Natural ventilation as an adjunct in the design process

pedagogical practices in environmental comfort

Abstract

This article reports the teaching experience carried out in the first semester of academic year 2022, as part of the undergraduate degree in Architecture and City Planning, at the Federal University of Campina Grande (UFCG), Brazil. Given the overlap of professors teaching Architectural Design 2 (PA2) and of Environmental Comfort 2 (CA2), the contents of both seminars were smoothly integrated, with CA2 supporting PA2. The theme proposed in that particular semester for PA2 was the architectural design for the refurbishment and extension of a basic health unit (UBS - Unidade Básica de Saúde) situated in the city of Campina Grande, in the north-east of Brazil. This study aimed to implement a teaching methodology for Environmental Comfort capable of enabling the transfer of theoretic knowledge to the practical experience of architectural designing. The study object adopted was the standard design of type-1 UBS, as well as the CW building of UFCG, as the a possibility for practical activities in a public Building. The methodological procedures were developed through three practical exercises of content consolidation, focusing on natural ventilation and heat performance of the procedures and end products. Briefings were provided for each exercise specifying objectives, procedure roadmaps and end products. Alternating theoretical content and practical exercises proved to be an important strategy for learning consolidation. Besides, we were able to establish a relationship between the concepts of thermal comfort and designing process. However, as was expected, there is still room for improvement in some procedures.