Keep Your Hague Cool
Mitigating heat stress and the urban heat island effect through urban design
J. Hofman (TU Delft - Architecture and the Built Environment)
M.M.E. Pijpers-van Esch – Mentor (TU Delft - Environmental Technology and Design)
B. Hausleitner – Graduation committee member (TU Delft - Urban Design)
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Abstract
This graduation thesis looks at the possibilities of
densification in the city without having negative effects on the thermal comfort in the micro climate. During warm periods heat stress arises in the micro climate. Heat stress is the stress on the human body caused by a large heat load. People suffering from heat stress experience
discomfort, health problems and in some cases death as the core temperature rises due to more heat being
absorbed than given off (McGregor & Vanos, 2018).
Due to the high pressure on the housing market, more space is needed, but in the cities there is a lack of space. This often goes hand in hand with more surfacing, causing more heat stress. Due to climate change, heat stress will become more common and to prevent this, the thesis will address the question:
How to densify in The Hague in order to mitigate and
prevent heat stress and the urban heat island effect to improve the livability of the city and the health of its
inhabitants?
Through targeted research and analysis of heat stress, densification and the test location The Hague, more insight is gained into the problems and solutions in Moerwijk. By using the Pattern Language the analysis is linked to the design.
In this way the solutions can be transformed into patterns. The results of this thesis is a toolbox of heat patterns and densification patterns that can be applied in different ways and be used flexibly in a city. Also the translation step is made to an implemented design whereby the district Moerwijk is taken as an example. Ultimately, a maximised situation for heat stress and densification is created, which also takes the livability and ecology problems of the
neighbourhood into account. The design focuses on
different scales from neighbourhood to street level,
applying different patterns at each scale.
Keywords: Densification, heat stress, the urban heat island effect, micro climate, The Hague