This thesis investigates the performance of inkjet-printed electrochromic (EC) glass compared to traditional triple glazing with roller shades in an office setting in the Netherlands. The study aims to assess thermal and visual comfort, via a live experiment conducted in a controlled environment. Key performance indicators (KPIs) include thermal sensation & preference, solar heat perception & satisfaction, (day)light adequacy, colour rendering satisfaction, view clarity satisfaction, and glare perception. Results indicate that EC glass outperforms traditional glazing in maintaining thermal comfort, particularly in darker scenarios, although both glazing types keeping room temperatures within a comfortable range. Visual comfort results are mixed; EC glass provided better daylight sufficiency in low-light conditions, while traditional glazing offered better performance in bright conditions. User satisfaction regarding colour rendering and glare did not show significant differences between the two façade types. This study was limited to the winter period of the Dutch climate. Ideally, to obtain a complete picture of the performance between both facades, this experiment should be conducted again during the summer period or in a warmer climate.

Architecture is much more than just built forms on a piece of land. Architecture hinges on user experience and comfort. As such, it is up to us, as designers and engineers to be mindful of the quality of the conceptualized space.

Building physics is one such field that addresses the concerns of users. It outlines topics that play an integral role in the quality of life; thermal comfort, ventilation, lighting, and acoustics. The first three factors have something in common. They have evolved and been developed to the point where the user has the luxury of controlling this factors at a scale local to the user itself. This creates an enhanced user experience. Acoustics, on the other hand, poses numerous problems when the topic of personal control is broached. There are many factors that impact the quality of sound in a space. That is, there are simply too many variables one must take into account while addressing the topic of personalised control of sound in a room. Acoustic control systems, while existent, heavily hinge on the usage of technology to provide user control, resulting in bulky or expensive systems that makes this very concept of personalised control a distant reach to the average user.

Schools, particularly primary schools and middle schools pose an interesting challenge. In addition to the varying functions that happen in a classroom over the span of a day or a lesson plan, the users also have differing sound demands. Teachers’ main concern is related to vocal strain and fatigue, while the poor acoustic conditions affect students’ learning and social development.

While acoustic standards are largely enforced in the built environment during and post construction, it is imperative that we acknowledge that these standards are set for adults, by adults. They are values that make sense to a person with fully developed auditory and sensory systems. They are limited by the general function of a space and do not necessarily address the nuances of spatial usage. As a result, applying these standards as an unwavering rule to architectural typologies aimed at children might not be the most ideal approach. The still developing auditory and sensory systems of children, and the resulting requirements must be taken into account in spaces aimed at them.

This thesis aims to explore the possibilities that passive (dynamic) systems offer in the realm of acoustic and sound control set in the context of a middle school classroom. This process is done by theoretical calculations and digital simulations.

The growing threat of climate change highlights the necessity for long-term solutions in the construction industry. Buildings account for a large share of worldwide energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions, so there is an urgent need for creative techniques to improve energy efficiency and reduce their ecological footprint. This thesis focuses on this by creating a computational optimization workflow for incorporating hempcrete, a low-carbon construction material, into high-performance structures during the initial stages of design. This approach uses a multi-objective optimization process to offer optimal solutions adapted to various climates and building types, optimizing energy efficiency and daylight while limiting global warming potential. Architects and engineers can get greater performance and sustainability results by experimenting with different layout options and design parameters using parametric modelling, energy analysis, and optimization algorithms. The suggested workflow provides a systematic technique to facilitate decision-making during the key design steps, promoting hempcrete implementation and accelerating the shift to performance-driven architectural design in response to climate change problems.

Despite its importance to public health, environmental noise and soundscapes are a forgotten topic in urban design. This study crates a framework for a design tool for soundscape design. The aim of this framework is to bridge the knowledge gap of soundscapes for urban designers. This is done by looking at the relationship between design elements and the percevied pleasantness in the soundscape. This pleasantness will be predicted by machine learning methods.
Machine learning methodologies present a promising approach for predicting and evaluating the efficacy of potential solutions aimed at improving urban soundscapes. By analyzing datasets that include environmental factors, noise levels, architectural designs, and community preferences, machine learning algorithms can help identify optimal interventions. Predictive models can also streamline decision-making processes by forecasting the potential impact of proposed solutions on soundscape quality.
This paper investigates the complexities of urban soundscapes, examines the feasibility and limitations of using machine learning to predict viable solutions, and proposes a data-driven framework to guide decision-making in urban development. The goal is to enhance auditory environments in urban areas without the necessity of consulting soundscape experts.
The RF regressor that was used for the prediction model in this research had an R2 of 0.41, explaining 41% of the variance of the model. This framework is tried and tested on a new location to verify its use. The prediction maps and section are a helpful tool in communicating the value of the soundscape pleasantness and understanding the effect that the design elements have on its prediction.

