Thermal Comfort-CFD maps for Architectural Interior Design

Within the context of nearly Zero-Energy Buildings, it is debated that the energy-centred notion of design, proposed by regulatory frames, needs to be combined with a further focus toward users' comfort and delight. Accordingly, the underlying theory of the research is that designers should take responsibility for understanding the heat flows through the building parts and its spaces. A design, which is sensible to the micro-thermal conditions coexisting in space, allows the inhabitants to control the building to their needs and desires: for instance, maximising the benefits of heat gain from the sun moving a series of internal partitions so as to avoid the danger of over-heating. It is thus necessary that existing simulation software tools are tested to the purpose of modelling and visualising the indoor thermal environment complexity. The research discusses how thermal comfort maps, which are prepared with the use of Computational Fluid Dynamic simulation method, could integrate energy simulation outputs to uphold qualitative architectural design decisions. Mean radiant temperature maps were thus used to design the retrofit of a small educational building in Copenhagen. The thermal opportunities of movable interior partitions (operated by the users) could be estimated, providing a new layer of information to the designer. The applicability of the thermal maps within an architectural design process is discussed adopting standard energy simulation comfort outputs as a reference. The capabilities and the limitations of the method are appraised.