In present societies, occupants spend most of their time indoors. Students between the age of 5-16 spend 80% productive hours of their time in educational buildings (schools). The school thus is the most important building type in which a potential link between building performance, and the benefits of a healthy, productive, and comfortable environment is crucial.
The school structure is a complex building design as they require with performing great altogether parts from indoor environmental conditions including air quality, acoustic, illumination, fenestration, and thermal design. The thermal environment is connected to human comfort, building efficiency and energy conservation. However, low impact design techniques is an alternative approach for improving the thermal and energy performance of buildings.
In case of Karachi, urban growth and rapid urbanization have impact on climatic and weather changes which results in thermal discomfort.
Orangi Town is the largest Katchi Abadi (informal Settlement) of Karachi with a population of 1.2 million. It houses 682 Private and 76 government Schools. Due to the small plot sizes the present indoor environment of selected school buildings is not supporting the active learning environment. There rises a need of evaluating the thermal performance and to improve it through design strategies.
This study's research methodology includes documenting and mapping existing problems related to high energy consumption in building design, conducting field surveys, and performing quantitative measurements of indoor and outdoor temperatures and humidity from 2022 to 2023. It aims to identify comfort temperature ranges for the surveyed school buildings and provide recommendations for low impact design strategies to improve thermal and energy performance in schools.