Reassessing thermal comfort in modern architecture: E.1027 as a case study

There is a general agreement that much of the syntax of modern architecture contributed to design buildings that were often inadequately adapted to climate conditions. However, there are some renowned examples that, while consistent with modern tenets, prove that assumption to be wrong. Amongst them the E.1027 house designed by Eileen Gray and Jean Badovici stands out. This research aims to contextualise and assess the quality of the E.1027 overall design in relation to thermal comfort. The original texts of Gray and Badovici on the E.1027 are contrasted with the results obtained from a series of simulations using thermal performance specialist software in terms of sun exposure and ventilation. Additionally, the building's expected thermal comfort performance is assessed under a combination of three methods, Givoni's, Fanger's and ASHRAE 55. These simulations and environmental analysis results showed that Gray's and Badovici's deep understanding of the sun's impact and the cross ventilation needed to provide comfort can be modelled and confirmed. At the same time, it is demonstrated that the designers did indeed produce a design as sophisticated as it was comfortable, while distilling the two major architectural trends at the onset of modernity: neoplasticism and Corbusean imprint.