CFD modeling of built air environment in historic settlements:Village microclimate

Historic settlements have adapted to the local climate and geographical environment accommodating residents over the years. Rich and precious scientific design concepts, including the site selection, the layout, and the building materials, should be investigated extensively. Different historic settlements will be presented and discussed, in terms of different design elements and urban planning forms, and through the use of computational fluid dynamics (CFD). This paper presents the strategic ideas behind the research thinking and methodology of the project. As illustrative case studies, the ambient wind environment within the Shang-Gan-Tang village in China and the Piercebridge, Melling, Hawkshead, Castle Combe villages in the UK, have been investigated quantitatively, to evaluate the interactions between settlement selection, layout, landscape design and ambient environment. The sustainable urban planning experiences were then summarized for the modern sustainable human settlement suitable for people living for another hundreds of years.