Computational Fluid Dynamics Application for the Evaluation of a Community Atrium Open Space Design Integrated With Microclimate Environment

This study aims to develop an approach which integrates the concept of climate-sensitive design with housing community design for the design of better residential buildings fitting into local wind environment. Employing research methods involving field investigation and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation, the ventilation environment of four typical community atrium spaces were examined and compared in this study. Through a combination of CFD simulation and scenario-based design studies, the research results reveal that the typical long-shape building blocks with high-density housing development lead to poor natural ventilation in atrium open spaces. The research also indicates that if the openings of building masses and atrium can match the prevailing wind direction, the ventilation in community atrium open spaces will be significantly improved, but the overall effects are also affected by several design factors such as the distance between buildings, the size and shape of urban blocks, organization of building masses, and whether or not the wind corridor effect is effectively utilized. It is suggested for further research that more detailed issued-based CFD simulations (e.g., various land use controls or user preferences) of the relationship between wind environment and various design strategies should be conducted in the early stage of the entire design process to obtain the improvement in ventilation environments.