Towards rules of thumb for wind comfort and air quality

This paper discusses guidelines for improved design of buildings or town plans from air quality and wind shelter viewpoint, together with the assumptions and the (main) data used for their development. The wind shelter guidelines specify the maximum building height (for high buildings) and street length(for low-rise building groups) for which wind conditions are expected to be safe for pedestrians. The air quality guidelines for high buildings give a recommended maximum building height in relation to the height of nearby stacks. For low-rise building groups, recommendations for the lay-out of these groups are given, using street-ventilation concepts. All guidelines are made semi-quantitative where possible. Areas of conflict between the two types of guidelines are also indicated. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.