The Impact of Building Adjacency on Reducing cooling Energy Consumption in Residential Buildings through the Relationship between Form and External Shading (Case Study: Historical Context of Bushehr)

Nowadays, the energy crisis has drawn the attention of architects and planners regarding the importance of building adjacency within the urban context. However, contemporary residential buildings constructed on the coastal edge within the historical context often overlook the climate and surrounding environment. This research focuses on studying the effect of contemporary buildings located on the coastal edge of the historical context on cooling energy consumption. Specifically, it investigates the integration of shading elements on the western façade of buildings in Bushehr's warm and humid climate. The research method is combined, and the data of selected buildings were collected using field surveys and categorized using the cluster method. The criteria for selecting the sample buildings were validated through the Delphi method. The annual energy consumption of the buildings was calculated in Design Builder. After that, the selected buildings were examined in terms of form, shape, geometry, and details. Hence, the optimal form for each model was extracted. Then by combining the selected optimal models, the target buildings were redesigned, and energy consumption reduction was calculated. The impact of the proximity of the selected buildings on cooling energy consumption was then analyzed. The results indicate the need to integrate form and external shading in contemporary residential buildings on the coastal edge of the historical context to reduce cooling energy consumption and minimize Western natural light. The narrow alleys on the coastal edge of the historical context and the four existing neighborhood models in the study area demonstrate that the placement of buildings within the site plays a significant influence on cooling energy consumption and daylighting. Ultimately, a 20.92% reduction in cooling energy consumption can be observed in the neighborhood model without narrow alleys.