The microclimate and dispersion in urban street canyons has become a subject of intense scientific research in recent years since complex flow patterns evolve leading many times to bad comfort conditions for the pedestrians and the habitants. Within that frame, the main aim of this study is the creation of a semi-empirical algorithm for accurate wind speed computation inside street canyons. A big experimental campaign took place in Athens in the summer of 2001 where measurements were taken in five different urban street canyons in the framework of the Urbvent European Research project.

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

This document focuses on the building envelope of office spaces in the UK climate. Analyses a case study typical office to explore strategies and design solutions for thermal and daylight comfort and energy savings. Detailed thermal simulation has highlighted an effective solution for providing thermal comfort, in terms of glazing and solid ratios of the faade. Daylight level analysis was also carried out in order to determine the effectiveness of the proposed faade and identify possible improvements.

The present paper describes a process for designing and applying several techniques based on bioclimatic architecture criteria and energy conservation principles in order to improve the microclimate in an outdoor space located in the greater Athens area. The thermal comfort conditions were used as an indicator for the microclimatic improvements in the tested area. For that reason, the thermal comfort conditions in twelve different outdoor space points have been calculated using two different thermal comfort bioclimatic indices developed to be used for outdoor spaces.

Wood construction presents numerous advantages on the environmental impact. Envelopes of wood frame houses already have air gaps. We wish to use them in systems aiming at to reduce the energy loads in winter and to improve the thermal comfort in summer. We so decided to couple a faade integrated solar air collector with a heavy and ventilated internal wall. The envelope of wood frame houses being light, it is possible to store solar energy in the internal wall.

In idyllic ATHENS of the 5th century B.C. while gazing out at the Aegean Sea, ARISTOTLE codified the theory of the presocratic philosophers on the value of the 4 basic elements FIRE(SUN), AIR. WATER, EARTH and the 4 basic qualities WARM-COLD, DRY-WET.

In the 6th Framework Programme of the European Union, Politecnico di Milano is participating in an Integrated Project related to energy and environmental efficiency in buildings. This project (BRITA in PuBs) aims to increase the market penetration of innovative and effective retrofit solutions to improve energy efficiency and integrate renewables in buildings. The project includes exemplary retrofit of 9 demonstration public buildings in the four participating European regions (North, Central, South, and East).

Cooling buildings, more than a generalized need, is a reason for concern because of a paranoia provoked inter alias by an aggressive marketing of HVAC, relatively inexpensive equipment and the anticipation stimulated by the media of climate change effects. But, as a matter of fact, there are many and, in some cases, sound reasons for cooling buildings. The purpose here is to propose to discuss the cooling issue starting from the point that there is not a general need for cooling everywhere in the World.

This paper summarises a series of design proposals, which aim at exploring in an architectural way, the implementation of PDEC in the urban open spaces of Athens. These design proposals refer to the larger scale of the typical urban block, as well as the intermediate scale of the urban square, and attempt to increase convective and evaporative cooling within the dense city fabric. For a city with a hot and relatively dry climate, like Athens, the effect of enhanced air circulation at pedestrian level can significantly improve thermal conditions during the summer.

A multi-stage down-draft evaporative cool tower (DECT) was developed as an improvement to an existing single-stage design. The new tower incorporates a secondary air inlet, added to increase the cooling output and reduce the water consumption in a tower of given cross-section and primary inlet geometry. The secondary air, which may be drawn from the interior space being cooled, is cooled by evaporation in the lower section of the tower.