Geometry-Led Residential Design for Climate Resilience in Hot Semi-arid Cities: A Case Study of Lahore

This chapter examines a geometry-led approach to optimising residential building performance in Lahore’s hot semi-arid climate, with a specific focus on enhancing thermal and energy resilience. By systematically varying geometric parameters and spatial configurations, the study demonstrates how architectural form, integrated with passive design strategies, can mitigate heat stress, reduce thermal loads, and decrease reliance on mechanical cooling in cooling-dominated environments. Key parameters including building orientation, surface-area-to-volume ratio (SA:V), and courtyard design are evaluated through dynamic computer simulations to assess their influence on indoor thermal performance. Results show that optimised building geometry acts as a passive temperature-regulating mechanism, improving thermal comfort while strengthening resilience to extreme heat and rising energy demand. The study employs representative residential case studies from Lahore, combining climatic data analysis with parametric simulations using Revit and Insight 360 to ensure contextual relevance and analytical rigour. This chapter contributes to climate-responsive and climate-resilient design by reframing building geometry as a scalable, low-energy strategy for reducing cooling dependency. It concludes with design guidelines and policy implications for embedding spatial intelligence into residential design frameworks in climate-stressed regions across South Asia.