Evaluating the Effect of Educational Buildings' Form on Improving Outdoor Thermal Comfort

Articles in Press

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Zahra Khazaie 1
Maryam Azmoodeh 2
1 Master of Architecture and Energy, Imam Khomeini International University, Qazvin, Iran.
2 Department of Architecture, Imam Khomeini International University, Qazvin, Iran.
10.22034/he.2026.573283.1193
Abstract
Considering the effects of being outdoors on students' mental and physical health, outdoor spaces are very important in educational environments. One way to improve these spaces is to enhance their thermal comfort. The aim of this research is to evaluate the effect of the form of educational buildings on improving outdoor thermal comfort in Tehran. Also, this paper uses optimization to identify the best and worst forms across different time frames. By analyzing and categorizing 92 buildings from different universities in Tehran, and by writing an algorithm capable of producing 432 forms, Rhino, Grasshopper, Ladybug, and Galapagos were used to perform simulation and optimization. The results showed that the best form in the entire investigated time period is the rectangular form with an east-west extension. Comparing the best form with the worst form showed that the difference in the percentage of time the spaces have outdoor thermal comfort is 0/215%, and the difference in outdoor thermal comfort is 0/133 °C between these two forms. The best form can affect outdoor thermal comfort conditions up to 30 meters from the building on the site. Because cold stress prevails throughout the period at the site, the best form selected by optimization is partially similar to the best form for the cold seasons. Therefore, the best form has no gaps, more surfaces facing the sun, and less shading than the worst form. It also has an east-west extension.
Keywords
Educational Buildings
Form
Optimization
Outdoor thermal comfort
UTCI
Subjects
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Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 14 June 2026