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I don't think we should be surprised that buildings not designed for deserts perform poorly in extreme desert climates. The solution is to build structures that

I don't think we should be surprised that buildings not designed for deserts perform poorly in extreme desert climates. The solution is to build structures that take the climate into account. Indigenous and Spanish colonial architects didn't have the luxury of designing around AC, so they built houses that reflected that limitation. Those houses remained quite livable without AC even during severe heat waves. A little active cooling on top makes them perfect. Some historic cities (e.g. Marrakech and Ures) have designed the entire urban landscape to improve the outdoor situation as well. Dense corridors of high thermal mass buildings create shade, fountains and other water sources provide active cooling, and so on.

saddlerustle 5y ago
West Texas has highs several degrees higher than central Spain, which is the small difference between unpleasant and deadly.
splitstud 5y ago
November? Not about design. It's about execution. To build those types of hand built buildings today, without the workforce to do so, and pass modern inspections? Good luck.
- AlotOfReading 5y ago
  Houses like that are still being built and passing inspections today, mostly in NM. I realize that technologies requiring actual builder expertise (because they're uncommon) and a minimal level of competent, individualized design are out of reach for the majority of the market, but it's not some inaccessible future tech.
asciimov 5y ago
It's not that past generations had some special knowledge on building structures that we have forgotten, but they were doing the best they could with the materials they had at the time. Lot's of adobe buildings were made by the indigenous people as that's about all they had, mud and clay. Mud and clay are terrible insulators, they retain heat extremely well, which is why they are great for pizza ovens. In the arid parts of Texas evaporative cooling works really really well but requires a decent supply of water. I've never seen people use solar chimneys in these parts but those older generations could have done it with their technology, as long as they had a source of cool air to pull from.
- AlotOfReading 5y ago
  The low R-value is why the Southwest Thermal Mass Study was done, because adobe was anomalously effective considering how badly it insulates. It's well-suited to the environment and relatively cheap. It also wasn't limited to the Americas.

saddlerustle 5y ago

West Texas has highs several degrees higher than central Spain, which is the small difference between unpleasant and deadly.

splitstud 5y ago

November? Not about design. It's about execution. To build those types of hand built buildings today, without the workforce to do so, and pass modern inspections? Good luck.

AlotOfReading 5y ago
Houses like that are still being built and passing inspections today, mostly in NM. I realize that technologies requiring actual builder expertise (because they're uncommon) and a minimal level of competent, individualized design are out of reach for the majority of the market, but it's not some inaccessible future tech.

asciimov 5y ago

It's not that past generations had some special knowledge on building structures that we have forgotten, but they were doing the best they could with the materials they had at the time. Lot's of adobe buildings were made by the indigenous people as that's about all they had, mud and clay. Mud and clay are terrible insulators, they retain heat extremely well, which is why they are great for pizza ovens. In the arid parts of Texas evaporative cooling works really really well but requires a decent supply of water. I've never seen people use solar chimneys in these parts but those older generations could have done it with their technology, as long as they had a source of cool air to pull from.

AlotOfReading 5y ago
The low R-value is why the Southwest Thermal Mass Study was done, because adobe was anomalously effective considering how badly it insulates. It's well-suited to the environment and relatively cheap. It also wasn't limited to the Americas.