Most of studies on thermal comfort have been done considering the environmental conditions of the interior of the buildings, but for outdoor spaces the way to consider the sensation of thermal comfort it is not completely defined. A direct application of indoor comfort criteria for outdoor spaces is not appropriate because the variation of the climatic parameters is greater and faster than indoors. Due to seasonal variations, the acclimatization of the people to the local climate, influences enormously their appreciation of thermal comfort.

During the last two decades, the Building Energy Management Systems (BEMS) showed a systematic development in Greek market. Many factors affect the BEMS penetration into the Greek market. Among others, the most important are the increment of private building construction activity and the establishment of a relevant legal framework to comply with the respective European one. The aim of this paper is to present the development of BEMS market in Greece and the legal framework that should comply with the European Directive regarding the energy performance of the buildings.

This paper looks at the ways in which summer overheating can be avoided in European - and in particular UK - office buildings. Starting with the results from field surveys expressed in adaptive comfort theory the paper defines comfortable conditions and the range of acceptable temperature around these in both free running buildings and those which are heated or cooled. Data from the EU project SCATs and other surveys is used to explore how an upper envelope of acceptable temperatures might be defined.

An experimental campaign was organized inside and outside two urban street canyons during summer 2002 in Athens. The experiments consisted of air, as well as, of surface temperature measurements on building walls and on asphalt street together with wind velocity measurements at different heights in the centre of canyon, near opposite building facades and outside canyon. This study presents the analysis and the conclusions regarding the variation of air and surface temperatures and the observed wind speed characteristics inside the two studied canyons.

Hong Kong is the densest city in the world with an urban density of some 60,000 per square kilometer (Fig. 1). Very tall buildings closely packed together decrease the availability of the natural elements (sun and wind). The government is working to resolve the problem since 2000. This paper unfolds a story of some key events to seek for solutions. Design in the real life is as much science as it is politics. How to appropriate scientific quantities politically is perhaps more difficult than the experiments themselves.

A field study of environmental conditions and occupant comfort were carried in four office buildings in the southeast region of France. The study was made during the summer and autumn seasons, collecting a full set of physical measurements and subjective responses. The measured environmental parameters are: air temperature, operative temperature, air velocity, relative humidity, CO2 concentration, sound and light levels. The subjective responses concern the judgments of participants about the thermal environment at the moment of measurements.

Bam citadel is the greatest and oldest mudbrick construction of the world. It includes three parts of residential, military and citadel with covering an area of sq.ms 200,000. This article explores the skills of design used in urban spaces of Bam citadel with considering of environmental characteristics such as temperature, wind, sunshine, water, and vegetations and analyzes them.

The paper will summarize the results of an extensive research on sustainable architectural strategies used throughout the history in all climates, but here the results of the temperate climate will be presented. The selected case studies were investigated, regardless of their cultural diversity, ranging from prehistoric to the current settlements, and they were cross-referenced and compared to each other. The relationship between their architectural patterns is examined from a climatic point of view.

The paper describes methodology and results collected from a professional and research experience oriented to design, build up and monitor an innovative passive system for the preventive conservation of the ancient stained glass windows in the Assisis St. Francis Basilica Superior Church.

HEED (Home Energy Efficient Design) shows architects, builders, and homeowners how to design or remodel their buildings to reduce or even eliminate air conditioning loads. It is intended for use at the very beginning of the design process, when most of the critical decisions effecting energy consumption are made. This paper goes step-by-step through a typical building remodeling design using HEED.