Design Frameworks for Ventilative Cooling: Perceptions From Building Design Practitioners in Ireland and the United Kingdom

Authors

Maha Sohail, Department of Process, Energy and Transport Engineering, Munster Technological University, Cork, Ireland; MaREI SFI Centre for Marine, Climate and Energy, University College Cork, Ringaskiddy, Co, Cork, Ireland
Adam O'Donovan, Department of Process, Energy and Transport Engineering, Munster Technological University, Cork, Ireland; MaREI SFI Centre for Marine, Climate and Energy, University College Cork, Ringaskiddy, Co, Cork, Ireland
Paul D. O'Sullivan, Department of Process, Energy and Transport Engineering, Munster Technological University, Cork, Ireland; MaREI SFI Centre for Marine, Climate and Energy, University College Cork, Ringaskiddy, Co, Cork, IrelandFollow

ORCID

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4017-3275

Document Type

Article

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International License.

Publication Details

Building and Environment, vol. 263. © 2024 The Authors.

Abstract

The global increase in building cooling demands poses a challenge for designers striving for net zero energy consumption. The prevalent use of mechanical cooling underscores the necessity for designers to consider Ventilative Cooling as a viable alternative in the early stages of building design. This paper presents findings from an exploratory survey and semi-structured interviews of industry experts in Ireland and the United Kingdom about their design processes and experienced-based approaches to designing Ventilative Cooling. The findings suggest that the pre-design stage has the same influence for promoting ventilative cooling strategies as the schematic and detailed design stages for practitioners, yet limited impactful decision making occurs at this stage. Over 70 % of the survey respondents reported satisfaction with current Ventilative Cooling tools used in building design. Only 8 % of architects use a ventilative cooling tool, while engineers always do, showing that separate design advice is needed for architects and engineers. The interview findings indicate that early-stage design interventions for Ventilative Cooling can be improved if there was more empirical evidence of how strategies perform available as design guidance in ventilative cooling design guidelines. Additionally, engineers highlighted that post-occupancy evaluation and site monitoring of existing buildings are crucial stages of further research that can identify the effectiveness of Ventilative Cooling design decisions. In their building designs, the practitioners reported a need for preparedness to assess resilience to extreme future climate events such as heat waves. Effective communication between industry and academic research can help improve the built environment industry's future readiness.

Recommended Citation

Maha Sohail, Adam O'Donovan, Paul D. O'Sullivan, Design frameworks for ventilative cooling: Perceptions from building design practitioners in Ireland and the United Kingdom, Building and Environment, Volume 263, 2024, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2024.111860.