Southwest Gate - CFD Wind Study for Planning

Dublin

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IES Consulting provided a pedestrian comfort CFD analysis for this large-scale mixed-use development in Dublin.

Key Facts

  • Pedestrian comfort CFD analysis performed by IES Consulting
  • Urban site comprising 1,123 homes, a hotel and commercial units
  • €625m mixed-use development

IES Consulting were commissioned to provide a pedestrian comfort analysis for the Southwest Gate development, which has recently been granted planning permissions on the Naas Road in Dublin.

The €625 million development, which is to be constructed by the O’Flynn Group, will contain an impressive 1,123 apartments, a 148-bedroom hotel and commercial units, to form an exciting new urban quarter in the city.

To support the planning process and ensure that suitable levels of pedestrian comfort would be achieved across the proposed site, IES Consulting were able to lend their CFD expertise to perform the required analysis.

To determine pedestrian comfort and safety across the site, IES Consulting performed virtual wind tunnel analysis and annual average wind speed for Casement Aerodrome near Dublin. The simulation results were combined with the Dublin weather data to determine annual local air speed distribution of the site. Statistical analysis was performed on this dataset to check compliance against Lawson’s Pedestrian Comfort criterion, a commonly used criteria to assess wind comfort at ground level.

The analysis considered various pedestrian activities within the context of the proposed site, including: business walking, leisurely walking, standing and sitting, as they are defined in Lawson’s criterion. Particular emphasis was focused on seating areas, such as balconies, roof terraces and internal courtyard spaces, while consideration was also given to sensitive pedestrians, such as older people and children, that may be more vulnerable to high wind speeds.

The simulation results demonstrated that the majority of areas across the site showed good compliance with Lawson’s criterion. The study was also successful in demonstrating the effectiveness of mitigation measures planned for the site, such as screens and other wind deflecting elements, while the consultants were also able to provide recommendations on other measures which could be implemented (such as solid panels on some of the balconies) to protect against higher wind speeds in specific target areas and ensure compliance across the site.

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