a continuous, wasp‑nest envelope that varies material and geometry so each patch is selectively conducive to comfort and performance for its exact orientation and exposure in Phoenix’s hot‑dry climate.

Step 1 – Clarify the performance logic

For Phoenix, your base bioclimatic logics look like this.

  • Maximize winter solar access from the south, with high internal/external thermal mass to store daytime heat and release it at night.

  • Aggressively shade east and west to avoid low‑angle morning/afternoon overheating.

  • Strongly shade south in summer via overhangs, fins, or self‑shading form, while still allowing winter sun under low angles.

  • Use ventilated, light‑colored outer skins to reduce heat gain and exploit night cooling, especially in a hot, dry diurnal cycle.

Let’s treat “selective conduciveness” as: one continuous shell whose local thickness, porosity, color, and materiality are tuned to those logics at each point on the surface.

Step 2 – Define your material “palette”

You want single materials per section, as natural as possible, each with a clear role.

  • High‑mass, high‑heat‑capacity zones (south‑facing core, thermal “organs”):
    Rammed earth, adobe, stone, or earth‑cement composites as the inner wythe or shell segment where winter sun can hit or be conducted inward.

  • Low‑mass, reflective, ventilated skins (upper south, east, west, roof):
    Lime‑plaster over light masonry, light terra‑cotta scales, or GFRC/earth‑based shingles in a ventilated rainscreen, kept very light in color to bounce solar radiation.

  • Perforated/porous shading membranes:
    Timber/latilla, ceramic or terra‑cotta screens, or perforated earthen panels acting as brise‑soleil where you want dappled light and air movement over glazed or massy backing walls.​

  • Radiative night‑flush surfaces (to space):
    High‑emissivity ceramic or earth‑based outer skin on roof or upper shell, with exposed sky view to bleed heat at night, backed by ventilated cavities so stored heat in the structure can purge.

Each “patch” of your generative surface can be tagged with one of these roles, giving you discrete, buildable material zones while keeping the geometry continuous.

Step 3 – Map rules to orientation on the continuous shell

Imagine tessellating your shell with panels or cells; each cell queries its orientation, solar exposure, and adjacency, then assigns a material/section type.

  • South‑facing, winter‑sun‑exposed, low in the section:
    Thicker high‑mass earthen or stone shell, possibly stepped or pocketed to receive winter sun under overhangs from above.

  • South‑facing, high on the section (more summer load, less people adjacency):
    Thin, ventilated, light‑colored rainscreen scales over insulation, shaped to self‑shade lower zones.

  • East / west lobes:
    Deeply corrugated or “gilled” profiles to self‑shade and drive vertical airflow; use ventilated, low‑mass outer skins plus limited, buffered glazing behind porous screens.

  • North‑facing:
    Can be smoother, with more continuous insulation and less mass; material can prioritize moisture robustness and diffuse light, e.g., lime‑plaster over insulated masonry.

Your “selective conduciveness” then becomes a rule set: orientation + height + program adjacency → section type + geometry modulation.

Step 4 – Use geometry as shading and structure

Instead of just adding overhangs, the continuous surface itself undulates to cast shade, act as structure, and create cavities.

  • Create horizontal “shelves” and undercuts on the south that are dimensioned to block high summer sun but admit low winter sun (traditional passive solar overhang logic embedded into the generative surface).

  • Use vertical fins and ridges on east and west to break low‑angle sun and create convective chimneys where heated air can rise and vent.

  • Vary thickness locally: thicker “nodes” where shell curvature is tight and structural spans increase, which also doubles as added thermal mass near occupied zones, thinner where you primarily need a shade membrane.

In a generative‑design workflow, these could be driven by fitness objectives like minimizing annual cooling load, maximizing winter solar gain on mass, and keeping envelope self‑shading above a threshold.

Step 5 – Make it buildable in natural, single‑material sections

Given your interest in non‑orthogonal, scale‑like cladding, each region can be a family of repeatable units rather than fully bespoke geometry.

  • Define a limited catalog of tile or shell “species”:
    For example:
    – S‑mass: 80–150 mm thick earthen or stone ribbed panel for south‑low zones.
    – S‑shade: 15–25 mm light terra‑cotta or GFRC scale on rails for south‑high, east, west.
    – P‑screen: perforated ceramic or timber grille for over‑glazed areas.
    – R‑radiator: thin, high‑emissivity ceramic panel on ventilated roof ridge.

  • Each species has: one material, one approximate thickness range, one connection logic (clips, rails, or keyed joints), and one curvature envelope it can tolerate.

  • The generative model assigns species to each cell, then you rationalize the surface into manufacturable strips or patches where that species can be repeated.

This preserves the continuous visual shell while locking construction into a manageable kit of parts.