Henning Larsen launches new research project to improve urban design

Henning Larsen Architects has launched a new research project in association with the Department of Civil Engineering of Technical University of Denmark (DTU) to improve urban spaces.

The project will study how sunlight, noise, air quality and wind patterns created by the cityscape can change the usability and comfort of an urban space.

Under the project, new methods and standards will be developed to measure the environmental quality and comfort of cities.

Civil engineer Alf Nielsen will work on an Industrial PhD project called, "Urban Environment: Development of Comfort Criteria for Urban Planning", along with Henning Larsen Architects, DTU and the Danish Agency for Science, Technology and Innovation.

Advisors on the research project are Signe Kongebro, Architect MAA, associate partner and head of the Sustainability Department of Henning Larsen Architects, and DTU’s Department of Civil Engineering Professor Holger Koss.

Henning Larsen said the project will help architects in urban design to assess how building masses affect the surrounding environment.

DTU associate professor Holger Koss said, "Within the scientific field, this is an unprecedented project in its consideration of micro-climate as a whole and integration of knowledge on micro-climate conditions in the design phase."

Henning Larsen said that there is currently no scientific method available for qualifying and measuring the micro-climatic conditions of an urban space.

According to Henning Larsen, open spaces form ‘an essential shared space in the urban fabric’ and the quality of urban spaces is influenced and determined by temperature, humidity, air quality, daylight and noise.

Henning Larsen Architects have previously been involved in several research projects relating to the improvement of urban spaces.

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Image: Civil engineer Alf Nielsen’s Industrial PhD project is being conducted in association with Henning Larsen Architects, DTU and The Danish Agency for Science, Technology and Innovation. Photo: Henning Larsen Architects.