Environmental design strategies in different-density-urban contexts

Abstract

The paper deals with the dichotomy between the horizontal and vertical development of the built environment in urban contexts while taking into consideration different densities and settlement logics by following the specific approach of environmental and technological design. The research focuses on two well-known environmental parameters, wind and sun, identifying specific performance indicators related to natural ventilation (pressure coefficient and wind speed profile) and envelope-related energy needs (percentage of openings, shape and orientation of a spatial unit). For each indicator, a sensitivity analysis was carried out taking into consideration density and building height variations to evaluate the design choices from early-design phases.