Thermal comfort in sustainable buildings: Case study cenpes/UFRJ-RJ/Brazil

Abstract

The current paper presents the structure of the study designed to evaluate thermal comfort of the constructions that shelter the laboratories and the Central Building in the expansion of Cenpes (Research Center Leopoldo Miguez de Mello) at Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, and the considerations that arose from the interpretation of results. The assumptions of the project involved key aspects such as sustainability and eco-efficiency in design solutions and materials specification. This paper aims to develop an analysis of the studies for the development of the project in environments such as the Central Building and the laboratories of the expansion of Cenpes, focusing on the simulation of the designed environments regarding thermal comfort performance, using software such as Analysis CST and Analysis BIO. The article is structured in four parts: design features of the laboratories and Central Building, environmental comfort criteria adopted in their respective projects, simulation of thermal comfort in the study areas using the software Analysis CST and Analysis BIO and final considerations. This paper intends to provide subsidies to break paradigms that can lead to a new mark to the Brazilian construction industry by adopting rational systems, with reuse, use of natural energy resources and, when possible, reduction of the materials used. As a consequence, a construction that is cleaner, more efficient and has a lower operating cost emerges, due to the various eco-efficient assumptions adopted in the project stage contributing to the materialization of the expected thermal comfort during the preparation of the project. © 2012 WIT Press.