Pacific Islanders

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Pacific Islanders
Location
Pacific Islands
Pacific Islands
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Pacific Islanders
A native or inhabitant of the Pacific

Islands, Which comprises three ethno
geographic groupings—
• Melanesia
• Micronesia
• Polynesia
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Climate
The climate of the Pacific Islands is generally

tropical, with temperatures, humidity, and
rainfall relatively uniform throughout the year.
Temperature varies from 28 °C to 15 °C. These
regions receive the greatest amount of rainfall
in the season from November through March,
during which time tropical cyclones
(hurricanes) are also experienced perhaps
once every two years.
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Topography
The parent lava material of the oceanic type of

island is basalt. Oceanic islands are
differentiated as high volcanic-based islands,
such as Hawaii, or low coral islands and atolls,
such as the Marshalls. Most Pacific islands are
coral formations, although all of these rest on
volcanic or other cores.
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Climate change
As humans burn more and more fossil fuels,

we’re releasing heat-trapping gases like carbon
dioxide into our atmosphere. In 2018, the region
endured it’s third warmest-year on record, with
temperatures 1.2 degrees Celsius above average.
Sea-level rise and hence increase in cyclones is
an undeniable and existential threat for the
people who live on islands in the Pacific.
This brings in the need for the study of energy efficient structures that once inhabited these islands.
1.
Fijian BURE
- Passive cooling Strategy
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Bure
The Fiji Islands are an island nation

located in polynesia the south
western portion of the Pacific
Ocean.
Bure is a traditional Fijian type of

housing.
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Bure
Bures are made out of straw

and wood, and the materials
are usually stacked together or
tied together with rope. The
floors in bures were packed
with dirt or clay covered up
with coconut leaf mats.
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Bure
These Fijian houses are very dark

and dim inside, with no windows
providing natural light. The only
sunlight that would enter a bure
would be from the single door at
the front of the house.
Since bures do not allow natural
sunlight, they generally keep a
cool temperature on the inside,
to the relief of its residents. This
fulfills their need to feel
comfortable in their houses.
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Bure
Although most Fijians have

moved onto living in more
modern housing environments,
many bures still exist to this
day, with mostly tribes living in
them.
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2.
Palau’s Canoe Houses
- Orientation
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Canoe Houses
• Palau is a country and archipelago

in Micronesia and consists of some
340 coral and volcanic islands.
• Canoe houses were important
form of building throughout Palau
• There is a meeting house for chiefs
of village, and identical house for
the families
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Canoe Houses
• Houses in most areas were built on

slightly raised platforms; these were
made of wood or coral rock and
gravel on the low islands
and volcanic rock and dirt on the high
islands. They generally had thatched
roofs, low eaves and bamboo
flooring.
• Traditional forms of house
construction provided good
protection against heavy rainstorms
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Canoe Houses
These houses just sit on top of the

platform. There are no nails, so those
joints hold it together. It is all tied
together, balances using its own
weight.
Thus, these structures can be
disassembled and put back together
again
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Canoe Houses
These houses normally face north. This is efficient

because of the elongated rectangular frame.
In this orientation the sun rises and climbs over
the apex of the building, which keeps it cool. If the
orientation had been east and west, as soon as
the sun rises then the whole house would be
illuminated with both the light and the heat.
The whole village would have this efficient
orientation, as it also increases ventilation as the
wind flows from north and east predominantly.
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3.
Samoan Fale
- Climate responsive
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Fale
• Samoa is in Polynesia, that which

encompasses a huge triangular
area of the east-central Pacific
Ocean.
• One of the principal characteristics
of traditional Samoan cultures is
an effective adaptation to and
mastery of the ocean environment.
• Fale, their traditional housing
practice is one such adaptations.
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Fale
• Samoan houses were built on oval

mounds that were faced with rough
stone slabs.
• The typical house was large and open—
oval in floor plan, with a beehive-shaped
thatched roof supported by a series of
stout wooden pillars.
• Rather than building substantial walls,
people hung rolled mats along the eaves,
unrolling them as necessary to protect
the inhabitants from sun, rain, or the
night air.
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Fale
Open walled, the fale allows for strong
winds to pass through, both cooling the
space and reducing humidity. Privacy was
achieved through Venetian style woven
blinds.
The use of coconut fiber rope lashings on
the pillars and roof allowed the building to
bend and flex under pressure without
breaking. In the event of the structure
failing, replacement materials are readily
available and sustainable, with collapsing
structures resulting in minimal injury
compared to western style dwellings.
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Fale
For centuries Samoan villages had harmonized

the architecture of the Samoan fale appropriately
with the local environment rendering it adaptable
to extreme weather events. However, widespread
socio-cultural trends of building western style
housing have resulted in increasing vulnerability to
cyclones.
This adoption of western-style housing does not
represent an evolution of housing based on
pragmatic or environmental changes in the
islands.
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The Bure, Canoe House as well as fale have much to offer in terms of sustainability and
climate resistance that has been embodied within their design. Encouraging these indigenous
practices of building and planning could be key to creating more disaster resilient, green and
sustainable communities of the future – communities which are able to recover more quickly
from severe weather events and one day minimize the occurrence of such events.
S.P.Haricharan - 2018701517

Pacific Islanders

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1

A native or inhabitant of the Pacific

The climate of the Pacific Islands is generally

The parent lava material of the oceanic type of

As humans burn more and more fossil fuels,

The Fiji Islands are an island nation

Bure is a traditional Fijian type of

Bures are made out of straw

These Fijian houses are very dark

Although most Fijians have

• Palau is a country and archipelago

• Houses in most areas were built on

These houses just sit on top of the

These houses normally face north. This is efficient

• Samoa is in Polynesia, that which

• Samoan houses were built on oval

For centuries Samoan villages had harmonized

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