Global warming is causing more extreme weathers leading to floods, inundation, high temperatures and increasing of cooling demands. More resilient homes and mitigation of CO2 emissions are needed. This thesis aims to investigate the integration of passive cooling to adaptive flood-resistant homes. The popular stilts houses located in the Mekong Delta are being analyzed: a vernacular home developed by the inhabitants that aims to cope with the local climate and floods. Multiple researchers concluded that improvements need to be made to cope with overheating in homes and for more dangerous floods in the future. According to literature review designs that incorporate insulation, natural ventilation, (moveable) shading and operable windows are the best methods for passive cooling of buildings in humid climates. Amphibious structures enable buildings to adapt to the changing water levels but staying fixed to one place. Simulations demonstrate that transforming a traditional stilt house into a flood-resistant amphibious home can reduce the operative temperature by a maximum of 1 degree Celsius. Integrating insulation in the walls and roof, along with an insulated tropical roof and floor vents, can lead to a maximum temperature reduction of 4 degrees Celsius. As a result; lower indoor temperature, adaptive flood-resistance and reduced energy demand for cooling. Further research and attention is needed to make designing for homes related to flood circumstances more accurate and find more of an approach that lives with water instead of fleeing from it.

The building sector significantly impacts the environment, consuming 42% of the EU's energy and producing 36% of its greenhouse gas emissions. To achieve its climate objectives, the Netherlands must accelerate its home renovation rate to 200,000 annually by 2030. This research addresses the scalability and circularity of façade renovation for these system-built houses, aiming to balance immediate energy efficiency improvements with long-term sustainability.
This research focuses on designing a scalable and circular façade renovation system for post-war Dutch system-built houses. These homes, built between 1945 and 1975, represent around 30% of the Dutch housing stock and are in critical need of energy efficiency upgrades. However, the embodied energy involved in renovations presents a significant challenge to meeting climate goals. The study's primary focus is answering: "How can a scalable and circular façade renovation system be designed for Dutch system-built houses from the post-war period?" The research investigates current façade renovation systems, their limitations, and the potential role of circularity in creating sustainable renovation strategies. It also examines building typologies, highlighting similarities and differences among system-built houses to develop design criteria for scalable and circular renovation. Although time constraints prevented the development of a complete design, the research reveals that many existing façade components, such as brick slip systems and prefabricated frames, already perform well. However, achieving flexibility and scalability remains challenging, particularly in balancing cost, energy efficiency, and building-specific constraints. This work lays the groundwork for future research into developing standardized, adaptable façade renovation systems for the Dutch housing stock, contributing to more sustainable and efficient building practices while addressing the challenges posed by post-war system-built houses.

The study is motivated by the abandonment of vernacular architecture in rural tropics, which has led to greater energy demand due to the higher embodied energy of construction materials and increased use of air conditioning. This research examines how and to what extent bioclimatic strategies in vernacular architecture of dwellings in a tropical monsoon climate can improve thermal comfort. A mixed-methods approach is used, including a qualitative analysis of three vernacular case-study examples and a quantitative simulation of the thermal performance of the three vernacular dwelling compared to a non-vernacular dwelling. Results show that bioclimatic strategies in vernacular architecture are highly dictated by the dominant characteristics of the climate, with a focus on solar shading, natural ventilation, and discharge of rainwater. The simulation results indicate that the non-vernacular building performs poorly in managing heat gain, with thermal comfort only reached in 56.7%, 56.3%, and 53.9% of the simulated instances. The vernacular building performs better than the non-building scenario in most cases, with the exception of Kerala. The study also found that the hourly and monthly plot of operative temperature and relative humidity of the three scenarios do not show any diurnal or seasonal differences from the effects concluded in the psychrometric charts. This is attributed to the tropical monsoon climate, which does not have distinct seasons or diurnal differences in temperature and can be considered quite constant. The research highlights the importance of considering the unique characteristics of a specific climate when

The rise in average surface temperature has intensified the need to explore new
methods to address climate change. Housing sector is one of the leading contributors to the total energy consumption. As a solution, there has been a growing emphasis on the application of passive strategies in buildings that leverage local climatic conditions.

