Developing & Expanding Current CIBSE Design Guidance on Urban Climates

Session 18 Paper 1, CIBSE Technical Symposium, John Moores University, Liverpool
11-12 April 2013

Urban climates are the subject of increasing interest, especially with regards to heat. The relationship between urban climates and the developments within them is complex and varies depending on the spatial and temporal scale. The Chartered Institution of Building Service Engineers (CIBSE) aims to provide balanced, pragmatic design guidance to its members on a wide range of aspects that affect the built environment. The previous edition of CIBSE Guide A included a new section addressing the Urban Heat Island. However, much work has been carried out since; regarding the causes, impacts and mitigation of the negative impacts of urban warming. This paper discusses the updating of CIBSE guidance, which in the revised Guide A will provide information at multiple scales, covering the macroscopic urban heat island effect and the microclimatic effects across London.