Climate-Responsive Passive Design Strategies for Residential Buildings in Madhya Pradesh: A Thermal Comfort Perspective

Abstract: Residential buildings in Madhya Pradesh experience substantial seasonal variation, including hot summers, monsoon humidity and cooler winter periods. These conditions make indoor thermal comfort a key consideration for sustainable housing. This review synthesizes literature on climate-responsive architecture, passive cooling, adaptive thermal comfort and Indian residential building guidance to identify strategies relevant to the state. The principal measures considered are building orientation, external shading, roof and wall heat-gain control, thermal mass, cross- ventilation, night purging, courtyards, vegetation and climate-appropriate materials. Evidence from Indian case studies indicates that envelope design and coordinated combinations of passive measures can reduce heat gains, while ventilation effectiveness depends on outdoor conditions and occupant operation. The review also highlights a limitation in the evidence base: published thermal-comfort studies are unevenly distributed across Indian climate regions, and state-specific, season-long residential data for Madhya Pradesh remain an important need. A practical framework is proposed combining climate analysis, occupant surveys, indoor environmental monitoring and calibrated building simulation. Rather than assuming one universal solution for the entire state, the paper recommends location-specific design and evaluation using indoor operative temperature, adaptive comfort, overheating hours and cooling-energy demand. These measures can support more comfortable, resilient and energy-conscious residential development

Keywords: Passive design; thermal comfort; residential buildings; Madhya Pradesh; natural ventilation; building envelope; adaptive comfort.