Riyadh - School of Architecture

Climatic Strategies (Controlled Ventilation)Wind Tower and Underground Cooling-Hybrid Passive and Active StrategyWind Tower system comes fromIranian ‘badgir’ which air is takenfrom 8m high tower to basementthrough a labyrinth, where air reducespeed, cools down by earth thermalmass and deposit much of the dust.this is then treated by industrial-typewater cooler to further enhancethe effect before delivery. Even highstandard clinical area is half-naturalventilated in this way.This reduce air temperatureby 10C and 70% cost ofconventional ACLam Long Tat 1155009617 Page3 of 3ImprovementOptimal Orientation suggested by Weather ToolPotential to extend comfort zone by diff. passive strategiesInadequate wall thickness to have effective thermal mass1/ Building OrientationBuilding currently orient withlong side facing E-W, this significantlyincrease exposure tolow-angle sun. From Ecotectweather tool analysis, Optimumorientation of buildingshould face 187.5 o . At least itshould face the N-S.2/ Other Passive StrategyCurrently only natural ventilationand heat avoidance isutilized. More extensive use ofevaporative cooling in hot day,passive solar heating in coldday can be done to extend thethermal zone on the lower leftand right where ventilationdoes not cover3/ Thermal MassAlthough the building is currentlyusing masonry structure,the wall thickness is notoptimise to make a effectivethermal mass. Given that theclinic operate 24hrs, it is importantto keep the spacewarm in night-time too. Accordingto a guideline for Australia,min. thickness has to be300mm to be effective.4/ Compact VolumeAlthough the design claim totake reference to Arabic courtyardhouse, the proportion ofinternal space does not workin the way a of a climaticallyfunctional courtyard. It is tooopen too do any shading orcreate usable outdoor spacewith mitigated micro-climate(only the playground performbetter)Annual Accumulative Thermal Load on diff. Face of buildingWind Tunnel Test at Prevailing NE direction