Designed Comfort, Purchased Comfort: Passive Design and Air Conditioning in Hong Kong

AI Briefing

• – The construction of Hong Kong's post-war modernist buildings required careful consideration of passive design elements to achieve thermal comfort.
• – Air conditioning was limited and unevenly distributed in these buildings, necessitating creative use of shading, ventilation, and daylighting.
• – In the 1970s and 1980s, standardized air conditioning replaced earlier passive design strategies, changing the way buildings were designed and maintained in the city.