Thermal Mass

PASSIVE RESILIENCE

Recorded by Sofie Pelsmakers, images by Essi Nisonen and Veera Saastamoinen

KEY READINGS 

• Haggard, Ken, David A Bainbridge, and Rachel Aljilani. Passive Solar Architecture Pocket Reference. London: Routledge

• Szokolay, Steven. Introduction to Architectural Science: The Basis of Sustainable Design. London: Routledge

• Vivienne Brophy and J. Owen Lewis, A Green Vitruvius: Principles and Practice of Sustainable Architectural Design, Routledge

• Pelsmakers, S.  The Environmental Design Pocketbook, RIBA

• Pelsmakers, S., Donovan, E., Hoggard, A., Kozminska, U., Designing for the climate emergency, a Guide for Architecture Students, RIBA (2022).

• Kimpian, J., Hartman, H., Pelsmakers, S. Energy, People Buildings: Making Sustainable Architecture Work, RIBA

• Huw Heywood, 101 Rules of Thumb for Low Energy Architecture, RIBA Publishing

INSPIRATIONAL BUILT EXAMPLES

• Mike Reynolds, Earthships, New Mexico, USA

• AHMM, Moorlands Rooftop, London, UK

• Haworth Tomkins, Everyman theatre, Liverpool, UK

THERMAL MASS

Thermal mass can balance winter space heating needs in continuously used or heated / cooled buildings. In warm periods in cold/temperate and in hot/dry climates, thermal mass  can help keep buildings passively cool. This might achieve energy and associated operational carbon savings and greater thermal comfort. Thermal mass must always be combined with good night-cooling to avoid build-up of high temperatures in summer-time. It is also increasingly important to design (summer) solar shading to prevent direct incidence of the sun inside spaces: i.e. reduce the source of heat in the spaces to begin with to reduce overheating risk. Thermal mass materials need to be exposed to the air, and careful specification is needed to not create buildings with high thermal mass but also high embodied energy and carbon.

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