Design for natural light, cross ventilation and weather protection

Let me outline some of the very important aspects of sustainable building and how they were addressed in our design:

Natural light and solar heat reduction:

It is very important to have proper orientation of your house to maximize usage of the natural light. However, with fairly hot temperatures throughout the year in Ahmedabad, you also want to make sure that you don't let much direct sunlight into your house either.

The most ideal orientation for a house in this region is to have Northern exposure for the rooms that are going to be used the most during the day. This orientation cuts down on direct sunlight entering the rooms and sufficient window openings maximizes ambient light to fill the rooms. 

In central & western India, the sun path is towards south. I found a very good app that shows sun path in your region for any time of the year: www.suncalc.net

The design we have maximizes opening towards the north preventing solar gain from the south and west. All living rooms and bedrooms have North orientation. This allows for more ambient light and cuts down direct sunlight into these areas, thus reducing cooling requirements.

Cross Ventilation:

Design allows for cross ventilation of most areas of the house. Triangular shape actually helps in this matter. It helps reduce cooling requirements.

Reducing Weathering effects on the house:

You can see recessed windows in the design. This removes requirement of separate weather shade above each window. This is one of the most basic features of contemporary architecture and our design stays true to that.

Overhang on the parapet works as additional weather shade without directly impacting the ambient light. It protects walls from the elements.