Climate change means that temperatures are projected to increase across South Africa and there will be more very hot days (days above 35 degrees C). These changes need to be taken into account in building designs to ensure that occupant comfort is maintained.

Occupant comfort is addressed in a new CPD course I am working on with Gerry Joubert. This covers key factors affecting thermal comfort, understanding static & adaptive comfort standards and designing for occupant comfort.

Case studies on the Miele building in Johannesburg, the Bitri building in Gaborone and CH2 in Melbourne show innovative strategies that can be used to create comfort in energy-efficient ways.