Shading Strategies for Outdoor Waiting Areas in Hot Climates: Improving Thermal Comfort and Healing Environments in the Post-Pandemic Era

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The design of hospitals has become a critical issue in the post-pandemic era, especially for waiting areas where people tend to gather and increase the risk of disease transmission. Outdoor waiting areas are emerging as a viable alternative to indoor spaces, as they can reduce crowding and improve ventilation. However, in hot climates, achieving thermal comfort in outdoor spaces is a major challenge for designers, as it affects the healing environment and the well-being of patients and visitors. This paper explores the role of different shading strategies in improving the thermal comfort of outdoor waiting areas in hospitals, using Al-Nasr Specialized Hospital in Port-Said as a case study. The paper simulates five shading scenarios that combine shading devices and trees, and evaluates their impact on air temperature (TA), predicted mean vote (PMV), and physiological equivalent temperature (PET). The results show that the best scenario is the semi-shaded case with trees, which lowers TA by more than 1.5 °C, reduces PMV by 28.7%, and shifts PET from a hot state to a warm state. This study enriches basic research on outdoor thermal comfort for hospital users and offers guidance for the design of outdoor healthcare settings in hot climates.

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