From building physics to design practice: Evidence to action across scales

This lecture presents a design-centric perspective on building physics, reframing the field to quantify the consequences of design decisions rather than describe environmental conditions in isolation. Building physics is positioned as a multiscale discipline that links buildings, neighborhoods, and cities, enabling designers and planners to actively shape urban microclimates.

The lecture is structured around three key shifts. First, it emphasizes modelling approaches that explicitly connect architectural and planning choices to their climatic outcomes. Second, it adopts a forward-looking framework that integrates climate change projections, urbanization trajectories, and real-time nowcasting to anticipate future climate risks. Third, it is human-centric, translating physical variables into thermal comfort, human perception, and vulnerability. Drawing on research and real-world applications, the lecture introduces an integrated digital platform that combines field measurements, physics-based modelling, and machine-learning acceleration to deliver design-actionable climate knowledge, supporting climate-sensitive urban planning, architectural design, and education. 

Accessibility

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