Wind Microclimate Assessment 79-161 Ilderton Road, London

Wind Microclimate Assessment in The UK, London

Windtech worked with Fifth State to carry out pedestrian wind microclimate assessments on 79-161 Ilderton Road in South Bermondsey. Uniquely for the area, the scheme is “shared living,” a flexible way of renting, combining private units with shared spaces. Also packaged into the scheme, which ranges from 3 to 28 storeys, will be affordable workspaces, retail, leisure, and commercial spaces.

With shared areas being such an integral part of the development, wind engineers at Windtech were tasked with undertaking a sequence of wind microclimate assessments at ground level, on balconies and on raised terraces. The development of effective but efficient wind mitigation strategies was key to ensuring a comfortable and aesthetic environment that could be enjoyed by occupants throughout the year.

A combination of wind tunnel testing and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) was used to assess the baseline case before adding wind mitigation and re-testing its effectiveness in reducing wind speeds and increasing wind comfort.

Wind tunnel testing was undertaken at facilities in the UK, and CFD was undertaken by Windtech’s London based CFD wind engineering team, which specialises in wind studies to meeting UK planning requirements.

By combining wind tunnel testing with CFD, the advantages of both technologies could be leveraged. Specifically, wind mitigation treatments were primarily developed in the CFD, which is faster to run, less expensive and has exceptional visualisation options. The visualisation methods used enable Windtech’s wind engineers to truly understand the complex wind effects which occur and also enable other members of the project team to join the discussion more easily. Wind tunnel testing was then be used to confirm results and further prove the effectiveness and robustness of the proposed solutions.

Having met and exceeded requirements, the development received planning approval in November 2023.