Influence of Doorway Position on Wind Comfort in Beijing Quadrangle Dwellings

Abstract

During the Qing Dynasty and Republic of China, Three Essentials of Dwelling was a much-sought-after approach for the design of quadrangle dwellings, with the primary focus being on the positioning of the doorways. By employing vector data of typical quadrangle dwellings in Beijing to construct an ideal model that complies with the Three Essentials of Dwelling setting, this study aims to investigate the impact of the doorway position on the wind comfort of quadrangle dwellings through CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) simulation, by comparing and analyzing the wind comfort of quadrangle courtyards with different doorway position layouts. The results are as follows: (1) Placing doors in the windward position during the season can make a significant difference in the courtyard wind comfort of quadrangle dwellings. (2) Compared to the direction of the doorway, the position of the doorway significantly affects the wind comfort of the courtyard in a quadrangle dwelling. (3) Keeping the position of the doorway constant, adjusting the height of the main room can be a successful strategy to improve the wind comfort of the courtyard in a quadrangle dwelling. (4) There is no link between environmental quality assessment and wind environmental quality assessment in Three Essentials of Dwelling. This study proves that the positioning of doorways can optimize the wind comfort in quadrangle dwellings, demonstrating the ancient Chinese’s ecological acumen in the layout of quadrangle houses, and providing useful guidance to designers.