The effect of different tree configurations on heat stress in courtyards

Among the major urban cooling strategies, urban morphological changes and increasing greenery coverage have proven effective in mitigating heat stress. One building type that has been used for centuries in hot and arid climates is the courtyard typology as it can create comfortable thermal conditions. However, little is known about the climate...

Microclimate Analysis of the TU Delft Campus

With the Urban Heat Island Effect on the rise and 66% of the global population expected to live in the cities by 2050, new ways of building for this urban growth need to be researched. In this report the cooling effects of green and water structures on urban landscapes are examined. To realize this, we opted to recreate a 3D model of the chosen...

An analysis of four different models for quantifying tomato transpiration in a soilless greenhouse

Scientific literature points to several models used to calculate the transpiration of vegetable crops inside a greenhouse but the results are hard to compare since different experiment setups were used. This study aimed to analyse the accuracy of four different transpiration models, Penman-Monteith, Stanghellini, Priestley-Taylor, and Takakura...

BIM and 3D City Models as Input for Microclimate Simulation

Climate change, and the effect it has on our lives and the world, has been at the centre of debate in the past decades. Also in architecture and urban planning fields, the effect of climate on buildings and cities has always had a role in the design process, nowadays especially when it comes to sustainability related topics. An interesting...

Breathing city: Mitigating air pollution through urban microclimate design

In recent years, with the deepening of the urbanization process, high-density urban development models have led to a series of climatic problems such as poor urban ventilation and air pollution. Urban morphology forms a unique microclimate in the city, which has an important impact on the diffusion and distribution of pollutants inside the urban...

The use of digital models in microclimatic studies : First steps in coupling CityGML with ENVI-met

In recent years, the need to reduce the global warming of the planet has become more imperative than ever. Global warming and, at local scale, Urban Heat Island phenomena are among the primary effects of the increased building carbon emissions. Nevertheless, understanding and controlling the parameters which intensify, or mitigate, the...

Vertical Forests: The Impact of Green Balconies on the Microclimate by Solar Shading, Evapotranspiration and Wind Flow Change

In the future most of us will be living in cities and due to climate change global average temperatures are expected to rise. As a result of the urban heat island effect, the temperature in cities can be up to 7 C higher than in the surrounding rural area. Higher air temperatures are not only uncomfortable, but also unhealthy especially for...