Courtyard Design Variants and Microclimate Performance

Abstract

Courtyard is often regarded as a microclimate modifier that improves comfort conditions of the surrounding environment. While several literature have identified aspect ratio of a courtyard and its orientation as two design variants that are critical to the microclimatic performance of courtyards, this claim need to be substantiated with empirical evidence. This study assessed the microclimate performance of a U-shape courtyard in a General Hospital in Malaysia. The intention was to verify two critical design variants affecting the performance of an institutional scale courtyard in a tropical climate. The study combined experimental and simulation method. The field study recorded three physical environmental variables namely the air temperature, humidity and wind patterns. The simulation study was performed using IES <VE> suite in two parts beginning with a calibration procedure, followed by the parametric analysis. The result verifies that the manipulation of courtyard configuration and its orientation impact its microclimate modifying ability.