Regardless of the part of the globe in which a dwelling might be located, one of its key functions is to protect dwellers from climate conditions. The goals of a passive design are: to minimise heat losses, to maximise solar heat gains during the winter, to ensure a consistent indoor climate by using building materials with a high thermal capacity in order to minimise temperature fluctuations. The application of passive design measures enables designers to obtain significant energy savings during the lifespan of the building.The challenge for architects, however, is to balance the aesthetical, technological and ecological criteria and translate them into a contemporary architectural language.