This paper addresses wind conditions in urban building development at the pedestrian level. The article aimed to identify aerodynamic phenomena around three types of multi-family housing developments with different forms and the same urban parameters of building development density (high density was taken into account). The aim of the research was mainly to achieve qualitative results that would lead to understanding fundamental processes and phenomena. Wind tunnel experimental studies were conducted on physical models at a scale of 1: 400 using visualization and erosion methods. These experiments yielded data regarding the arrangement of airflow directions and changes in airflow velocity, expressed as the amplification coefficient (α), the occurrence of which was caused by the presence of buildings. An analysis was conducted concerning wind conditions that constitute pedestrian comfort and influence the possibility for ventilation of spaces between buildings for the three selected models. The research results were compared, and an attempt was made to assess the most beneficial and the least favorable building development types in this respect.
In compliance with European Union directives, numerous countries are introducing increasingly stricter legal limits on the estimated energy consumption of newly designed residential buildings. However, the fact, that regulations and designers’ efforts are focused on decreasing energy consumption (and consequently carbon dioxide emissions) only at the post-occupancy stage, may lead to a significant increase in the carbon footprint of the buildings during their entire life cycle. A frequent criticism levelled at low-energy and passive buildings is that they are susceptible to the phenomenon of overheating. The reduction of overheating through the choice of “massive” technologies, materials with high thermal capacity as well as a high heat dispersion coefficient, stands in opposition to the requirement to choose the technologies that ensure a low ecological footprint (i.e. timber frame technologies). The development of a tool facilitating decision making in this issue seems to be a challenge. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a well-known, optimal method for forecasting buildings’ carbon footprint, however, it is an expensive and time-consuming method. Life Cycle Assessment is a method dedicated to large investments. In practice, such analysis are not carried out for residential buildings. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the foregoing problem on the example of detached single-family houses and to propose a method and tool that can assist architectural design in this regard.
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