The Impact of Urban Layouts on Indoor Thermal Condition: A Comparative Study between Traditional and Contemporary Urban Blocks in Hot Arid Climate

Abstract

Shading and natural ventilation are important passive cooling techniques used to achieve thermal comfort inside a building. The performance of such techniques depends on the urban mass, among other factors. Research about the indoor thermal conditions in buildings focused on the architectural scale, with little interest in the urban layout and its impact on this matter. The present research used the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) technique to assess and compare the indoor thermal environment of houses within traditional and modern neighborhood layouts in a hot-arid climate of Oman. The CFD simulations evaluated several urban features, such as the traditional alleyway’s layout, wind characteristics, and the impact of vegetation on the evaporative cooling within the studied areas. It has been found that the indoor temperature and air velocity in a room within a modern urban fabric are higher compared to a room within a traditional urban layout. This research highlights the importance of developing more climate-responsive urban designs that allow lower wind velocity around the buildings and wider and denser vegetation along the streets and around the urban blocks to secure more shading and higher evaporative cooling.