Climate-Responsive Design and Energy Performance Goals

The design of sustainable buildings is a process that involves the three dimensions of sustainability: economic, environmental and social. However, due to the massive urban development underway in Africa, one of the main objectives for designers is to reduce the energy consumption of the constructions to consequently avoid a dramatic increase inGHGemissions. For this reason, in this chapter, the attention will be focused more on the energy issue, but also considering the economic and social aspects. In fact, a transformation is needed in the building design procedure, which must include a careful analysis of the climatic context and of the economic and social constraints.