Abstract
In this paper, we present a performance-based approach to building configuration design to improve the urban ventilation potential at the conceptual design stage, and we demonstrate its application through a case study. The target performance optimized was the ventilation potential of a district, including a region of interest at a spatial scale of hundreds of meters. To estimate this performance, we used computational fluid dynamics (CFD), coupled with an evolutionary algorithm, to optimize the design alternatives to produce the building configuration most suitable for a given set of site conditions. Three calculation components must be assembled for a CFD-based design optimization: an optimizer, a geometry/mesh generator, and a CFD solver. To provide links between the calculation components, we utilized an in-house parametric design program. A case study was conducted to test the applicability of the proposed design method to identify the optimal solutions that minimize adverse effects on the ventilation potential of the surrounding area. For a configuration of buildings in a dense urban area, the proposed design method successfully improved the design alternatives. The results show that the urban ventilation potential in the case of the optimized building configuration is 16% greater than that of the initial building configuration.
Highlights
Recent years have seen extensive research on the urban heat island—a phenomenon in which surface isotherms resemble the topographic contours around an island because of the temperature difference between urban and surrounding areas [1]
Measures to mitigate the impact of urban heat islands, such as reducing heat sources, restraining greenhouse gas emissions, and promoting urban designs to prevent stagnation of heat generated in urban areas, have been examined in many studies [2,3,4,5,6,7,8]
By presenting a case study, we describe how our method enables the generation of an optimized building configuration suitable to the conditions of a given site
Summary
Recent years have seen extensive research on the urban heat island—a phenomenon in which surface isotherms resemble the topographic contours around an island because of the temperature difference between urban and surrounding areas [1]. Numerous studies have shown that the urban climate is greatly influenced by the geometry and surface of the urban area [9]. The properties of inflow into a built-up area depend on the geometry of the surroundings [10]. Properties such as the wind velocity and turbulence characteristics are directly related to the efficiency of heat or contaminant evacuation from within the built-up area. This efficiency is called the urbanscale ventilation potential. A wind tunnel experiment or numerical simulation can be conducted for this purpose
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