Evaluation of Qualitative Variables Affecting Thermal Comfort in Outdoor Spaces in Line with Sustainable Design Thinking (Case Study: Naqsh-e Jahan Square, Isfahan)

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Department of Architecture and Urban Planning, Faculty of Engineering and Technology, Shahid Ashrafi Esfahani University, Isfahan, Iran. Department of Architecture, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.

2 Department of Architecture, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

Attention to human-centered features in architectural design to create levels of physical, functional and
psychological comfort, in line with attention to environmental and energy consumption management approaches,
is nowadays considered an important and growing movement towards the definition of sustainable architecture. Thermal
comfort is a significant subset of this attention which can be examined in two physiological and psychological aspects
and is defined as "the condition of mind that expresses satisfaction with the thermal environment". With the assumption
that "people are not inactive in environmental conditions", this study seeks to evaluate the qualitative human-centered
factors affecting thermal perception by examining the possibility of redefining the upper and lower limits of thermal
comfort temperature in the environmental conditions of open spaces with the aim of improving the global standard
temperature and minimizing and managing energy consumption. It is based on library studies and field observations
whose data were collected using a questionnaire from the visitors to Naqsh-e Jahan Square in Isfahan in the cold season
and appropriate solutions were presented after the results had been analyzed using SPSS 26. Results indicated that the
architectural response to thermal comfort is influenced by qualitative and human-centered approaches, and adaptation
and alliesthesia play a significant role in defining the acceptable human thermal environment and comfort temperature,
which does not necessarily conform to the Design limits set by global standards and where calculations are not merely
quantitative and can be redefined depending on qualitative characteristics in Line with sustainable Design thinking

Keywords

Main Subjects


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