Tall buildings cluster form rationalization in a Nordic climate by factoring in indoor-outdoor comfort and energy

Considering climate change, controlling outdoor microclimates is an increasingly pressing concern. Microclimates have a significant effect on both outdoor and indoor comfort, and on the energy efficiency of buildings. This concern is particularly important as current climate conditions reveal that warmer summers are threatening the comfort of pedestrians and causing overheating in office environments, which is consequently increasing cooling energy consumption. A further concern is that this trend now extends to Nordic latitudes.Existing literature demonstrates how a local microclimate depends on many factors such as urban density, shape and orientation of buildings, the types of materials present, the number of green areas and anthropogenic activities. However, there is little research focusing on how reciprocal distances among tall buildings, and their relative position, affect outdoor and indoor comfort, and the associated energy consumption of buildings. This paper presents a unique and comprehensive insight into the interconnected nature of indoor and outdoor comfort via coupled simulations.It presents a study of clusters of tall commercial buildings located in the Nordic climate of Tallinn (Estonia) with different microclimates, and shows that the differences are due to variable shadowing and reflections and different wind patterns. The results, which focus on summer conditions, show that small variations of cluster layout strongly affect the local indoor and outdoor comfort, thus highlighting the need to conduct both studies simultaneously in research aiming to increase pedestrian and indoor comfort and resource efficiency.(c) 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.