CLIMATE SCOUT

Designing for a Better World starts with understanding Climate + Context

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Why CLIMATE SCOUT

Arcadis’s vision for the future is designing a better place for all. Understanding climate and developing an appropriate architectural response is one of the first steps in our design process.

About CLIMATE SCOUT

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

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How to use CLIMATE SCOUT

  1. When accessing the site, select the appropriate climate zone by clicking on the map or choosing from the list below. In the Köppen-Geiger climate type, you can find climate data and descriptions for most cities
  2. Selecting the climate prompts a new screen with a building section to overlay chosen design strategies. Using the icon’s plus symbol populates the strategy in the diagram. You can select as many of the strategies in any combination until satisfied with the results. You will be able to export this image to a report of your initial site analysis.

    We have also evaluated and omitted combination options that would not work in “a real-world” situation due to design interference or other technicalities.

  3. You can also click directly on each strategy icon to learn more and see Arcadis project examples of its implementation. This page also directly links to the same strategy in the 2030 palette, where more information resides on strategy implementation.

2030 Palette

The 2030 Palette is a free online platform that provides a database of sustainable design principles, strategies, tools, and resources. It puts the principles and actions behind carbon-neutral and resilient built environments at the fingertips of designers, planners, builders, and policymakers. The swatches, or sustainable design strategies, address energy consumption and greenhouse gas emission at all scales – from regional and city planning to building details. However, it does not organize these strategies by climate and the user must determine by the description if the strategy is appropriate for the climate in each location.

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