Researchers have been investigating solutions to promote the use of passive design strategies. One promising approach involves integrating Phase Change Materials (PCMs) with certain building components. By possessing excellent thermal and optical properties, PCMs can be integrated into windows to enhance the thermal performance of buildings while guaranteeing light transmittance.

This research specifically focuses on the integration of PCMs trombe walls in
existing residential buildings in the Netherlands. Building upon the findings of
previous studies, the research envisions to explore strategies that can facilitate
the widespread use of PCMs. Currently, the market for PCMs primarily offers
products manufactured on request, limiting their broader adoption.

Through simulations conducted on virtual models, the behaviour of PCMs in
trombe walls is investigated. The analysis focuses their thermal capacity and
light transmittance to strike a balance between the two contrasting building requirements. Multiple room configurations are studied to investigate how the environment impacts the performance of this particular building component.

Finally, the research develops a workflow and identifies trends that can facilitate
the application of PCMs trombe walls across various scenarios.

This report investigates the potential use of Phase Change Material (PCM) technology in poorly insulated lightweight homes in the Netherlands. The aim is to develop a cost-effective and easy-to-install PCM product that can decrease energy consumption through passive heating and cooling. The proposed design involves a multi-layer curtain system with small PET macroencapsulations containing salt hydrate attached to a sheer curtain. The system also includes a secondary insulation layer made of polyester with a reflective aluminum lining as a thermal barrier. MATLAB simulations indicate that this system, with 16 liters of PCM, can reduce heating loads by 7-9% when applied to a living room bay window measuring 4.46 m2 within a 28.8 m2 room. However, the insulation layer provides the most significant heat loss reduction. The simulation results also demonstrate a lower average summer temperature when the insulation curtain is not applied, suggesting effectiveness in both summer and winter. The estimated payback period for the system, based on the Dutch gas price cap of
€1.45 per m³, is 5 - 8.5 years. The report concludes that while the proposed PCM system has the potential to reduce energy usage in lightweight homes, further research is necessary to determine its actual effectiveness.

A master thesis what researched the visualization of phase change materials (PCMs) with augmented reality (AR) for different 3 different user groups. The user groups are researchers, maintenance and customers. The research question is "How does AR contribute to the understanding of the behavior of PCM for science, maintenance and customer groups?". With simulations in Comsol and an experiment the AR possibilities were validated. The AR gave insight in the behavior of PCM and was applicable for each group.

The world is in a climatic crisis. Extreme weather events are stronger and more frequent than ever before, exacerbated by human induced CO2 from energy production and the built environment. Only 5% of world energy is produced by renewable energy sources, presenting an enormous gap between sustainability and greenhouse gas emitting practices. Pledges and agreements aim to curb world emissions through net zero energy buildings and increasing the amount of energy produced by renewable resources. When considering the ‘Energy Hierarchy Pyramid’ the first step is to reduce energy consumption, the second is focused on energy efficiency and the third is focused on renewable energy sources. Computers allow for energy simulations to estimate building operations and their efficiency, aiming to curb energy use during building operation phases. Methods exist, knowledge exists but more often than not the application of such simulations is applied later rather than sooner.

When site and climate are known there are specific design strategies which can be implemented to reduce energy consumption. Passive strategies such as windcatchers, trombe walls, roof ponds, sunshading, sun spaces or solar chimneys are not climate dependent. Their properties, however, change depending on the climate type they inhabit. Design factors such as volume, fenestration characteristic and material choice have an impact on energy consumption and are design decisions taken in early design stages.

Energy simulations have the possibility to inform early in the design stage. This thesis focuses on an optimization workflow which generates and stores simulation data throughout each design step segregating: volume, fenestration, materials and passive strategy integration. The workflow is separated into two potential paths; multi-objective comparison, focusing on comparing design option with other self-defined design options and multi-objective optimization, centered around running genome optimizations through Grasshopper’s Wallacei, minimizing or maximizing fitness values.

The workflow aims at developing knowledge throughout the design process, balancing qualitative and quantitative data to generate a data-informed design. A multi-objective approach strengthens the decision making process and presents the trade-offs required to obtain the design improvement. Ultimately, design is a conscious decision. Expanding knowledge will serve to guide and inform but never to define a design. Reducing energy consumption is a design choice and comprehending the design alternatives will flourish possibilities towards a more energy conscious future.

