Architecture is much more than just built forms on a piece of land. Architecture hinges on user experience and comfort. As such, it is up to us, as designers and engineers to be mindful of the quality of the conceptualized space.

Building physics is one such field that addresses the concerns of users. It outlines topics that play an integral role in the quality of life; thermal comfort, ventilation, lighting, and acoustics. The first three factors have something in common. They have evolved and been developed to the point where the user has the luxury of controlling this factors at a scale local to the user itself. This creates an enhanced user experience. Acoustics, on the other hand, poses numerous problems when the topic of personal control is broached. There are many factors that impact the quality of sound in a space. That is, there are simply too many variables one must take into account while addressing the topic of personalised control of sound in a room. Acoustic control systems, while existent, heavily hinge on the usage of technology to provide user control, resulting in bulky or expensive systems that makes this very concept of personalised control a distant reach to the average user.

Schools, particularly primary schools and middle schools pose an interesting challenge. In addition to the varying functions that happen in a classroom over the span of a day or a lesson plan, the users also have differing sound demands. Teachers’ main concern is related to vocal strain and fatigue, while the poor acoustic conditions affect students’ learning and social development.

While acoustic standards are largely enforced in the built environment during and post construction, it is imperative that we acknowledge that these standards are set for adults, by adults. They are values that make sense to a person with fully developed auditory and sensory systems. They are limited by the general function of a space and do not necessarily address the nuances of spatial usage. As a result, applying these standards as an unwavering rule to architectural typologies aimed at children might not be the most ideal approach. The still developing auditory and sensory systems of children, and the resulting requirements must be taken into account in spaces aimed at them.

This thesis aims to explore the possibilities that passive (dynamic) systems offer in the realm of acoustic and sound control set in the context of a middle school classroom. This process is done by theoretical calculations and digital simulations.

The practice of almost any sport requires friendly and comfortable environmental conditions, cool temperatures and medium humidity levels, as well as satisfactory lighting and ventilation performance (Torsing et al., 2016). The complex challenge of designing sport infrastructure is likely to become even bigger in the expected future warmer scenario. This research focuses on the development of a climate adaptation concept for the new Feyenoord Stadium, with the goal to make it adaptable to the future climate scenario, characterized by global warming, which will lead to an increase in temperatures and heat waves. The focus of the design is mainly on the integration of passive strategies to cool down the stadium and control the indoor temperature to guarantee proper livability to users, thus reducing the need for active cooling. The research explores mainly possibilities for the design of the envelope, which represents the connection between the stadium and its surroundings. A proper design of the envelope would bring benefits both to the stadium itself and the outdoor environment, by mitigating the urban heat island effect. Indeed, the main question of this research is “how can the envelope of a large-scale stadium be designed to integrate passive strategies to provide cooling in a future warmer scenario and guarantee a comfortable micro-climate to users, while reducing the UHI in the surroundings?” Based on the literature review, different strategies were explored, and those more likely to make the Stadium adaptable to the climate of Rotterdam have been selected and analyzed in detail to be integrated into the new design. Through means of calculations and simulations, outcomes were obtained, which show that with a proper design of the envelope and some areas of the stadium, it is possible to control the indoor temperature to avoid overheating, guarantee comfort to users, and reduce the cooling demand of the building. The ultimate goal of this research is to give guidelines for a replicable design approach to be applied to stadiums around the world to deal with local climate potentials and hazards, and rely on the resources offered by the surroundings.