A bioclimatic outdoor design tool in urban open space design

During the last decades, after indoor environment has been extensively analysed, interest has been increased, especially in the outdoor environment and the way it affects both the indoor environment and the overall quality of life in the cities. The scope of this study is to introduce a new approach to urban open space design by following a different design process and setting a new palette of design tools. This study provides a complete methodological tool which allows a simple, quick and easy area analysis that takes into consideration the most crucial microclimatic parameters and can provide the necessary information for the designer on how to create "bioclimatic" outdoor urban spaces for the summer season in Mediterranean climates. The tool provides the designer with comparable information on certain bioclimatic indexes that will assist him to make his design more "bioclimatic" and take the necessary decisions on the basic issues concerning the new area. The above methodology has been already applied to new projects in Greece and its results have already been noticed by the users. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.