NATURAL VENTILATION CHARACTERISTICS OF COURTYARD BUILDINGS IN TROPICAL CLIMATE

Abstract

Researches into natural ventilation characteristics of courtyard-buildings have been carried out extensively in climates very different from tropical climate. Nevertheless, courtyards have been incorporated for centuries in traditional shop houses and also adopted in many modern commercial buildings in tropical countries such as Singapore. Thus, in tropical climate that is characterized by relatively high daily ambient temperature and humidity, the potential of utilizing natural ventilation for cooling through courtyard openings should be investigated to a greater extent. This dissertation discusses a study to examine the natural ventilation characteristics of courtyard-buildings in Singapore. Four typical courtyard-building models are used in this study. They include a traditional three-storey shop house, a five-storey detached office building, a six-storey shopping mall and an eighteen-storey office building. Each of the 1:200 scaled models is investigated in boundary layer wind tunnel to study the effect of various design parameters such as dimension of courtyard, building configuration and locations of opening on the natural ventilation characteristics. The wind speed measurements give some valuable data on horizontal and vertical wind movement through the courtyard. Pressure distribution data on facades provide better understanding on the potentialities of utilizing natural ventilation through the various openings and their positions. The measurements obtained from the wind tunnel are also compared with the actual full-scale measurements. From this on-site investigation, some factors such as cross ventilation, ambient temperature as well as various architectural elements are examined. Undoubtedly, this comparative study on courtyard ventilation can spur the further application of natural ventilation for public spaces such as common corridors and atrium. The potential of utilizing a combination of natural ventilation and air-conditioning (i.e. mixed mode ventilation) in tropical climates can also be explored further.