As a mid-semester 2-day charette in efficiency we were asked to pick a location and design a climate responsive “passive” dwelling that acknowledged both traditional strategies and contemporary technology. I choose Taipei, as I had recently returned from Taiwan and become fascinated with the aboriginal architecture in my visit.

The house promotes summer cooling through natural ventilation and sun-shading while also providing winter warming with thermal mass. The entire assemblage is lifted off the ground to avoid flooding in monsoon season.This house is constructed from prefabricated components, all of them, aside from the concrete foundation, easily moved into place by a single “unskilled laborer”.





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