PhD Graduation

The sojourn quality of urban squares depends on various factors. Amongst these, thermal comfort and microclimate perception play an eminent role. Yet, in the Dutch square designs, this aspect was often neglected. This lead to the underuse of many urban squares. But it was also not easy for designers to design for thermal comfort because of a scarcity of applicable design guidelines for this aspect. I did this research in order to generate such design guidelines for the Dutch climate context. The research included a part of empirical research where I conducted microclimate measurements and interviews in three Dutch squares. I also ‘researched through designing’ where I designed possible optimal square layouts for microclimate and tested them with microclimate simulations. The outcome of the research is a set of easily applicable design guidelines that will hopefully be used by the designers of public spaces in the Netherlands.

Promotor: Prof.dr. J. Koh

Co-Promotor: Prof.dr. L. Katzschner