Files
Download Full Text (8.4 MB)
Description
This capstone investigates how central courtyard geometry, shade, materials, and vegetation can improve thermal comfort, daylight quality, and climate resilience in K–8 schools located in hot-arid climates. Using Las Vegas and Clark County schools as the primary context, the project responds to the growing challenge of extreme heat in educational environments, where children are especially vulnerable to thermal stress and where overheated school spaces can affect learning, outdoor activity, and equity. The research uses a performance-based computational design workflow, including Rhino/Grasshopper, Ladybug Tools, and multi-objective optimization, to evaluate courtyard variables such as height-to-width ratio, length-to-width ratio, orientation, shading percentage, UTCI, MRT, sDA, ASE, and solar exposure. The findings show that courtyard geometry is the strongest driver of environmental performance, while orientation has limited influence in the tested range. Tall and narrow courtyard proportions generally perform better than low and wide configurations, but geometry alone is not sufficient to solve heat stress in Las Vegas. The project therefore proposes integrated strategies combining vertical proportion, high-albedo surfaces, layered shade, and desert-appropriate vegetation to support safer, more comfortable, and more resilient school courtyards.
Publisher Location
Las Vegas (Nev.)
Publication Date
5-15-2026
Publisher
University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Language
English
Keywords
school design; central courtyard; hot-arid climate; Las Vegas; thermal comfort; shading; courtyard geometry; environmental simulation; Ladybug Tools; NSGA-II; climate resilience; child-centered design; educational equity
Disciplines
Architectural Engineering | Architecture | Environmental Design
File Format
File Size
8635 KB
Recommended Citation
Ebadi, Elmira, "Comfort at the Core: Navigating Geometry and Shade in Hot-Arid School Central Courtyards for Resilient Learning" (2026). Hospitality Design Graduate Student Capstones. 71.
https://oasis.library.unlv.edu/arch_grad_capstones/71
Rights
IN COPYRIGHT. For more information about this rights statement, please visit http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/