Optimising human comfort in medium-density housing via daylight and wind simulation

Abstract

This paper explores the pedagogical context for the inclusion of daylight and wind simulation as part of architectural design-studio teaching. The author describes both challenges as well as opportunities encountered by architecture students who applied high-end technology for optimizing environmental conditions during the conceptual design of a residential project within a thirteen week studio. Students located their projects in an inner urban context in a 'Temperate' climate zone, meaning that they had to account for hot conditions in summer while considering wind-chill factors in winter. Based on the studio experience, the paper scrutinizes how students tackled Computational Fluid Dynamic..