English

Climate of the Po Valley, in northern Italy, typically is hot humid during summer and cold during winter. In such region new house constructions are often defective in dealing, by passive means, with solar radiation and outdoor temperatures, the majority of new buildings is designed with light envelope, and no care is taken over many issues like solar control, albedo of external surfaces, natural ventilation strategies. The negative result is a substantial growth of electrical demand associated to housing cooling, since A/C systems are becoming cheaper and more popular.

The study that is being undertaken at the University of Porto, Portugal, aims at creating a decision tool, based on the appropriate ventilation strategies for the cooling of buildings in hot humid climates. The climatic conditions of the Amazonic region of Manaus are taken as an example of this type of climate. First, we have to identify every single architectural or climatic parameter related with the ventilation of indoor spaces and evaluate their impact on ventilation efficiency.

This paper presents a simulation case that shows the impact on energy consumption of a building applying photovoltaic shading systems. In order to make photovoltaic application more economical, the effect of a photovoltaic facade as a passive cooling system can result in a considerable energy cost reduction, with positive influence on the payback time of the photovoltaic installation. Photovoltaic shading systems can be applied to both refurbishment of old buildings and to new-build, offering attractive and environmentally integrated architectural solutions.

In this paper the effect of insect screens and vent configuration of a tunnel greenhouse cultivated with a tomato crop on airflow, temperature and humidity patterns was numerically analyzed using a commercial computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code. The numerical model was firstly validated against experimental data, which were carried out in an arch plastic covered greenhouse with continuous side openings. The three components of air velocity and the spatial distribution of air temperature and humidity were measured using a sonic anemometer and fast response sensors respectively.

This paper deals with the use of computer simulations both for design support of a new building including its heating, ventilation and airconditioning (HVAC) systems and for optimization of the HVAC control strategy during operation of the completed building. In the early design phases for a new commercial building in Prague computer simulations were carried out in view of possible effects of night cooling ventilation.

Environmental and natural phenomena play a very significant role in laying the region's interrelated cultural, economic and social infrastructures. The buildings in the Iranian desert regions are constructed according to the specific climatic conditions and differ with those built in other climates. Due to lack of access to modern heating and cooling equipment in ancient times the architects were obliged to rely on natural energies to render the inside condition of the buildings pleasant.

Providing optimum cooling and heating of residential buildings of hot and dry regions in Iran so far has been according to the relations of ecology, so that using architectural methods based on climate, local materials and also culture has damaged the environment as little as possible.

The objective of this paper is to show the importance of the solar passive design principles in Antonio Gaudi’s Architectural Work from the analysis of one of his domestic buildings constructed in Barcelona in the turn of the XX century: The Batlló House.

This paper’s aim is to present a building design case study in a Mediterranean urban environment using as main assessment tool, a comparative dynamic thermal and daylight computer simulation. The scope is to describe the methodology based on which the sim

In the last years, the terms “ecological, sustainable, green” have been used and abused, also in buildings and settlements design. Further, usually, “ecological” aspects are not yet effectively integrated in the design laboratories of architecture and tec