Outdoor Thermal Comfort in a Transitional Space of Canopy in Schools in the UK

Abstract

There has been a significant increase in opportunities to improve school environments in the UK. There has, however, been little study on the design of sheltered transitional spaces, despite growing architectural demand for this, examples of which can be easily found in most primary schools in the UK. Computer simulations (Rayman, Ecotect and Winair4) were performed to identify the influence of different parameters: that of having a canopy; the effect of the transmissivity of the canopy material (three transparencies 0%, 50% and 90% were considered); orientation (four orientations-north, east, south and west-were considered); and location (three cities: London, Manchester and Glasgow). The combined effects of canopy transparency and orientation were shown to be critical design considerations in affecting comfort conditions in outdoor spaces. It was found that outdoor comfort conditions in the transitional space can be enhanced by 41.5% in August by choosing a canopy of 0% transparency, compared with a canopy of 90% transparency in London. The fixed canopy with a higher transparency helped to increase outdoor thermal comfort in Glasgow, while one with a lower transparency showed better performance during summer in London. This research will help design environmentally sophisticated transitional spaces in schools.

Optimized Wind Environment in Campus Transitional Spaces: A Case Study of Kunming University of Science and Technology Office Building in Moderate Climate

“…Kwon and Lee investigated the effects of transmissivity of the canopy material and orientation of school buildings on thermal comfort in transitional spaces in three different cities through CFD simulations. It was concluded that different transmittance rates should be adopted for building canopy materials under different climatic conditions, and recommended values were given [17]. Other such articles have examined the relationship between microclimate and transition spaces [18][19][20], the effects of changes in wind speed due to fans [21], the rate of change of skin temperature on thermal comfort in transitional spaces [22], and so on [23,24].…”