Evaluating the Influence of Different Layouts of Residential Buildings on the Urban Thermal Environment

Abstract

Urban residential building layouts have an impact on air temperature and thermal comfort. Research has shown that poorly designed building layouts can lead to thermal discomfort. Thus, it is crucial to analyze the relationship between residential building layouts and air temperature. We used the ENVI-met 3D microclimate model to simulate six typical residential building layouts and explore the diurnal and seasonal variations in air temperature. In addition, we used the physiological equivalent temperature (PET) as the evaluation index for the thermal comfort of different building layouts. The diurnal results showed that the air temperature of the parallel layout rose faster and fell faster, and these changes were more significant in summer. The results of the air temperature classifications indicated that the frequency of low-air-temperature areas in the parallel layout is approximately 12% smaller than that of the enclosed and semi-enclosed layouts, and the high-air-temperature area frequency is 11% higher than that of the enclosed and semi-enclosed layouts in summer. In winter, the frequency of low-air-temperature areas in the parallel layout is approximately 7% smaller than that of the enclosed and semi-enclosed layouts, and the high-air-temperature area frequency is 5% higher than that of the enclosed and semi-enclosed layouts. In combination with the PET results, we found that the enclosed layout is the optimal configuration. Moreover, in some cases, increased building height and vegetation lead to a reduction in air temperature.

Climate Change Projection and Its Impacts on Building Façades in Singapore

“…Local wind speeds around a building or façade can deviate significantly from the meteorological wind speed. Building layout, building height, building shape, roughness elements, and many other parameters can affect the local wind speeds [63,64]. Although the increase in the meteorological wind gust speed is small (up to 10%), the local wind speed can be amplified, which induces a larger pressure difference across a façade or other elements such as a window.…”

Study on Microclimate and Thermal Comfort in Small Urban Green Spaces in Tokyo, Japan—A Case Study of Chuo Ward

“…They found that restricting building height could have a negative effect on microclimates, whereas a stepped building height design did not influence thermal comfort. Regarding spatial layout, Yuanyuan Li et al [15] surveyed typical residential area layouts in Beijing and employed simulation software to study their influence on thermal environments. Among the various residential area types in Beijing, their findings indicated that enclosed residential layouts were the most optimal.…”