The Memorial has courtyard like conditions that is exposed to the sun. On the summer days of Delhi, the air can be dry and hot.
In order to assess outdoor comfort, we chose the Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI) as a metric for outdoor comfort. UTCI gives an equivalent temperature that correlates to thermal stress. UTCI is calculated from dry bulb temperature (DBT), mean radiant temperature (MRT), relative humidity (RH), and wind speed. Colloquially, UTCI may be given as a “feels like” temperature. For the purposes of this project, we considered any amount of thermal stress to be uncomfortable.
In an exposed courtyard in the sun can be very uncomfortable due to the high air temperature that is dry. The sun heats up the surfaces and the surfaces radiate the heat onto the body. Direct radiation from the sun further aggravates the discomfort.
Under such circumstances, the UTCI for the courtyard may look like Diagram 1 which shows discomfort for 52% of the hours of the year.
The courtyard of the War Memorial has been designed with several elements to be much more comfortable. The floor is the only surface that will radiate heat onto the body. There are no walls to radiate heat, since the corridor is deep in shadow. The pools of water add moisture to the air dropping the air temperature. This effect can be augmented by misters that on the columns that put up a fine mist slightly above head level. This cools the air that will then drop down over the body. There is always shade in the courtyard in the hottest time of the day. In addition the vegetation in the landscaping brings about a cooler micro-climate. With all these elements incorporated, UTCI will be as shown in Diagram 2 showing discomfort for only 23% of the hours of the year.
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- Second Prize winning entry for National War Memorial - Stage 2 by PSP Design. Chennai: PSP Design, 2017.