VENTILATION SOLUTIONS TO THE OVERHEATING PROBLEM IN THE ATRIUM: TRAKYA UNIVERSITY VOCATIONAL SCHOOL OF TECHNICAL SCIENCES BUILDING

Abstract

Atriums are architectural solutions that are addressed during the design phase of buildings, aiming to make the outdoor lighting conditions feel inside the building, thanks to their large glass surfaces. In addition to the aesthetic appearance it gives to the buildings, it provides maximum use of daylight functionally. However, if the correct glass type is not used and does not contain sufficient shading elements, overheating, glare, etc. brings problems. When this situation becomes to affect the comfort conditions of the individual's indoor environment, it begins to significantly affect the learning and working performance, especially in educational buildings. If appropriate glass is not used during the production phase of the glass building, which creates a greenhouse effect, in other words, it is difficult to produce a permanent and sustainable solution to this effect in the building with the measures taken afterwards, and even in some cases it is not possible. In this case, turning to mechanical solutions emerges as an option that helps to idealize indoor comfort conditions. In this study, it is aimed to reduce the greenhouse effect created by the atrium of Trakya University Technical Sciences Vocational School with passive cooling strategies within the building and construction elements in terms of summer comfort. The thermal comfort problems of this building, which was renovated within the scope of the Scientific Research Project, were examined, the mutual cross-ventilation effect, which requires low cost, and the reflective coating application on the glass components on the roof, reflecting the incoming solar energy and preventing the excessive heat gain in the summer months due to the sunlight of the building envelope, eaves, blinds, etc. Developing additional add-ons by determining the appropriate angle, solution suggestions were tried. However, all these solutions ensured that the building was cooled by a maximum of 10 degrees, and a mechanical cooling solution was deemed necessary for the cooling of the building. In this study, mechanical ventilation solutions are presented to prevent the greenhouse effect created by the atrium of Trakya University Technical Sciences Vocational School. Although its high cost in terms of energy consumption and initial investment is disadvantageous, mechanical ventilation is considered to be an effective suggestion in solving the problem.