The recent growth in urban development shows the natural environment being replaced by man-made materials. This produces thermal discomfort in outdoor spaces due to long wave radiation and the collection of heat. This study emphasizes on the application of a methodology of evaluation of existing thermal conditions in an outdoor space— and the process of simulating future conditions by examining new materials, shading devices, and passive heating and cooling techniques. The selected area of study is the "Alumni Plaza" in the University of Arizona, Tucson. Tucson has a hot-arid climate and experiences hot summers and cold winters. This evaluation involved estimating a person's view factor at seven different locations on the plaza using fish eye lens photography techniques" and predicting the thermal quality at each of these locations using the computer program Outdoors 3 to calculate the Mean Radiant Temperature and the Predicted Mean Vote which indicates an index of human thermal comfort. After the comfort evaluation, a set of recommendations are developed, implemented and re-evaluated by computer simulation to achieve thermal comfort. This research aims to demonstrate a methodology that merges the borders of architecture and science such that computer simulations can be effectively and innovatively juxtaposed with designing stages to have better solutions that are a part of the design process right from the start to create thermally viable microclimates appropriate for various human activities in outdoor spaces.
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