Natural Ventilation Applications in Hot-humid Climate: A Preliminary Design for the College of Design at NTUST

Abstract

In Taiwan’s humid environment, the application of natural ventilation is an essential passive strategy for high performance buildings. However, conventional architectural design tools are rarely capable of analyzing the unpredictable air currents in an urban environment. Thus, the integration of a natural ventilation strategy in the conventional design process remains uncommon and difficult to implement. This paper discusses the incorporation of various ventilation design strategies in an early stage of architectural design using simple simulation software (Ecotect and WinAir4) to evaluate the benefits of natural ventilation in building design. The preliminary design of the new College of Design at the National Taiwan University of Science and Technology (NTUST) in Taipei, Taiwan, is used as a vehicle to demonstrate this integrated design process.