Between Indoors and Outdoors - Climate Responsive Architecture for Hot Dry and Humid Environments

Modern architecture often disconnects from its local climate and culture. With the dominance of air conditioning and efficient technologies, performance has become a technical issue rather than a design responsibility. Yet architects have the opportunity to reclaim ownership of performance through climate-responsive design.

This lecture examines how insights into climate, comfort, and ventilation can drive architecture and urban design - informing thermal zoning, reducing heat-island effects, and creating people-centred spaces that transcend form. Climate Engineering enables buildings that are both low-carbon and deeply connected to their cultural and environmental context.

Drawing from Transsolar’s regional projects - including the Atlassian Highrise in Sydney, Expo 2021 Dubai, the School of Design in Singapore, and BRAC University in Dhaka - the presentation highlights innovations for comfort across outdoor, mid-door, and indoor spaces in warm and humid climates.

This event forms part of the UTS School of Architecture’s Solidarity public program, curated by Dr Endriana Audisho and will be introduced by Professor Leena Thomas.

Biography

Wolfgang Kessling holds a doctorate in physics and is a partner at Transsolar Energietechnik, Germany. He is an expert in climate-friendly building design and adaptive comfort concepts. The focus of his work is the development of innovative comfort concepts for indoor, mid-door and outdoor spaces. He lectures regularly at universities and international conferences on sustainable design, thermal comfort and zero-energy projects. For the academic year 2024/2025 he is joining the faculty at the DoA at NUS, Singapore, teaching about tropical Climate Engineering.  

In Asia, Wolfgang contributed to the first zero-energy office building in Malaysia, the BRAC University campus in Dhaka, and the climate and energy concept for the cooled conservatories at Gardens by the Bay in Singapore. His environmental concepts for the School of Design Buildings 4 and 1&3 at NUS have become widely recognized as leading examples of tropical, high-comfort, net-positive energy design. For the Singapore Pavilion at World Expo 2021 in Dubai, his team created the net zero water and energy concept. In 2021, the low-carbon strategy for the Atlassian high-rise in Sydney, developed under his leadership, received the Holcim Award Bronze for the Asia Pacific region

Image: Hybrid Timber Tower for Sydney Headquarters of Atlassian

Credits: Image courtesy of SHoP Architects, NYC and BVN, Sydney