How Historical Solutions to Thermal Comfort Influenced Modern Construction Efforts

Abstract This paper explores the history behind the international movement for greater climate control and how this progression has influenced modern green building technology. From Greek Hypocaust systems to Mexican pueblos, many cultures have succeeded in manipulating their built environment. How have these seemingly simple concepts transformed modern society and the building industry as a whole? What lessons in geographical adaptive architecture have been overlooked in our desire to control our environment? How can these concepts be applied to modern technology to create a more sustainable construction infrastructure? These questions are explored to provide a greater understanding of how trends toward isolated control are exponential in relative cost and energy use. The future of climate manipulation is hypothesized to be in a melange of historical precedents and modern technology, interwoven to create comfortable but innovative solutions that require less work, money, and energy.