The Suitable For Aging Design Strategies Of Outdoor Thermal Environment In Lingnan Existing Residential Areas

With the increase of the aging population,the outdoor environment of existing residential areas in China has been widely concerned by the society.Improving the quality of the outdoor environment can effectively increase the frequency of the elderly’s participation in outdoor activities,so that the elderly can maintain their sense of happiness and vitality of life.At the same time,the deterioration of outdoor thermal environment caused by urban development has become increasingly serious,which hinders the use of outdoor environment by the elderly.In terms of the current research for the elderly,there is not much attention paid to the outdoor thermal environment.In this realistic situation,the behavioral and thermal comfort characteristics of the elderly in outdoor leisure space can be obtained through the study.Based on the thermal environment preference and quantitative evaluation of thermal comfort of the elderly population,the design strategy of thermal environment suitable for aging of outdoor open space in existing residential areas in Lingnan can be defined.This will help to create a high-quality outdoor environment for the elderly and protect the rights and interests of them.In this paper,the teaching staff living area of South China University of Technology is taken as an example.It has typical characteristics and serious aging at the same time,and the space environment has a high demand for aging reconstruction.Through the combination of thermal environment measurement,thermal comfort questionnaire,behavior annotation and computer software simulation,this paper proposes the design strategy of outdoor leisure space for the elderly from the perspective of thermal environment.The following aspects are discussed in this paper:(1)Study on the behavior characteristics and thermal comfort characteristics of the elderly in the outdoor space of the staff living area of South China University of Technology.In this study,air temperature,solar radiation and other thermal environmental parameters were measured by relevant instruments in winter and summer.And the thermal environment conditions and change rules of different Spaces in different periods were obtained by investigation.At the same time,behavioral notes and thermal comfort questionnaires were conducted for the elderly around the instrument.This can enable us to know the behavioral characteristics and thermal comfort needs of the elderly in outdoor activities.Further,we can clarify the correlation between the activities of the elderly and the thermal environment.The physiological equivalent temperature(PET),an evaluation index of outdoor thermal comfort,and the subjective feeling vote of the elderly were selected for regression analysis,and the PET threshold range for the elderly was determined to be 5.69～35.45℃ under the condition of hot and humid climate in Lingnan.And the threshold range was taken as the evaluation standard of outdoor thermal environment for the aged.(2)Simulation study on thermal environment suitable for aging in outdoor open space of existing residential areas.Based on the thermal environment measurements and literature research,the shading coverage rate of trees that have a greater impact on the thermal environment of the outdoor space for the elderly is selected as the main research object.Combined with the research requirements of this paper,Envi-Met software is used as a simulation tool for thermal environment parameters.After verifying the validity of the software,different simulation conditions were set for the three types of outdoor open space.And the simulation study is carried out.The thermal comfort threshold range discussed above was used to quantitatively evaluate the simulation results.According to the results of the evaluation,the suitable index of shading coverage rate of trees was discussed.The simulation results show that90% is the best index value for the elderly in both three types of open space in this study.(3)The thermal environment design strategy for the elderly in the existing residential areas in Lingnan.By sorting out the behavior and activity characteristics and thermal comfort characteristics of the elderly,the elderly’s needs for outdoor leisure space are clarified.Summing up the design principles and objectives of elderly-oriented design in outdoor space,in terms of thermal environment.Finally,combining with the results of simulation research,design strategies are proposed from two aspects of site function layout and site element layout.Based on the above research work,this paper proposes the design principles,goals and specific strategies for outdoor thermal environment for the elderly in Lingnan’s existing residential area.The research will provide scientific basis and theoretical reference for the practice project of elderly-oriented design in outdoor space in hot and humid areas,and improve the quality of the living environment for the elderly population.