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Project :
Client | Luxury Hotel Development in Qatar |
Sector | Hospitality or Urban Development |
Platform / Software | Ansys CFX |
Standards | UTCI, ASHRAE 55, LEED v4.1 Outdoor Comfort Credit |
Key Outcome | Evaluate thermal comfort across all outdoor seating areas under various seasonal and operating conditions, identify zones affected by excessive heat, solar exposure, ground surface re-radiation, and inadequate shading, and provide recommendations to optimize shading strategies, landscape design, and seating layouts, ensuring improved occupant comfort. |
Problem Statement (In Client Words) :
“We have invested significantly in the design of our outdoor terrace, poolside lounge, and seating areas, including landscaping, shading structures, pergolas, and furniture. While the design meets our aesthetic and functional objectives, we need to understand how these spaces will perform from a thermal comfort perspective under local climatic conditions.
Before proceeding with construction and furniture procurement, we require a quantitative assessment to determine whether the outdoor areas will remain comfortable and usable for occupants, identify any potential heat-stress zones, and verify the effectiveness of the proposed shading and landscape design.”
Impacts of Challenges:
Commercial Viability Risk | If outdoor seating areas become too hot during the day, guests are less likely to use them, reducing restaurant revenue and overall guest satisfaction. |
Solar Radiation Exposure | Shading elements may appear sufficient in the design, but certain seating areas can still receive direct sunlight at different times of the day, causing discomfort. |
Heat from Ground Surfaces | Paving materials absorb heat during the day and continue releasing it in the evening, making outdoor spaces feel hotter than the actual air temperature. |
Wind Comfort Issues | Buildings, landscaping, and structures can create areas with excessive wind speeds, making some seating locations uncomfortable for guests. |
Costly Design Changes After Installation | Decisions on furniture, pergolas, umbrellas, and shade structures are made early in the project. If thermal comfort issues are discovered later, modifications can be expensive and disruptive. |
How Conserve Solutions Solved It :
Thinking (Strategy):
Conserve approached this as a guest experience and commercial performance validation study, not a standard airflow analysis. The objective was to quantify the actual thermal experience of a seated guest at every seating node across outdoor zones — F&B terrace seating court — and identify precisely where and when the design failed to deliver comfortable conditions, so that targeted, cost-effective design modifications could be made before any contractor was mobilised or furniture procured.
Solution Approach/ Execution:
- Developed a high-fidelity 3D CFD model of the outdoor seating areas, including pergolas, shade sails, trees, surrounding buildings, and landscape features.
- Performed microclimate analysis to evaluate Mean Radiant Temperature (MRT) considering solar radiation and surface heat exchange.
- Assessed outdoor thermal comfort using the Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI) based on air temperature, MRT, wind speed, and humidity.
- Conducted CFD simulations to evaluate airflow and wind distribution under prevailing summer conditions.
- Simulated multiple seasonal and time-of-day scenarios to assess thermal comfort across the seating areas.
- Evaluated the influence of ground surface materials and shading elements on outdoor thermal performance.
- Performed parametric studies to optimize shading configurations and reduce heat stress. Assessed the effectiveness of passive cooling strategies, including vegetation and evaporative cooling, on improving occupant comfort.
Integration:
- Generated UTCI-based thermal comfort maps and seating-level comfort assessments for all design scenarios.
- Evaluated compliance with UTCI comfort criteria and LEED v4.1 Outdoor Thermal Comfort requirements.
- Produced airflow, wind velocity, solar radiation, and surface temperature contour plots to identify thermal discomfort zones.
Identified design improvements, including shading optimization and misting system enhancements to improve occupant thermal comfort.
Project Timeline: 2week
Phase 1 — Week 1 | Data collection, 3D geometry preparation, surrounding building and landscape modelling, definition of weather and boundary conditions, CFD and microclimate model setup, and mesh generation. |
Phase 2 — Week 2 | CFD and microclimate simulations for all design scenarios, thermal comfort (UTCI) assessment, post-processing of airflow and temperature results, identification of comfort improvement measures, and preparation of the final report with recommendations. |
What We Delivered :
- High-fidelity 3D CFD and microclimate models developed for all design scenarios.
- Airflow, wind velocity, air temperature, Mean Radiant Temperature (MRT), and solar radiation contour plots.
- Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI) maps with seating-level outdoor thermal comfort assessment.
- Identification of thermal discomfort zones, including the effects of solar exposure, surface heat re-radiation, and wind conditions.
- Design optimization suggestion for shading systems, landscape elements, paving materials, and passive cooling measures to enhance occupant comfort.
- Comprehensive technical report summarizing methodology, simulation results, thermal comfort assessment, and actionable design suggestions.
Software, Technology & Engineering Standards :
Ansys CFX | Primary CFD solver — wind velocity field, turbulence intensity, and localised wind acceleration analysis at seated height across all outdoor seating zones |
UTCI | Universal Thermal Climate Index — primary human thermal comfort metric combining air temperature, MRT, wind speed, and humidity into a physiologically-equivalent temperature representing seated guest thermal sensation |
ASHRAE 55 | Thermal Environmental Conditions for Human Occupancy — adaptive comfort boundary reference for transitional season and sheltered zone assessment |
LEED 4.1 | Outdoor Comfort credit compliance framework — UTCI-based threshold requirements for shaded and unshaded occupied seating zones; documentation package standard |
Measurable Difference:
Metric | Before (Risk) | After CFD Validation | Result |
Outdoor Thermal Comfort (UTCI) | Thermal comfort during peak summer conditions not verified | UTCI assessed at all seating locations; high heat stress areas identified and optimized | Comfort Improved |
Solar Exposure | Direct solar exposure and shading effectiveness unknown | Solar radiation analysis performed; shading deficiencies identified and optimized | Solar Heat Gain Reduced |
Wind Environment | Airflow and wind comfort at seating areas unverified | Wind velocity distribution evaluated; uncomfortable wind zones mitigated through design improvements | Wind Comfort Optimized |
Surface Heat Re-radiation | Impact of paving materials on occupant comfort not assessed | Surface temperatures and radiant heat effects evaluated; suitable paving materials recommended | Radiant Heat Reduced |
Why Conserve Solutions :
Unlike conventional outdoor airflow studies that evaluate wind conditions alone, Conserve Solutions integrates CFD with microclimate analysis to assess the combined effects of solar radiation, wind, air temperature, humidity, and surface heat. We evaluate occupant-level thermal comfort, shading effectiveness, heat re-radiation, and passive cooling performance to identify thermal discomfort zones and optimize outdoor spaces for year-round usability and enhanced user experience.
Client Outcome In Their Own Words :
“Conserve’s outdoor thermal comfort simulation transformed our design decisions from assumptions into confidence. The UTCI-based analysis clearly identified heat stress zones and guided targeted improvements to shading, landscaping, and surface materials—creating comfortable outdoor spaces while avoiding costly post-construction modifications. The result was an optimized, guest-friendly environment that supports year-round usability and enhances the overall visitor experience.”
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