Investigating the Impact of Different Patterns of Residential Block Placement on Improving Thermal Comfort in Outdoor Spaces

Document Type : Research Paper

Author

Department of Architecture and Urban Planning, Faculty of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Technical and Vocational University (TVU), Tehran, Iran.

10.22059/jes.2026.408957.1008666

Abstract

Objective: Creating thermal comfort conditions in urban open spaces is a crucial factor in maintaining pedestrians’ health. This issue is important around residential blocks due to the long-term presence of people in the open spaces. In this study, thermal comfort conditions around residential blocks are investigated. The aim of the study is to examine the effect of different patterns of residential block placement on environmental conditions in the open spaces of the city of Tabriz, Iran, in the summer.
Method: To perform this study, initially the patterns of residential block placement in the city of Tabriz were investigated, and it was determined that the scattered, linear, and central courtyard patterns were the main patterns of residential block placement in the city. Therefore, the three mentioned patterns were studied in this research. To achieve this goal, ENVI-met (Version 4.4.4) was used, and to measure thermal comfort, the Predicted Mean Vote (PMV), as one of the important factors in the comfort status, was examined. Also, five receptors were determined at different points of the site to capture environmental conditions.
Results: According to the results, the placement pattern of building blocks had a direct impact on thermal comfort conditions in open spaces. In all of the three studied patterns, the PMV index showed an upward trend from the early hours of the day and reaches its peak at 3 pm. The numerical value of the mentioned index was recorded 4.18, 3.81 and 3.29 for scattered, linear, and central courtyard patterns respectively. In most of the daytime, the central courtyard pattern had less mean value than the other two patterns. The average PMV index at the five designated receptors during the studied hours in the central courtyard was 1.97, differing by 0.26 from the scattered pattern and by 0.25 from the linear pattern. The most significant difference between the investigated patterns occurred in the time period from 1 pm to 4 pm, which emphasized the critical role of the pattern of block placement under critical conditions.
Conclusions: According to the results, the layout of residential blocks affects the comfort conditions in the open space, and the central courtyard pattern can provide better conditions in the environment compared to the other two studied patterns. However, none of the three studied patterns create comfortable conditions in the environment during the peak heat hours. Therefore, to achieve such conditions, other factors in the environment must be considered. In conclusion, using the pattern of the courtyard, along with considering other climatic design strategies such as vegetation, sun shades, water features, etc. can be recommended as an effective solution to improve environmental conditions in outdoor spaces.

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Main Subjects

References

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Journal of Environmental Studies
Volume 51, Issue 4
March 2026
Pages 493-510

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