The built environment contributes in a large extend to the global greenhouse gas emissions. With a growing demand for new buildings another view on building products is required. This thesis focusses on creating a biobased sound absorbing panel made from a mycelium bound biomaterial derived from urban waste. The production method for this panel is 3D printing, since with this production method changing demands can be met.

In this thesis six experiments are executed regarding the development of a printable material from urban waste, the sound absorbing properties of the designed panel and 3D printing. To create a printable paste from urban waste, a couple of urban waste materials have been reviewed. Brewery’s grain came out as the most promising growth medium for mycelium. This material is mixed with flour and water to create a printable paste.

The impedance tube B&K 4206 is used to discover the acoustic properties. For the 3D printing a UR5 robot in combination with a LDM WASP extruder 3.0 XL is used. To control the robot movement, Rhino with Grasshopper in combination with the plug-in Robots is used. For understanding the acoustic behavior of the panels, multiple variables regarding printing and design parameters have been tested.

The final product of this research is a 3D printed panel which can be made with a mixture of brewery’s grain, all-purposes flour, water, and mycelium from the Pleurotus.

Acoustics combined with digital fabrication has been investigated for multiple years. Most research in this area has focused on the combination of acoustics and additive manufacturing. This is mainly due to the ability of this technique to create any geometry, which allows for very high absorption. However, it has the downside that additive manufacturing is quite expensive and the production process is time-consuming. Therefore, this study has chosen to put the geometry first and the performance of the resonators second.
To be able to produce a resonant panel based on Helmholtz resonators some additional knowledge was needed. Therefore, five experiments were performed to gain the knowledge needed to design the panel. The samples were printed using a fused filament printer and tested within an impedance tube located at the Faculty of Architecture in Delft. The experiments were concerned with:
- The position of the neck compared to the cavity: According to the results of the experiments the position of the neck has a minimal to no effect on the performance of the resonator.
- The crosstalk effect: According to the results of the experiments the effect of the crosstalk effect is minimal within the scope of this project. A small change in absorption was noticeable but so small as to be irrelevant.
- The effect of the cavity separation between two resonators: According to the results of the experiments the cavity separation can be removed without a large effect on the absorption of the resonators.
- The effect of the neck length on the width of the absorption curve: According to the results of the experiments a longer neck causes the width of the absorption curve to decrease.
- The impedance of resonators with L-shaped cavities: According to the results of the experiments an L-shaped cavity can be approximated by replacing the L-shaped cavity by a cavity with an identical horizontal section right below the orifice but altering the height, so the cavity has the same volume as the original L-shaped cavity.
After the experiments were done, a computational workflow was designed that is able to produce resonant panels based on the targeted frequency range and the possible size of the panel. The tool was theoretically verified using a case study. For the case study two panels were designed to improve the reverberation time for a room in the Faculty of Architecture. Using the Arau-Puchades method of calculating the reverberation time the panels showed to be effective at absorbing sound at low frequencies.

Environmental noise has become a large health concern in Europe with at least one in five people exposed to levels considered harmful to health. Additionally, prolonged exposure to excessive levels of noise has a negative economic impact.
The rapid development of urban areas makes the effect of noise pollution even worse. However, architects and urban designers who define the shape of a neighbourhood rarely give attention to this aspect. Decisions regarding the sound environment are often taken in the latter stages of design when the least design exploration is possible. Moreover, environmental acoustic involves complex urban physics which makes it more difficult for designers.

Therefore, in this master thesis, a parametric simulation workflow is developed which can predict the traffic noise in the early phases of design. The approach would be easy to use for architects and urban designers to overcome some of the main drawbacks of traditional practices.

The project followed five-step processes of research, development, validation, testing and optimization. To better understand urban noise, atmospheric acoustics, and how buildings affect sound propagation, a literature review was conducted. The parametric workflow was then created using Grasshopper, the visual scripting plugin for Rhino3D, in conjunction with other plugins such as Pachyderm and Ladybug.

After development stage, the parametric workflow is validated against on-site measurements and Geomilieu (environmental noise calculation software). Further, the simulation results from the design stage demonstrate that the tool can include urban microscale features like building shape, façade extrusions and materiality which can have an impact on reducing the traffic noise levels. It is found that the building shape of the lower levels may amplify or quieten the sound on upper levels. Façade extrusions have the least impact but variations in their positions and sizes may influence the results. It was further predicted that the green façade has a great potential to reduce reflected noise and lower the values inside the courtyard.

