I would like to start with a confession, I am the prime example of a jack of all trades. I am interested in, and participate in anything that can help change the world for the best. I am however currently in love with climate responsive architecture design and the importance of education to young people.
Why am I interested in empowering the education of young people?
This is deeply rooted in my educational journey. I grew up in a financially deficient family in Durban South Africa. Growing up we moved from one squatter camp to the other as my parents were trying to make ends meet. Till today it’s very hard to describe what my father did for work because he never really had a permanent job. He did all he could to bring bread to the table
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As I grew up with my six siblings I tried my best to make the most with this privilege of education I had been given. By God’s grace I was able to make it through high school without being kicked out for the outstanding balance. In high school I was blessed to have a system of educated mentors who were able to advise me in the right direction by constantly reminding me about the importance of education. Apart from my poor background they played a pivotal role in my academic success. Knowing that there was no way I could go to college, I decided to work hard in high school so that I could potentially get a college scholarship. I was the first one in my high school to take eighteen subjects/classes with Cambridge University and the local examination board. After having done well in my ambitious academic pursuits, I was awarded a full tuition scholarship to study Architecture in Durban University of Technology. At the end of that year I was blessed to be awarded a full tuition scholarship to go to Andrew's University School of Architecture and this is where I am currently working on …show more content…
In the United States alone 40% of their energy is used by buildings, making architecture the biggest energy consumer in the United States. I believe this is the one problem which has often been neglected or approached wrongly. Changing incandescent light with the more energy effective fluorescent lights will definitely help reduce energy use however that won’t make much of a difference if those are placed in building with insufficient daylighting because that light will always be on. One may then ask what is climate design? According to the chair of Building Technology climate responsive design is, “the holistic optimization of a building. The building concept, the façade and the building technology are regarded as a total system.” Realistic research projects and numerical calculation are used to broaden the pool of knowledge for this novel planning approach, Climadesign. Climadesign – a new multi-level, multi-dimensional planning discipline. It provides an answer to challenges that arise from the desire for innovative structures, for buildings which can achieve more with less technology, where users feel at home, where design and function merge to form a harmonious whole.The more functional the building and its shell, the lower the amount of energy needed for indoor climate, lighting and ventilation. The current situation can be summarized as follows: