Climate responsive building design strategies of vernacular architecture in Nepal

• Vernacular buildings of Nepal are classified into four different climate zones.
• Traditional houses as designed according to the local climate.
• For four climate zones, different solar passive measures are identified.
• Vernacular houses use most of the identified climate responsive design strategies.

Vernacular architecture is the result of hundreds of years of optimization to provide a comfortable shelter in a local climate using available materials and known construction technologies. Due to the absence of mechanical means, traditional buildings use solar passive measures to achieve thermal comfort conditions. In most developing countries it can be observed that with the modernization of the building sector this traditional knowledge of smart and climate responsive design is being lost. Instead the modern building design is dominated by universal architecture that neglects local climate conditions and traditional construction techniques and materials. This paper reviews examples of vernacular architecture and its building elements in Nepal and analyses in a qualitative manner which bioclimatic design strategies were applied.