ABSTRACT
The recovery of natural ventilation as a viable means of cooling and ventilation for large, non-domestic buildings in temperate climates is well established. The use of natural ventilation has been extended to the design of auditoria. The chapter presents guidance distilled from the experiences gained by the design teams involved to provide architects and engineers with some insight into the design of naturally ventilated auditoria. Experience gained during the design, commissioning and post-occupancy periods of the buildings has led to a substantial body of knowledge regarding the technical design issues surrounding naturally ventilated auditoria. In natural displacement ventilation, layers of warm air at high level drive a flow of air out through high-level ventilation openings. The Queens Building at De Montfort University in Leicester was completed in 1993 and contains two wholly naturally ventilated, 180 seat wide-fan, lecture theatres. The natural ventilation strategy is buoyancy-driven displacement ventilation assisted by tall stacks.
