An energy balance over an urban area and over a rural one, reveals that the first case is always more complex than the last one. The urban context is able to change all the energy transferences mainly due to its own layout. Thus, analysing all the energy transferences one by one, we can find how they affect in a different way depending on the surroundings, among other influences.

Noise measurements were made at 10 locations in ‘canyon’ streets in Athens with aspect ratio (height/width) varying from 3:1 to 1:1. The main purpose of the measurements was to examine the vertical variation in noise in the canyons to indicate the natural

Measurements of wind speed and wind direction, air temperature inside and outside an urbancanyon also infrared radiation in buildings have been measured on summer 2001 in Athens, in fivedifferent urban canyons, in the frame of Urbvent project. Urban canyons with different geometricalcharacteristics and orientation were placed in five different neighborhoods in Athens.Measurements took place in four different height levels inside each canyon, in the facades ofthem, also in the top of each canyon.

The quality of indoor environment in dwellings is provided by physical properties of building constructions and by operation of HVAC-systems. From the point of view of comfort, energy and economy as well as HVAC-system are designed and operated to maintain an acceptable indoor climate, i.e. an acceptable air quality and thermal environment play the key role in dwellings.

About 100 office buildings in the Flanders and Brussels regions have been subject to a surveyof energy aspects and indoor climate parameters. Building characteristics and energy use havebeen mapped for all buildings; for 48 of them a database has been built containing buildingand room dimensions, materials used for the building shell, windows, glazing, solar shading,occupancy, equipment characteristics (heating, ventilation, cooling, lighting, office equipment.

In this work a methodology for indoor environmental quality assessment was applied, based on thermal, visual, and acoustic comfort indices and on their analysis and spatial representation.Object of the study was one secondary school classroom of the Province of Torino (Italy), representative of several typologies of educational buildings, showing unsatisfactory environmental conditions.

A field survey on thermal comfort in Algeria has never been previously attempted, and for this reason the present study was conducted. The present paper will present a field study of thermal comfort in Algeria. A thermal comfort survey has been held among 160 persons in 4 towns of Algeria representing three different climatic regions. The survey has been carried out in two different types of buildings: Domestic buildings and Office buildings. Subjective data were collected from 160 people by the use of questionnaires.

In the introduction of the paper are reasons presented, which cause local thermal discomfort. Currently the reasons of asymmetric thermal radiation are not clearly explained. Therefore I oriented my experimetal laboratory measurements, which were carried out in a special microclimatic laboratory on radiant ceiling heating. A special laboratory model of heating of interior was created. The measurements were performed with the help of a thermal mannequin that was used to measure the asymmetric radiation (that is asymmetry of perceived temperature).

A research project is designed to evaluate different aspects affecting human comfort in an architectural space. One of the basic parts of the research project is the evaluation of the auditory, visual and thermal comfort. A university library in Istanbul is selected as the subject of the research. The library building, which has unusual settlement and design peculiarities, is an interesting case from acoustical view point as well, because of the closeness to a heavy traffic road and architectural properties.

The construction of dwellings for people with low incomes in developing countries encompasses a broad range of issues starting from the choice of the building site, to the construction phase and finally to the evaluation of the building itself. For tropical climates, the thermal evaluation of low-cost dwellings should be primarily related to the optimization of internal comfort conditions. Usually low-cost housing projects are implemented throughout Brazil equally, with no concern to the climatic region where houses are to be built.