In addition, the findings of the optimization study show that the workflow may be used with other performance criteria and help to explore design solutions. Overall, the workflow can help identify the relationships between design aspects and acoustic performance in the early stages of design by taking into account simplifications and restrictions such as edge diffraction.

The building environment has high energy consumption and carbon emission which contributes to the rapid climate change. The changing climate condition not only impacts the natural environment but also our habitation. To improve the building performance in both energy and indoor comfort, performance-based design is commonly applied in architectural design. In general, a building lifespan is around 80 years, which means the buildings are designed and constructed now would face different climate conditions than the weather we used to evaluate the performance. To prevent the influence caused by climate change, this research develops computational workflows to generate predicted future climate conditions and multi-objective optimization to study the relationship between design decisions, climate conditions, and building performance. The conclusion of this research is based on the comparison and discussion of the result of optimization from five different climate and design scenarios with a single case study building.

In the United Kingdom spatial challenges are formed due to a significant erosion rate, especially on the southeast coastline, where the soil has a weak resistance to erosion (Masselink & Russell, 2013; Hurst et al, 2016). This erosion causes the soil to be washed away until no soil remains (Dornbush et al, 2006). Ecology, society and urban environments are at risk in coastal cities due to environmental risks. Protection measures, such as sea walls and embankments, are the primary solutions to today’s erosion risks. These protection measures are often expensive, short-term and can have negative influences on other sections of the coastline. The measures influence the processes along the coastline by interruption of longshore sediment transport (Cooper and McKenna, 2007). Currently, cities and their residents are unable to adapt to this increasing erosion and are often exposed to unforeseen and abrupt events that impact their habitat and, therefore, have an influence on the human livability. In the English context, a regional strategy is needed to find a balance between coastal social justice and the continuing risks of Coastal Erosion (Apine, 2011; Alexander et al, 2012; Cooper and McKenna, 2007), which are further investigated and explained in the thesis. This project investigates possible strategies for urban environments to adapt to the increasing erosion rates which is the result of climate change and sea level rise. With the use of mixed methods research, a regional strategy is formulated and implemented in local urban designs. The research method used to achieve the formulation of a strategy is the Data, Opportunities, Challenges & Anecdote (DOCA) method developed by FABRIC (Vafa, 2018). This method uses opportunities and challenges that can be found on a regional scale, but also on the local scale for different coastal cities in the project area. In the thesis this method is used to find local innovation opportunities that can be integrated within a regional urban strategy. This approach considers interdisciplinary and layered approaches with the use of domains that involve defence-resilience, networks, tourism and economy. Within the DOCA method, the six-step approach by Hooimeijer et al (2020) is applied to create a multi-scalar and adaptive planning system. With the use of both these methods, thesis aims to create an urban design as a response to ecological, societal and urban environmental challenges relating to Coastal Erosion effects and spatial planning strategies. The project’s developed regional strategy aims for Regional Resiliency in southeast England with the design of local Sustainable Urban Environments in Bexhill-on-Sea and Hastings.

Noise pollution is a growing health concern in cities, especially in busy streets with parallel reflective facades, known as urban street canyons. Here, high flows of vehicular traffic generate a broadband noise, with high noise levels in the low-frequency (LF) spectrum. In the canyons, noise decays slowly due to multiple reflections. To counter this, vertical greening systems (VGS) can be applied as multi-disciplinary solutions. Not only can these systems attenuate noise, they can also e.g. decrease the urban heat island effect and increase biodiversity. Yet, the shortcoming of VGSs is the lack of LF-absorption. Hence, the following research question was asked: “How can the acoustic absorption of vertical greening systems in urban street canyons be improved, especially for low-frequency noise?” Four concept designs were developed consecutively, and evaluated on the basis of design criteria. These criteria included specifications on acoustic absorption, manufacturability, and durability. The final design consisted of a living wall system (LWS) based on hydroponic rock wool, with a parallel array of Helmholtz resonators integrated in its structure. This array was added to increase the LF-absorption of the VGS below 250 Hz. The Helmholtz cavity volumes were not physically subdivided, but rather filled with a locally reactive material with a low flow resistivity, to enforce propagation that is normal to the surface. Additionally, plants can also absorb sound in the visco-thermal boundary layer around their organs, depending on the leaf area density. It was found that sciophytes (shade-loving plants) had most acoustic potential due to their large leave surfaces. Analytical, experimental, and numerical validation was performed. A Matlab script was developed that applied Delany-Bazley-Miki equations in an equivalent fluid model, and a transfer-function approach for the multi-layer complex impedance. The design yields near-unity absorption for f>500 Hz. The resonators extended the LF-absorption (a>0.5) down to 80 Hz. Impedance tube and reverberation room measurements demonstrated that piercing the porous substrate layer with the Helmholtz resonator necks can yield a combined acoustic absorption. Finally, acoustic simulations showed that applying the proposed LWS to the facades in a reference urban street canyon in Rotterdam can substantially decrease sound levels, both inside the street canyon, as well as in the adjacent courtyard canyon. However, the window-to-wall ratio of the facade largely determines to what extent sound levels can be decreased, since vertical greenery cannot be applied in front of windows.

