Ideal Homes

heat traps, says Muhammad Peter Davis of University Putra Malaysia. He has calculated that typical modern Malaysian houses are 5°C hotter than the air outside. The builders of kampung houses "had no knowledge of modern science or engineering but they came up with the perfect design," says Davis. B This story of ancient architectural sophistication and modern insanity is repeated around the world. In the name of modernism, people have thrown away architecture designed to cope with the environment in which they live, and adopted house designs originating from cold, northern environments, where the idea is to keep heat in. C Once, the aim of architectural modernists was to build structures that kept nature out and to replace it with air-conditioning. Now they are learning that they cannot do that effectively. Slowly, they are seeing the benefit of working with nature, rather than against it. In California, they probably use more power for air-conditioning than anywhere else on Earth. According to Arthur Rosenfeld from the University of California, what California needs is white paint. If Los Angeles painted its roofs white, planted trees to shade buildings, and chose lighter-colored paving, it could reduce city…