Eduardo Diz-Mellado

• PhD Architect
• PhD Architect at University of Seville

Courtyards are traditional construction models in Mediterranean cities. In this research, tempering performance of courtyards during a two-year field monitoring campaign in southern Spain was investigated. The main objective was to identify the thermal functions of inner courtyards, analyzing the aspect ratio (AR) and the influence of outdoor tempe...

The so-called urban heat islands (UHI) is a thermal phenomenon characterized by higher air temperatures in the urban area than in rural surroundings. Vernacular passive strategies such as courtyards are proved to be useful to generate specific microclimates, especially in the warmer regions of the Earth. Courtyards increase the porosity of the citi...

The use of natural materials has become more important as a result of the growing need to conserve energy, exploit renewable materials, and incorporate architecture and construction into sustainable methods of production. Accordingly, the present work investigates the engineering properties of a new earthen building material. This proposal is based...

https://authors.elsevier.com/c/1cNuL8MyS8yL85 One of the major problems faced by historic cities today involves the conservation of heritage buildings. Damage suffered by these buildings can be irreversible and fast-acting, leading to their disappearance over a short period. The study and analysis of the origin of the damage suffered by these buil...

Climate change will bring changes to our living conditions, particularly in urban areas. Climate-responsive design strategies through courtyards can help to moderate temperatures and reduce the thermal stress of its occupants. Thermal response inside courtyard is affected not only by its morphological composition but also by subjective factors. Thu...

Recent development of methodologies based on digital twins through 3D scanning and 3D printing has increased over the past decade, offering new possibilities in manufacturing, production and scaling of models’ applications. However, there are few examples of the application of model digitization technologies for the restoration of ceramic-built her...

Cities confront two critical challenges: general overheating and inefficient use of energy resources within their housing buildings, both adversely affecting urban citizens' daily lives. To mitigate these issues, passive techniques offer promising solutions on enhancing building comfort levels from a sustainable approach. Although this energy effic...

Climatic events in Mediterranean cities, such as heat waves, directly affect their inhabitants. As a result, outdoor thermal comfort in urban spaces is gaining increasing research attention because it is associated with the quality of life in these cities. Significant improvements have been achieved in the adaptation of buildings; however, a simila...

Outdoor comfort is gaining attention in the design of our cities to face the current context of rising temperatures. Although simulation is required to inform the early design stage of projects considering outdoor space and strategies to improve their thermal performance, different tool options must be compared through monitoring to determine the a...

The alarming increase in global average temperatures and the adaptive capacity of humans in relation to air quality and temperature are becoming increasingly relevant. Scientific resources have focused on the thermal adaptation of building users, but little research has been done on thermal comfort in outdoor and semi-outdoor spaces in the city. Th...

Built environment configurations of vernacular architecture are the result of an evolutionary adaptation to climatic conditions, while the historic districts of many cities worldwide are shaped by their extensive architectural heritage. These factors, coupled with the present day awareness and renewed interest in the passive retrofitting of buildin...

The Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect represents a threat to the well-being of cities. Cities must adapt to this phenomenon, prioritizing the improvement of outdoor environment quality. Urban materials have a great impact on outdoor environment quality, energy demand, and citizens’ well-being. Based on the literature, it can be stated that changing th...

Courtyards are a passive strategy to improve the energy performance of buildings. However, the accurate simulation of courtyards’ thermodynamic performance in the early design stage is still challenging, even though there has been an emergence of new methods to assess outdoor simulation. This paper tests a novel workflow using the Ladybug Tools tha...

This chapter reviews the different approaches that currently exist to evaluate outdoor microclimates and their influence on building performance. Considering specific outdoor microclimates in building design flow can enable additional passive cooling strategies to mitigate climate risks in buildings and cities, improving their resilience capacity u...

La Universidad de Sevilla, en su compromiso con la mejora continua de la docencia, viene poniendo en marcha periódicamente un "Programa de Formación e Innovación Docente del Profesorado" (Programa FIDOP) en el marco de su Plan Propio de Docencia. Dicho programa tiene por objeto la formación y la innovación para la adquisición y el perfeccionamiento...

Extreme heat events are expected to occur more often as a consequence of climate change. This paper quantifies the impact of urban climate on building performance and evaluates the benefits of specific microclimates, such as inner courtyards, to mitigate extreme heat impacts. A reference case study associated with two outdoor weather conditions, an...

The increasingly urgent phenomenon of global warming has a critical epicentre in the topic of urban thermal comfort, which is significantly influenced by the urban heat island effect. In this built environment, creative thinking is required to shape pleasant, healthy, and sustainable microclimates, and not only urban planners and designers but also...

Sustainable passive design strategies can reduce the energy consumption of buildings. In this regard, inner courtyards act as microclimate modifiers that enhance the perception of comfort in the surrounding environment. The present study, through a pooled analysis of experimental and numerical data, intends to assess the beneficial effect that the...

Temperatures in Mediterranean cities are rising due to the effects of climate change, with a consequent increase in the heat waves frequency. Recent research has shown the tempering potential of semi-outdoor spaces such as courtyards, which are semi-enclosed spaces that are widely used by the users of buildings in Mediterranean cities. Internationa...

Currently, there is a lack of accurate simulation tools for the thermal performance modeling of courtyards due to their intricate thermodynamics. Machine Learning (ML) models have previously been used to predict and evaluate the structural performance of buildings as a means of solving complex mathematical problems. Nevertheless, the microclimatic...

Global warming is an imperative concern at present, therefore all disciplines, including architecture, must consider climatic factors in order to help to contribute the climate change effects minimization. Courtyards as thermal tempering elements are becoming increasingly significant in a world with gradually higher temperatures. In this framework,...

Studies on climate change establish the average daily temperature as a universal measure. However, the complexity of climatic variations is not adequately defined by the average air temperature alone. In addition, changes in daily maximum and minimum temperatures are related to the average surface temperature, while the urban heat island (UHI) effe...

Courtyards are traditional architectural elements applied in many regions of the planet. In this research, the passive cooling potential provided by two courtyards with similar shapes, located in different climates types (Tropical and Mediterranean) were investigated. We focus to identify physical and climatic factors that influence the courtyard p...

Urban Heat Island (UHI) as a combined consequence of global warming and the cities diameter increase, continues to be technological challenges today. Different passive strategies related to the buildings and cities architecture design imply energy demand reduction achieving. Architectural elements such as courtyards become extraordinarily significa...