TRANSFORM : /en/applied-research/institutes/transform/

The Role of Urban Open Spaces for Energy Transition and Well-Being

Summary

Place-user Interactions

OFEN (Programme SWEET)

Université de Genève, École polytechnique fédérale de Zurich, Urbaplan.

January 2022 - December 2026

This research project is focused on the link between the design of urban open spaces, well-being and energy consumption. It is part of the research consortium SWICE (Sustainable Well-being for the Individual and the Collectivity in the Energy Transition).

The term open/outdoor space refers to a large diversity of unbuilt and green spaces: wooded areas, agricultural or natural spaces, parks and gardens, sport fields, as well as buildings’ outdoor spaces (terrasse, balcony),…

The design of these spaces relates to energy usage in various ways: the outdoor microclimate strongly interacts with the indoor environment, as it influences building ventilation, and the heating and cooling of indoor spaces. Further, local heat islands are strongly determined, even intensified, by the (un)built environment and its technologies, such as waste heat from cooling systems and anthropogenic heat from traffic. How we design, live, work and relax in relation to urban open spaces – given the climate change and the periods of extreme heat – is a crucial issue.

This research project on urban open spaces and well-being has three objectives:

  • Understanding the current state, regarding the spatial characteristics of open spaces and their social usage depending on the surrounding urban microclimate, through empirical investigations and modelling.
  • Imagining futures, through co-designing future interventions with various actors and exploring different urban scenarios in relation to diverse spaces and seasons;
  • Living Lab Experimentations, or engaging various actors in co-designing and cocreating interventions that involve spatial and usage changes in relation to microclimatic changes (landscape, material infrastructures, etc.), to support energy transitions and well-being in urban open spaces. Experimentations will take place in Geneva and Fribourg.

The main aim is to shift away from usual, active climate control, towards a mixture of active and passive climate control measures, such as night ventilation and free cooling, considering both outdoor and indoor environments as well as in their mutual interactions.

Project team

This project is supported by the SWEET programme of the Swiss Federal Office of Energy and coordinated by the École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL). SWEET - "Swiss Energy Research for the Energy Transition" - is a funding programme whose aim is to accelerate innovations that are essential to the implementation of Switzerland's 2050 energy strategy and the achievement of the country's climate objectives. The SWICE project is composed of 8 work packages (WP), the actual project is the WP5. 

More information about the Research consortium SWICE.