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Architecture vocabulary · Sustainability and Environment

Passive design

Meaning in architecture, with examples

nounCommon term

In architecture, passive design means: Design that keeps a building comfortable using the sun, wind, shade and the building's own form and materials, so it needs little mechanical heating, cooling or lighting.

In Turkish: pasif tasarım

How it is used

Strategies include good orientation, shading, cross ventilation, thermal mass and insulation, and architects often explain them with section diagrams. Passivhaus (Passive House) is a separate, strict energy standard that started in Germany.

Example sentences

  1. Our passive design strategy uses deep overhangs to block the summer sun.

  2. Thanks to passive design, the building needs no air conditioning for most of the year.

Common collocations

  • passive design strategies
  • passive solar design
  • passive cooling
  • thermal mass
  • orientationThe direction a building, room or facade faces in relation to the sun, wind, views and the street.
  • cross ventilationNatural ventilation in which fresh air enters through openings on one side of a space and leaves through openings on the opposite side.
  • thermal insulationMaterial such as mineral wool, polystyrene or wood fibre placed in walls, roofs and floors to slow down heat passing into or out of a building.
  • daylightNatural light from the sky and sun that enters a building; architects shape windows, rooflights and room depths to bring in enough of it without glare or overheating.
  • sustainable designDesigning buildings to use less energy, water and materials, to reduce carbon emissions and waste, and to provide healthy places for people over their whole life.

More terms: Sustainability and Environment

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