The microclimate on each building site is changed into several different microclimates as the result of the construction of the house itself. The microclimate adjacent to the south wall is quite different from that at the north wall, and the climates at the east and west walls are again different. Inside the building, each room has its own microclimate which is a modification of one or more of the outdoor microclimates. Before the advent of the industrial era and mechanization, man depended on natural sources of energy and available local materials in forming his habitat according to his physiological needs. Over many centuries, people everywhere appear to have learned to interact with their climate.
Climate shapes the rhythm of their lives as well as their habitat and clothes.
Thus, they build houses that are more or less satisfactory in providing them with the microclimate that they need. In the warm humid lands of East Asia, the local inhabitants live in huts with flimsy, loosely woven walls that allow the slightest breeze to pass through. The people who live under the blazing sun of the desert construct houses with thick walls to insulate themselves from the heat, and with very small openings to keep out hot air and the glare of the sun. These successful solutions to the problems of climate did not result from deliberate scientific reasoning. They grew out of countless experiments and accidents and the experience of generations of builders who continued to use what worked and rejected what did not.