Passive solar design is a no-brainer ? yet the conventional way to deal with building facades that will be subjected to the hot, unrelenting sun is still just to insulate them, add some blinds, and plan to use a lot of air conditioning. It?s high time more architects and builders consider the ways the sun?s energy will affect a structure, and integrate some simple features that will make its interiors far more comfortable all year long.

Often low-tech and low-cost, passive solar techniques reduce energy costs and maintenance by tailoring designs to the climates around them. Orientation of the roof, windows, and facade with the position of the sun in mind, proper ventilation and insulation, shading, and thermal mass all make a big difference in interior temperatures.
Clay is known for its thermal properties, retaining much of the energy it absorbs to cut down on the need for mechanical heating and cooling. It?s also highly durable, non-toxic, long lasting, and recyclable. Clay tiles on a sunny facade can absorb a lot of heat during the day, releasing it after dark when it?s cooler.

This isn?t the first time Manoj Patel Design Studio has experimented with clay roof tiles. Previously, the designers cut v-shaped clay tiles to create a wavy pattern on the facade of a house in Vadodara, India.

The architects add: ?Here the ratio of 40 percent of waste clay tiles at free cost and 60 percent of new clay tiles at 10 INR per piece were collected, cut into ...