Bioclimatic Architecture Strategies in Denmark: A Review of Current and Future Directions

Laura Annabelle Bugenings,Aliakbar Kamari

doi:10.3390/buildings12020224

Abstract

Due to climate change, the rise in global temperature causes an increased need for cooling to satisfy occupants’ thermal comfort. Application of architecture passive design strategies, so-called bioclimatic architecture strategies, based on the local climate to forego active cooling measures to decrease the conventional heating need and ensure thermal comfort are, thus, becoming highly relevant and vitally important. In an effort to adapt and promote passive architecture design strategies in the new design or renovation of building projects, this literature review fills the gap by identifying suitable bioclimatic architecture strategies in the Danish setting. The literature review adopts the PRISMA flowchart (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses), and the outcome is supplemented by screening 25 actual bioclimatic architecture-based building design projects in Denmark. The study shows that a wide range of passive strategies are being researched and practiced in Denmark, whereby the focus for passive heating strategies lies on solar gains, thermal insulation and thermal mass. Among passive cooling strategies, natural ventilation and solar shading are the main strategies investigated. Based on the analysis, it is expected that the use and research of those measures will continue, whereby the passive cooling measures will be of particular future interest in light of increasing outdoor temperatures.

Highlights

European and Nordic countries’ average temperatures have been rising since the preindustrial period and are predicted to increase even further [1,2]
This paper presented a detailed systematic review of theoretical studies investigating commonly used bioclimatic architecture in the Danish climate besides an overview of 25 actual building projects in Denmark
The outcome shows that almost all considered passive strategies are used in Denmark, whereby the focus is on passive heating strategies

Summary

Introduction

European and Nordic countries’ average temperatures have been rising since the preindustrial period and are predicted to increase even further [1,2]. The increase in annual average temperature decreases the heating demand for buildings, notably during winters [4,5]. The need for measures to counteract these climate effects is evident. Climate effects may be counteracted by bioclimatic architecture (see Section 2 for definition). Recent research has shown that bioclimatic architecture, with its application of passive measures, can be an efficient cooling strategy and may reduce the conventional heating need in winter periods [7,8,9]. In Denmark, passive heating measures have been applied in the design new buildings. They successfully reduced the demand for heating energy; they led to increased overheating, notably in the summer [10]

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Conclusion