A reference for bioclimatic design
Design with the climate, from the first sketch.
Technical guides, free tools and references on sun, wind and thermal comfort, for architects and sustainability engineers in Brazil and around the world.
Topics
Browse by topic
°C · RH · EPW
Climate and comfort
Weather files, the Givoni chart, bioclimatic zoning, and indoor and outdoor thermal comfort.
m/s · wind rose
Wind and ventilation
Natural ventilation, urban microclimate, CFD and how to read wind results.
louvres · cobogó · mass
Passive strategies
Design elements and decisions that reduce the need for heating and cooling.
ratings · careers
Professional practice
Green building ratings, the sustainability consultant’s role, and the profession in Brazil and abroad.
Free tools
Read a site’s climate in minutes
Available
Climate Reader
Load an EPW file to see the sun path, wind rose, Givoni chart and a month-by-month summary. It runs in your browser; the file never leaves your computer.
Sun path
8,760 h coloured by °C
Givoni chart
% of hours per strategy
Wind rose
16 directions · 5 bands
Month by month
T, RH, radiation, wind
Coming soon
Shading designer
Shadow angles and shading-device depth for any latitude and orientation.
Coming soon
Facade radiation
Upload a simple massing model and see incident radiation by orientation.
Essential guides
To start with, and to come back to
01
How to read an EPW weather file
What each variable means and where to download files for any city
02
The Givoni bioclimatic chart, step by step
From strategy zones to design decisions
03
Sun-path diagrams: designing shading devices
Shadow angles, shading masks and examples by latitude
04
UTCI: outdoor thermal comfort
The index, its stress bands and how to use it in urban spaces
In progress.
Newsletter
Coffee & Climate
Once in a while I share reflections on architecture, climate and the world we’re building, and sometimes some climate existential dread.
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Paloma Souza
Architect · MSc Architecture and Environmental Design, University of Westminster
I work on bioclimatic simulation in London: daylight, sunlight, glare, outdoor thermal comfort and wind. A Bioclimática gathers what I’ve learned so that more projects start from the climate. Read more