved via inner courtyard design on a high season climate

The inner courtyard also acts as a multifunction feature, it also helps to preserve the thermal comfort in the building during the hot weather as well, which is the high season. During the high season, it dry and humid, hot and rainy, therefore the inner courtyard plays an important role to overcome these kind of weather. Ga On Jai house is designed in such a way that the natural ventilation and thermal comfort is enhanced.

4.1 Layout of Courtyard and Building

The first feature of the inner courtyard is the openings due to the position

and placement of the inner courtyard. The typology of this courtyard building is introverted, therefore the inner courtyard provides a passive cooling system.



As shown in the figure above, the left and right elevation is enclosed and the front and rear elevation is open. Therefore the openings at the front and back allows natural wind ventilation to ventilate the building, providing a cooler environment. Applying wind energy for ventilation is considered as one of the most effective method of traditional Korean architecture to provide thermal comfort for occupants especially in the hot and humid climates, this strategy can also be used to conserve energy and provide proper thermal comfort for indoor spaces. During the night of hot and dry condition, warm air rises in front of the courtyard and cooler air then replaces it. Cool air is then circulated through the indoor spaces in the day.

Moreover, not only natural ventilation but shading is also one of the most significant effect in passive cooling design applied with the inner courtyard design. Similar to the feature during the low season, interior and exterior spaces pass through different shadow periods during the day. However, the inner courtyard is shaded by the building and cantilevered roof surrounding it, this can decrease the temperature of the entire spaces and maintaining the thermal comfort as well. The inner courtyard wont be exposed to the sun’s rays during the day. Not only that, the rich vegetation at the inner courtyard also helps to



achieve the thermal comfort in the building as it is one of the passive cooling system, controlling the temperature of the environment.

4.2 Materiality

The concrete wall used in the building is a material with high thermal

mass. Therefore it has the ability to store heat inside itself to keep the indoor cool and controls the temperature. Not only that, it also functions to minimise heat from sunlight from entering the building during the day.



5.0 Conclusion

In conclusion, the inner courtyard passive design has successfully adapted and also achieved thermal comfort in the Ga On Jai House. It acts as a multifunction courtyard as it is applies to both high and low season as well. The importance of the inner courtyard and how it works has been proven in this research. The inner courtyard does not only acts as a passive cooling system, it also plays an important role in the spatial layout of the building as it is centralised and connects the spaces in the building. As Korea is a four season climate country, this kind of passive design brings a lot of benefits to any architecture design and is an achievement to revive the traditional Korean architecture, merging it with the modern architecture, creating a wonderful masterpiece.



6.0 References

1. Limb, E., & Kim, W. (1983). Korean architecture. Seoul (Korea, South): Kwang Jang Press.

2. Jackson, B., & Koehler, R. (n.d.). Korean architecture: Breathing with nature.

3. South Korea. (n.d.). Retrieved November 23, 2015, from http://www.theculturetrip.com/asia/south-korea/articles/hanok-the-forerunner-to-eco-architecture-/

4. Environmentally Friendly Cities. (n.d.). Retrieved November 23, 2015, from h t t p s : / / b o o k s . g o o g l e . c o m . m y / b o o k s ?id=xaKWBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA300&lpg=PA300&dq=how inner courtyard br ings natural vent i lat ion&source=bl&ots=LiAgSCue6m&sig=F-X847czUUQ7gONkQklN8T5ajug&hl=en&sa=X&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=how inner courtyard brings natural%2

5. http://ajbasweb.com/old/ajbas/2010/4029-4037.pdf

6. http://www.ibpsa.org/proceedings/BS2013/p_2377.pdf

7. All About Thermal Mass. (n.d.). Retrieved November 23, 2015, from http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/musings/all-about-thermal-mass

8. Korean Design Placed in a Contemporary Context: Ga On Jai Expo Town Pro jec t . (n .d . ) . Ret r ieved November 23 , 2015, f rom h t tp : / /architectscorner.info/2014/01/30/korean-design-placed-in-a-contemporary-context-ga-on-jai-expo-town-project/

9. Ga On Jai by IROJE KHM Architects: Mixing culture with design. (2014, July 1 3 ) . R e t r i e v e d N o v e m b e r 2 3 , 2 0 1 5 , f r o m h t t p s : / /ciprianicharlesdesigns.wordpress.com/2014/07/13/ga-on-jai-by-iroje-khm-architects-mixing-culture-with-design/

10. Breathtaking Ga On Jai Home in South Korea. (2014, February 2). Retrieved November 23, 2015, from http://myfancyhouse.com/2014/02/02/breathtaking-ga-on-jai-home-in-south-korea/

11.Courtyard Design. (n.d.). Retrieved November 23, 2015, from http://www.probuilder.com/courtyard-design


http://www.theculturetrip.com/asia/south-korea/articles/hanok-the-forerunner-to-eco-architecture-/

http://ajbasweb.com/old/ajbas/2010/4029-4037.pdf

http://www.ibpsa.org/proceedings/BS2013/p_2377.pdf

http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/musings/all-about-thermal-mass

http://architectscorner.info/2014/01/30/korean-design-placed-in-a-contemporary-context-ga-on-jai-expo-town-project/

https://ciprianicharlesdesigns.wordpress.com/2014/07/13/ga-on-jai-by-iroje-khm-architects-mixing-culture-with-design/

http://myfancyhouse.com/2014/02/02/breathtaking-ga-on-jai-home-in-south-korea/

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