Facade Analysis on Sunlight Penetration and Shading in Post Modern Terraced Houses, Malaysia

Abstract

The study is to analyse the extent of sunlight penetration and amount of shading area on front house facades designed with post modern architectural style. For the case study, three front facades of the terraced houses are selected. The reason for the selection of terraced houses as the case studies is that terraced houses are the most popular house type built in urban areas in Malaysia. Post modern architectural style is commonly used in the building design in 2000s in this country. The selected case studies are terraced houses in Putrajaya which characterise post modern design which exhibits a range of complex geometric elements blending with colonial, modern and traditional architectural style. The SunTool software is used in the survey to calculate the amount of shading area and extent of sunlight penetration. The survey will be conducted at a position when the sun path is perpendicular to the house façade. The study concludes that Storey 1 on the front facade design has an excellent performance in blocking sunlight penetration and creating shading areas compared to those in Storey 2. The study finds that car porch, recessed wall with balcony and roof overhang are commonly used in the house facade design built after 2000 with post modern style.