Wind is a powerful force that should be harnessed and harvested to maximise its potential positive contribution to the built environment. In cold climates, wind has traditionally been seen as a negative force and buildings have been located and designed to minimise its effect. Architecture is now being designed to use natural forces positively and utilise the free energy available from the environment. Instead of erecting an environmental barrier and cocooning ourselves within an artificial internal climate, we can make use of the building form to channel the positive natural forces into the building and reject the negative forces.

Battle McCarthy Consulting Engineers, in collaboration with Imperial College, London (under the Development of the Environment's 'Partners in Technology' programme), carried out extensive research into the use of wind energy for ventilating a wide range of buildings. Physical models of buildings with both wind towers and wind scoops and computer models (computational fluid dynamic analysis) were tested in our wind tunnel facilities. The results provided a thorough understanding of the wind forces surrounding the building, and how best to harness these forces. A calculation method was then developed to enable the user to determine the necessary height, diameter and positon of wind towers and scoops to provide the required ventilation.

The results of this in-depth study can be found in the publications 'Wind Towers: Detail in Building', an illustrative guide to wind towers with detailed case study material, and 'Wind Towers: The Design of Winf Driven Naturally Ventilated Buildings Calculation Method'. For further information and purchase information on either publication please contact admin@battlemccarthy.com.

For a brief overview on wind towers please see our Wind Tower Factsheet.