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CLIMATE SCOUT helps its users design buildings that uniquely respond to a site by providing climate-specific design advice at the building scale. To achieve this, it uses the Köppen-Geiger climate classification and building scale design strategies from Architecture 2030’s Palette.

The Köppen-Geiger climate classification system empirically maps biome distributions worldwide, organizing regions by similar vegetation characteristics. Developed in the late 19th century, and still widely used today for applications that must consider different climates, such as ecological modeling or climate change impact assessments.

This system classifies climate into five main classes and 30 sub-types. The five main climate groups are A (tropical), B (dry), C (temperate), D (continental), and E (polar). Each group and subgroup include different seasonal precipitation and temperature patterns. All climates are assigned a primary group represented by the first letter. Following, climates, except those in the E group, are given a seasonal precipitation subgroup (the second letter). A temperature subgroup, assigned for all groups except A, indicated by the third letter for climates in B, C, and D, and the second letter for climates in E.

27 building scale strategies taken from the 2030 palette are paired with the 30 climate subtypes to determine their applicability for each of the Köppen-Geiger climates. The user can filter out, select, and combine appropriate strategies for a selected climate. As the user selects these curated strategies, they appear in real-time overlaid in diagrammatic form, providing an immediate visual connection between climate and building response. Most climate analysis tools effectively visualize climate data and quantify the effect of some strategies on thermal comfort. Still, they do not provide a visual image of these strategies integrated into an architectural response. CLIMATE SCOUT does this, providing a more integrated and coherent vision of the design strategies working in unison.

Through a combination of data and images, CLIMATE SCOUT connects climate with architecture to help users create better performing, responsive buildings.

CLIMATE SCOUT disclaimer
The information contained in CLIMATESCOUT(this “data”) is for reference purposes only. This data has been prepared in a generic manner, not specific to any site, building or project conditions, and is not intended for construction or maintenance purposes. The user shall verify and coordinate all design and field conditions of a specific project with this data, including its suitability with respect to the requirements of a specific project. The properly-licensed design professional responsible for the design of a specific building or project shall exercise its professional judgment in determining whether to use or incorporate this data in the documents it prepares. CallisonRTKL shall not be responsible for any losses which may be sustained as a result of the functionality or use of this data or the results produced by such use.