Given the perennial incidence of thermal discomfort, health issues, as well as energy costs associated with naturally ventilated classrooms in Yola, the study aimed at enhancing the effectiveness of classroom designs for natural ventilation comfort by examining the effects of six architectural design variables-size and position of openings, form of buildings, orientation of buildings, site planning, topography, and physical features, on the ventilation coefficients of 61 classrooms selected from nine stratified clusters in Yola, Adamawa State, Nigeria. Data were analyzed using percentages, ratios, means as well as standard deviation, and then sorted in groups using tables. The study revealed that the form and orientation of the classroom-buildings, as well as topography, site planning and other physical features, have no significant effect on ventilation coefficient. In addition, a new mean ventilation coefficient was obtained in ten classrooms against an earlier claim that ventilation coefficient cannot exceed a fixed average regardless of the ratio of wall opening to floor area.Defined as the supply of outside air indoor and the replacement of vitiated air, ventilation provides sufficient air from which oxygen for respiration by humans is extracted, while maintaining concentration of carbon dioxide within safe limits [1]. Ventilation could be achieved by natural or (and) artificial (mechanical) means. Natural ventilation can be induced by wind pressure, temperature difference (stack-effect), or humidity difference (cool-tower effect), wind towers, wind scoop, cool tubes, venturi tubes, solar chimney, air vents, etc., or a combination of any of these [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]. Natural ventilation can also be achieved by ordering of building forms and fenestration, orientation with respect to wind direction and the specification of appropriate materials for the building components or enclosure system [7]. While form deals with the size and shape of a building with its roof, fenestration involves the sizing and placement of openings like windows and doors on the enclosure system of the walls and roofs [8] [9]. The choice of (building) form, fenestration and materials are normally derived from a careful examination of relevant climatic information and data including air temperature, relative humidity, precipitation and wind. With any given space, as a product of the architectural design process, ventilation is a fundamental requirement [8] [9] [10]. Indeed, effective and productive human activities require a conducive space [11] [12], which in turn depends partly, on adequate ventilation [13].Architecture, as an activity that produces a classroom-design (and indeed any shelter in the built environment), has been described in different ways by different theorists at different times. Notwithstanding, a designed space must provide a decent and conducive environment for desired activities. Indeed, the fundamental function of a building is to protect its occupants from the harsh external environment. The architectural approac...
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