TREE PROVISION ACHIEVING KID’S THERMAL COMFORT THROUGH FINISHING MATERIAL PERFORMANCE IN SUBTROPICAL OUTDOOR PLAYGROUNDS. COMPARISON BETWEEN KING FAHED AND AL BIAA GARDEN IN TRIPOLI, LEBANON

Abstract

Outdoor playgrounds are one of the most spaces needed for kids to make different types of activities, and enhancing thermal comfort in such space consist a critical value due to its impact on kids’ health. Unfortunately, the acceleration of urban heat island (UHI) in outdoor spaces, caused by the presence built-up area has affected the temperature of outdoor spaces especially playgrounds. Many researches highlighted the importance of studying outdoor playground materials to achieve kid’s thermal comfort. Nevertheless, analyzing the impact of providing trees on material performance consist a new research perspective. This research highlight on the importance of using trees as natural element to decrease temperature in outdoor playgrounds to achieve kid’s thermal comfort. The aim of this research is to achieve kid’s thermal comfort by enhancing the performance of outdoor playgrounds finishing materials through providing trees. The study will focus on the variation of playground surfaces temperature through simulating different scenario applied in Malek Fahed and Al Biaa garden in Tripoli, Lebanon. The simulation will be applied in subtropical climate using Envi-Met software. The present study provides an overview of outdoor playgrounds finishing materials and its relations with kid’s thermal comfort. Research findings define the performance level of each playground finishing material in chinaberry shading during summer. Results demonstrate that natural surfaces such as sand, grass and stone enhance kids’ thermal comfort more than artificial ones like concrete during summer days.