A Geometric Approach to Climate Based Massing Design in High Density Districts

Daniel Hoornweg and Kevin Pope (2014) state that the population of Mumbai is expected to increase by 250% and reach a total of 42 Million by the end of the year 2050 ^[1]. Land is a sacred resource for Mumbai as the city limits are surrounded by water on and another exponentially growing city. Since the available land area for construction cannot be expanded, the only way plausible way to support the growing population is increasing housing density by going vertical. High rise multifamily housing schemes are already a status quo, however the type of these development rely heavily on homogenous type of construction and high dependency on mechanized system primarily for cooling. With Mumbai estimated to be the most populated city in the world at the end of the year 2050 [Daniel Hoornweg and Kevin Pope (2014)] ^[1], the demand for high rise multifamily housing schemes is only destined to grow. Thus, the incorporation of sustainable design techniques is imperative to help reduce the projected massive energy footprint. My intent is to contribute to this issue within the design development phase by using simulation strategies to expand the potential for of passive strategiessuch as orientation to solar exposure, form development to natural ventilation and overall building geometry that would have an impact on the overall energy consumption and offset the need for mechanization of the buildings and the city as a whole. Planning is the most inexpensive stage of the design and construction phase and interventions at this level would make a vast impact in the future energy consumption within Mumbai’s residential development.