WEATHERING : DESIGNING FOR WEATHERING WITH SENSITIVITY TO CLIMATE

Abstract

This dissertation aims to look at the effects of weathering and the strategies taken by both international and local architects to combat or work with the idea of weathering. It aims to understand the fundamental architectural sleights of hand that allow a building to age and weather well with as little maintenance as possible and yet remain aesthetically and structurally sound. Also, it seeks to study in depth architectural detailing in the tropical climate through case studies of local work. In an article written in 1996 (Chew et al, 1996), the Singapore buildings industry spends an excess of a billion dollars a year for renovation and repairing of existing buildings stocks, a fair amount is wasted in repairing details which are not properly designed when first constructed.1 This is a problem that could be alleviated in a variety of different ways, one of which is to provide a collection of tried and tested details that have been used in buildings that have already been built. It should not be just a mere collation of detailing, but rather one with the intentions of the architect behind it made known, and perhaps a summation of its success or failure. This is important because the meaning of the detail should have more to tell than the physical being of the detail itself. 'Situation', 'constraint', 'context' and 'value' becomes part of the detail, as opposed to a simply generic understanding. 2 What made these buildings weather well enough to be accepted in society? What are the materials and architectural details that enabled these buildings to weather well? This dissertation searches for solutions within the realm of architectural detailing and discovers that with simple sensitivity to climate and materiality it is possible to design architecture that reflects the spirit of the time, that requires little maintenance and that remains aesthetically and structurally sound.