With the country’s expanding population comes the need for more homes to accommodate its residents. In the Netherlands, there is a growing housing shortage. Fast construction techniques of prefabricated dwellings erected on existing flat roof tops may be a solution for saving land and resources in and around urban areas. Flexible solutions with sustainable design techniques that cater to the masses are essential for the Circular economy.
The research topic is presented, and the research questions are framed in terms of technique and relevance to the construction sector. Flexibility issues with contemporary house designs are highlighted in the literature review, and circular building concepts are discussed in order to develop design requirements for building components. The many types of prefabrication are identified, and a system is chosen for the design concept. Building physics strategies relating to steel’s thermal and acoustic qualities are examined, and these strategies are noted for prospective integration into the design.
A design suggestion for modular housing top-up units is presented. Different options for internal partition walls and façade architectural components are presented, all of which are modular and designed to extend the life of the components through reuse. The modular components are used in a top-up situation to validate the architectural quality of the design.
The design criteria given out in the research are used to evaluate the building components. Finally, conclusions are drawn and research questions are addressed.

Exposure to excessive community noise has become a large environmental health concern. Noise pollution continues to increase while it is accompanied by direct, as well as cumulative adverse health effects. In addition, prolonged exposure to excessive noise levels also has a negative economic impact. The incorporation of numerical tools in the design process could counter this problem. However, traditional models are not widely available or often simplified. This illustrates the complexity of the matter, as noise is influenced by a variety of acoustic propagation effects. Moreover, the focus is predominantly on noise from railways and roads or for indoor settings. Little information is available about the dispersion of sound around buildings emitted by overhead sound sources, i.e. aircraft. This means that most numerical models neglect or simplify meteorological effects, which may result in misinterpretation of the urban noise situation. This graduation thesis addresses the question whether the design of the build environment can yield a reduction in aircraft induced noise, including the presence of a downward refracting atmosphere. The outcome may assist architects and urban designers to improve the soundscape quality in areas affected by aircraft noise. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the application of a self-made low turbulence wind tunnel is explored to perform scale model measurements that could be extended towards a full-size experiment in future studies. The wind tunnel was able to generate a uniform velocity profile which was suited to be used in this experiment. However, limitations were observed considering higher order wind tunnel reflections and masking of sound by the fan. In addition, a CFD study was performed to get insights into the interference between geometric configurations and flow patterns inside the wind tunnel. The building geometry influences the sound pressure level near the façade without a line of sight towards the sound source. The differences between the geometries studied in this thesis increased for decreasing grazing angles. The results also suggest the independency of canyon width on the shielding performance in case of treated canyon facades (covered with sound absorbing material), obstructed sound paths and absence of wind. In the presence of wind, sound pressure levels were further reduced for smaller treated canyons. Moreover, the results demonstrate a strong downward refracting atmospheric effect which increases the sound pressure levels inside shielded canyons. Flat roofs reduce wind effects which means that the effects of a downward refracting atmosphere are less intense compared more common typologies containing e.g. gabled roof tops.

This research focuses on aircraft noise exposed urban spaces around Amsterdam Schiphol airport. In particular, a case site in Rijsenhout is studied, where a representation of the noise wave propagation due to refraction is performed. Subsequently, a series of landscape configurations regarding geometry are gradually tested through acoustic simulation and noise maps are imported inside a parametric design environment. Finally, a conceptual design proposal is structured in order to explore the potential of such configurations in the urban environment.