IN-PERSON: Prague – Section A

Abstract

The extreme heat events in cities appear with an increasing frequency, which is more intense in the old urban areas. Scholars have proved that microclimate can be optimized by changing the spatial characteristics of buildings. However, most of these conclusions were drawn from analysis of the current urban space. To explore the influence of spatial changes that can reflect the real living needs of residents on microclimate, this study simulates the microclimate of a courtyard in different historical periods, which is the first time that one residential courtyard with a time span of more than 400 years has been used for simulation research. Then the correlation between courtyards with different spatial characteristics and their microclimate is analyzed. The results suggest that average daytime temperature of the courtyard in the east-west direction is lower than that in the north-south direction. In addition, the increase in the height of surrounding buildings will lead to a rise in the average daytime temperature in the courtyard. For courtyards with openings in different positions, the average daytime temperature in the courtyard with only one opening in the direction of prevailing wind is the lowest, while that of the enclosed courtyard without opening is the highest.