Design Synthesis and Analysis of a Solar Chimney at KAUST

The new campus for the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) will be located on the Red Sea coast near the fishing village of Thuwal, approximately 50 miles North of Jeddah in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The main campus consists of two laboratory complexes, an administration building, engineering and applied mathematics building, computing and student centers, a library, Mosque, convention centre and parking garages. RWDI assisted with the design activities to integrate and optimize multiple aspects of the campus, including micro climatic evaluation, structural wind tunnel testing, acoustical design guidance and high performance ventilation studies including pedestrian thermal comfort within the laboratory buildings. One key aspect of the campus design is the inclusion of two iconic solar chimneys to assist the natural ventilation of the alleyways and courtyards surrounding the two large laboratory building clusters. The alleyways are referred to as the Spine. The laboratory buildings will house multiple levels of conditioned laboratory space connected internally and to the outside by a pedestrian Spine and courtyards. The pedestrian Spine and courtyards are unconditioned spaces connected to the outside campus areas. Maintaining the unobstructed connection between the outside and inside pedestrian area required that alternative and natural mechanisms be evaluated to moderate the internal climate where students and residents would be relatively comfortable compared to the outside. There was a strong need to avoid the perception of stagnant air and a desire to offer an outdoors-like environment with large scale shading. Achieving this relative level of thermal comfort within the pedestrian Spine and courtyards through natural ventilation and or other localized cooling strategies was the aim of the work and specifically maintaining a slight breeze within these spaces to improve the perceived thermal comfort.