Draft. These pages were imported from the ARC Technical Criteria document (16 April 2026) and have not yet been reviewed in this format. Several thresholds are still being settled and are flagged on the pages concerned.

Leveraging adaptive comfort - the three-zone strategy

Using the three-zone approach to arrange a building's form and layout, so it can still operate when the electricity supply is interrupted.

Next, designers should use the ‘**three zone’** approach, to help arrange the building’s form, functions and detailed layout. This helps decide on the best responses to its urban / rural context, wind directions (for cross ventilation cooling and heat shedding), and the sun’s daily path – (anticipating the intensity of solar radiation falling on different parts of the building during the days, months and year). Because we are aiming for both Step 1 & 2 buildings to be able to operate during periods of disruption, including to the electricity supply, the 3 zone approach should be used to create buildings that can operate in naturally ventilated, passive mode whenever possible or necessary – no ARC-compliant buildings should be completely reliant for the thermal safety of its occupants on electricity-dependant mechanical systems alone, including systems using solar and battery backup.

All zones should be secure, insect-protected, well-shaded, and able to be effectively naturally ventilate. The building should also offer its occupants a survivable refuge from extreme heat events.

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Source: ARC Technical Criteria - 129
Pattern · confidence medium · Imported 2026-09-12, not yet reviewed · next review 2026-12-12
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Citation key: three-zones-strategy