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A habitable dwelling should be safe, comfortable, and adequately ventilated. In many densely populated cities, the housing demand of citizens is met by clusters of high-rise residential towers. When buildings are closely sited, the influence of adjacent buildings on the availability of cross-ventilation becomes a critical building design consideration. This paper reports on the results of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation studies on such effects based on estate models that comprised an array of building blocks. The result shows that cross-ventilation in buildings downstream of other buildings would be much reduced, especially when the buildings were aligned facing the wind direction and when the spaces between buildings were small. Shortening the upstream buildings and laying out the buildings in a staggered pattern would significantly improve cross-ventilation in the downstream buildings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on environmental factors that affect adaptive re-use of historic buildings in Hong Kong, China. Topics discussed include construction of King Yin Lei, a mansion on Hong Kong Island, protests over a decision to demolish the mansion for the purpose of redevelopment, Conservation Office's environmental monitoring program introduced to preserve the building fabric and fittings without placing an air-conditioning system, impact of fluctuating climate on the conservation of historic buildings, and impact of air circulation through windows and doors on the internal environment.