The Mahoney tables are a set of reference tables used in

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...

, used as a guide to climate-appropriate design. They are named after architect Carl Mahoney, who worked on them together with John Martin Evans, and Otto Königsberger. They were first published in 1971 by the

United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) is part of the United Nations Secretariat and is responsible for the follow-up to major United Nations Summits and Conferences, as well as services to the United Nations Econ ...

. The tables use readily available

climate Climate is the long-term weather pattern in a region, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteoro ...

data and simple calculations to give design guidelines, in a manner similar to a

spreadsheet A spreadsheet is a computer application for computation, organization, analysis and storage of data in tabular form. Spreadsheets were developed as computerized analogs of paper accounting worksheets. The program operates on data entered in c ...

, as opposed to detailed thermal analysis or simulation. There are six tables; four are used for entering climatic data, for comparison with the requirements for

thermal comfort Thermal comfort is the condition of mind that expresses subjective satisfaction with the thermal environment.ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 55-2017, Thermal Environmental Conditions for Human Occupancy The human body can be viewed as a heat engine where ...

; and two for reading off appropriate design criteria. A rough outline of the table usage is: # Air Temperatures. The max, min, and mean temperatures for each month are entered into this table. # Humidity, Precipitation, and Wind. The max, min, and mean figures for each month are entered into this table, and the conditions for each month classified into a ''humidity group''. # Comparison of Comfort Conditions and Climate. The desired max/min temperatures are entered, and compared to the climatic values from table 1. A note is made if the conditions create ''heat stress'' or ''cold stress'' (i.e. the building will be too hot or cold). # Indicators (of humid or

arid Aridity is the condition of geographical regions which make up approximately 43% of total global available land area, characterized by low annual precipitation, increased temperatures, and limited water availability.Perez-Aguilar, L. Y., Plata ...

conditions). Rules are provided for combining the stress (table 3) and humidity groups (table 2) to check a box classifying the humidity and aridity for each month. For each of six possible indicators, the number of months where that indicator was checked are added up, giving a yearly total. # Schematic Design Recommendations. The yearly totals in table 4 correspond to rows in this table, listing schematic design recommendations, e.g. 'buildings oriented on east–west axis to reduce sun exposure', 'medium-sized openings, 20%–40% of wall area'. # Design Development Recommendations. Again the yearly totals from table 4 are used to read off recommendations, e.g. 'roofs should be high-mass and well insulated'.

References

Further reading