Tall Building Design for Enhanced Wind Comfort in London

Abstract

While wind assessments by London authorities have become more stringent for tall buildings to address high-speed winds at pedestrian levels, there is a lack of available design guidelines for tall buildings that architects can refer to regarding this issue. This paper proposes new design procedures for tall buildings to enhance pedestrian-level wind comfort in London and thereby ensure people’s well-being and contribute to the development of sustainable urban areas. The present study undertook comparative analysis between isolated (pure aerodynamic) and urban conditions and proposed an integrated assessment approach that considered both building geometry and urban form parameters. Computational fluid dynamics was the primary methodology, supported by additional verification and validation processes. The results of this study highlighted that isolated building conditions were inadequate at representing tall building performance within the existing urban environment, as opposing results were observed under isolated and urban conditions. Therefore, it is essential to consider the existing urban conditions and perform a comprehensive evaluation that encompasses diverse building parameters, including façade angles, corner configurations, and heights, as well as urban factors such as open area ratios. This study took these aspects into account and provided practical recommendations for tall building design to improve PLW comfort across London’s urban fabric.