Thermal Comfort Improvement for Atrium Building with Double Skin Skylight in the Mediterranean Climate

Recently, global awareness has been oriented toward sustainability and saving energy solutions based on passive strategies. Since thermal comfort has been considered the most important indicator for uses satisfaction, the achievement of this indoor condition relies on the building design. The atrium has been added to the building for its aesthetical, environmental, and economic benefits, the appropriate atrium design can advance the atrium thermal performance as well as the adjacent spaces’ temperatures. However, inappropriate design decisions cause thermal discomfort and consequently, higher energy consumption. Since the Mediterranean climate has diverse climatic conditions around the year, the central atrium with top-lit skylight is recommended, but in the summer period it can cause overheating, and since the insertion of shading elements shrinks the lighting performance, then the atrium skylight design is supposed to improve the thermal comfort without affecting the lighting level. Therefore, this study investigated the thermal performance in the atrium building by the use of double skin skylight. This study aimed at improving the indoor thermal comfort for the spaces attached to a top-lit central atrium in the EMU main library building, by applying double skin skylight (DSS) to enhance the atrium thermal performance. The current research is designed with a quantitative approach. To accomplish the aim, the research used the computer simulations which were run with EDSLTas software (EDSL Tas, 2018) with the weather file of Gazimagusa city sequentially. The study prepared various design strategies, different proposals were tested and compared in terms of indoor temperatures with reference to ASHRAE-55. The implementation of DSS achieved an average of 77% comfort working hours around the year with different opening percentages according to the outdoor conditions. Moreover, results show that changing the DSS glazing materials did not affect the thermal performance of the atrium. Keywords: Atrium, Natural Ventilation, Thermal Comfort, Passive Design Strategy, Mediterranean Climate.