**3. Results**

## *3.1. Equivalent Energy—Shape Factor*

In this section, the original status of the dwellings is analyzed. This way, they were assigned their original materials, were placed in their original locations and their morphology was kept.

The traditional dwellings which are built in temperate climates are those that would correspond to the highest shape factor values, whereas those from cool climates tend to be associated with lower values [64]. The orthogonal dwellings, whose presence is regular throughout the Mediterranean coasts, could be an example of the first case, whereas the snow domes built in the Arctic would represent the second group. As long as the climate is warmer and it is less necessary to modify the environmental conditions, people can extend the surface of dwellings envelopes, prioritizing other factors, such as the optimization of the available space to build on.

As can be seen (Figure 4), the highest values of the shape factor, those corresponding to the hogan and the wigwam, do not have any relation with climate, since the first one was built in a temperate desert, New Mexico, whereas the second one was typical of a zone whose humidity levels were higher and whose temperatures were lower, the vicinity of the Great Lakes.

**Figure 4.** Equivalent energy for original locations and original materials vs. shape factor.

The results concerning the longhouse, built in the same region as the wigwam, point to the same direction. However, the first one was used by an almost sedentary community, the Iroquois community, and the second one served to a seminomadic way of life, the one developed by the Chippewa. This means that their morphologies and building systems were influenced also by their practical functioning.

By comparing the shape factor values with the equivalent energy ones, it can be seen that the order of the dwellings does not concur, unless they are calculated with respect to the living area. Taking into account the architectonic characteristics obviated by the shape factor, as the equivalent energy does, such as the building materials, the climate, the orientation or the presence or absence of openings, a more precise assessment of the way the building adapts to the environment can be obtained.

In conclusion, the designs that reach a higher difference between the indoor and outdoor conditions, those whose equivalent energy has the highest values, are those who correspond to the highest shape factor.

As explained before, the equivalent energy measures the capacity of an envelope to transform the outdoor conditions into the indoor ones. The bigger this increment or decrement is, the higher the equivalent energy is. In conclusion, the designs that reach a larger difference between the indoor and outdoor conditions, those whose equivalent energy has the biggest values, are those who correspond to the highest shape factor as a rule.
