Abstract THERMAL DELIGHT IN ARCHITECTURE

This thesis examines the broad range of influences that thermal qualities have on architectural space and peoples ' response to it. It begins with the observation that proper thermal conditions are necessary for all life forms, and examines the various strategies used by plants and animals to survive in spite of adverse thermal conditions. Human beings have available to them the widest range of thermal strategies. These include the skillful use of building technologies to create favorable microclimates, and the use of ar-tificial power to maintain a comfortable thermal environment. Survival strategies and the provision of thermal comfort are only the most basic levels of our relationship to the thermal en-vironment. Our experience of the world is through our senses, in-cluding the thermal sense. Many examples demonstrate the relation-ship of the thermal sense to the other senses. The more sensory input we experience, and the more varied the contrasts, the riche