IMPROVING THERMAL PERFORMANCE THROUGH DESIGN SCHEME - URBAN GREEN SQUARES.

STOCCO SUSANA; CANTÓN M.ALICIA; CORREA ERICA N.

LANDSCAPE AND URBAN PLANNING

ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV

Lugar: Amsterdam; Año: 2018

0169-2046

The actual designs of urban squares in the city of Mendoza, Argentina, answer to aesthetic and landscaping criteria without fully utilizing strategies that can enhance their effects as attenuators of the local climate. The purpose of this investigation is to evaluate design alternatives and qualify their differences in terms of microclimatic behavior. This paper also contemplates different aspects like the proportions of green-sealed ratios as well as homogenous and heterogeneous distribution schemes. For this research, 23 scenarios were simulated with the ENVI-met software allowing us to assess: air temperature, median radiant temperature and wind flow. These results were then analyzed comparatively with a real case which was named the base case. We found that a green-sealed ratio of 60:40 with a homogenous type distribution improves the thermal and comfort conditions of the urban square. We observed that there are differences of between 1.00°C and 2.00°C for maximum temperatures and 0.50°C and 1.00°C for average temperatures for the different types of distributions analyzed. Finally, it is concluded that as the percentage of green space vegetation increases, the thermal behavior of the square improves. The most efficient distribution is that in which the center of the square holds a green structure with at least a proportion close to 10% of the total area.