BUILDING - MICROCLIMATE

ARCHITECTURE ON A SINGLE BUILDING

SCALE

Divakar Agarwal
M.E.T. Faculty of Architecture, MIT
divakar.agarwal1@gmail.com

Abstract

The forecasts of global climate change have made it clear that the climatic
conditions to which buildings are exposed are becoming increasingly dynamic,
and that the situation require thorough consideration in the architectural design
practice. More and more efficient buildings are demanded. Reason being both, the
concern of nature and the expenses of the client simultaneously. Efficient building
may be understood as a building that blends with the environment of the site and
designed accordingly. Microclimate architecture is a way to design building that
creates such environment inside that it requires minimum artificial agents for
cooling or heating.

Keywords: micro climate, architecture

1. Introduction
In recent years, researchers, environmentalists and architects have become increasingly
interested in the thermal performance of buildings in summer. This interest is mainly
directed at the two main aspects, energy consumption and thermal comfort. Rising standards
of living, the globalization of modern architecture, urban heat islands and global climate
change, together with the affordability of air conditioning, have caused the energy demand
for cooling to increase dramatically. Studies have shown that refrigeration and air
conditioning are responsible for about 15% of the total electricity consumption in the world.
On the other hand, the thermal comfort in Modern buildings, whether free-running or air-
conditioned, tends to be poor. Inferior architectural design can make it impossible to utilize
Passive cooling approaches for thermal comfort in summer, while the Constant use of air
conditioning leads to uncomfortable conditions Due to the bad indoor environmental quality.
Climatic features can significantly influence the performance of the built environment in
terms of thermal comfort and energy consumption.
When spatial scale is considered, the climate can be subdivided into
 Macro-scale,
Meso-scale,
Local scale and
Micro scale.
Microclimatic design is an approach based on local climate. These methods result in
buildings that respond to the climatic conditions of their environment, are able to modify
them and thus contribute to resource conservation with maximum comfort.
in microclimatic building design in which passive approaches are applied, it is crucial to first
analyse the local climate to which the building is exposed and to explore how it can be
modified and improved to ensure a good building performance.
In the microclimate, the distribution of air temperature, relative humidity, solar radiation and
wind characteristics are the principal elements determining its physical character.
Since former times, many researches have been carried out about building a climate
responsive environment but, few studies focused on the microclimate at the single building
scale.

2. Building microclimate and thermal comfort

This section deals the definition of building microclimate. Also attempt to clarify the
relationship between building microclimate and thermal comfort in the free-running
buildings.

2.1. Building microclimate

the term microclimate in urban planning and urban design always refers to the climate
connected with a group of buildings in the urban locality or to the climate around a single
building. But, within a particular building, a small-scale pattern of “building microclimate”
is found, which is different from the microclimate related to the urban fabric scale.
here, “building microclimate” refers to one type of microclimate, involving the indoor space
and the spaces around the indoor spaces of a particular building. It is the extension of the
indoor climate. The building microclimate is mainly defined by the spatial and the thermo-
physical properties.
Hence corridors, semi-outdoor rooms, courtyards, patios and atria play a very important role
in the spatial design to obtain a good building microclimate.
At the building microclimate scale, the thermo-physical properties
are as follows:
The average air temperature and humidity in the building microclimate are influenced by the
local climate
The influence of the local climate on the solar radiation in the microclimate is relatively
small, but is significantly influenced by the design of the building components.
 The wind velocity distribution is significantly different in different spaces. Generally, the
wind velocity in the semi-outdoor and outdoor space is higher than in indoor spaces. The
wind velocity and direction are influenced by the local wind environment, the organization
of building spaces and the envelope design.

2.2. Thermal comfort in a building microclimate

In the building microclimate identified above, the spatial features and thermal properties of
the building microclimate are interactive, just as in the urban space, where urban form,
landscape and used material influence the urban microclimate. Similarly, the building
microclimate is significantly influenced by building form, spatial organization, vegetation
and landscape in building and construction materials. The essence of architectural
bioclimatic design is to understand the local climate and utilize appropriate design strategies
for building form generation and material selection, in order to create or modify the building
microclimate required for a comfortable living environment. Building form, solar control
and natural ventilation are the main bioclimatic design strategies to control the building
microclimate.

3. Microclimatic enhancement methods for thermal comfort

There are several urban microclimate moderation processes. Parameters including air
temperature , relative humidity, and wind speed may be modified by the impact of urban
interventions, which hence might enhance the thermal comfort situations.

3.1. Cool reflective materials

The use of excessive reflective material having the potential to reflect incoming solar
radiation in urban environments is a powerful factor that reduces the thermal comfort .
High albedo materials which have white and light colored surfaces are found to have a
significant improvement effect on thermal comfort.
 https://cli
mate.ncsu.edu/images/edu/albedo.bmp

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6a/Roof-albedo.gif
3.2. Water surfaces
Water features usually improve the thermal comfort level through decreasing air temperature
in warm city built environments. Researchers in japan have examined this concept through
altering the temperature in both hot and humid city spaces and confirmed usefulness of
water facilities. A water surface inside a building campus can really help reducing thermal
stress.

3.3. Green spaces and vegetation

One of the great advantages of planting and tree cover is the cooling effect on the
consequences from the joint impact of transpiration and canopy shading. Vegetation is a
common and effective method to enhance the thermal comfort condition. Increasing green
spaces in urban regions prove to be a considerable mitigation method in heat stress. Setback
areas of the building should be used for planting trees . smaller trees and plants are to be
planted towards the east while trees with bigger foliage are to be planted in west and south
directions in order to provide shade in warmest time of the day .

3.4. Building arrangements with wind movement

 Buildings should be designed in such a way that it lets the cool air in and restricts it from the
hotter sides . orientation of building on the site is an important consideration for wind
movement inside the building . atriums are given so that the warm air rising up can escape
outside without any needs of exhausts . this would maintain the temperature of the building.
Height of the building also plays important role here . if the buildings are designed while
keeping the vertical development in mind then it some advantages . it leaves more space on
the plot for green area . high building can give shade to a larger area , so if building is high
then rest of the surrounding area gets its shade which keeps the surroundings comparatively
cool . when the surroundings are cool , it obviously will reduce the thermal stress in the
lower floors of the building .

3.5. Green roofs

Green roofs can turn out be an effective method for creating a building microclimate . as a
roof is also a point for inlet of warmth , constructing a green roof would be a greast otion for
rewducing the heart inside . also it creates a nice space foe recreation , if the plot size
doesn’t allow for a garden on the ground floor .