Potential of Natural Ventilation and Vegetation for Achieving Low-Energy Tall Buildings in Tropical Climate: An Overview

Climate change and rise in urban temperatures have further increased the cooling load demands for tall buildings located in hot climatic regions. Cooling loads in tall buildings can be reduced by integrating them with natural ventilation (NV) and building integrated vegetation (BIV) techniques. This study explores the potential of NV and BIV for obtaining low-energy buildings by analyzing ten tall buildings as case studies. Buildings are analyzed for NV, BIV, architecture design parameters, and energy savings. The results show that mixed-mode ventilation is the most commonly employed, and circular building plans have the highest potential for energy savings. Furthermore, the combination of NV with sky-gardens (BIV type) is the best strategy for achieving low-energy tall buildings in the tropical climate. The outcomes show that the application of well-researched building physics rules is in practice for making an energy-efficient tall building. These findings may be helpful for designers and planners to develop further strategies and low-cost methods aiming at the development of more sustainable and healthier tall buildings.