A natural ventilated building must be designed to get air in and out as well as to support a natural airflow through the interiors. The main architectural consequences are in short:

o Ventilation openings for inlet(s) and outlet(s) in the building envelope o An internal layout, both in plan and section, that provide a low pressure drop air path from the inlet(s) to the outlet(s).

To elaborate on these two points, we have used a "checklist of architectural aspects” to structure the architectural consequences of natural ventilation in the three case buildings. The checklist consists of the following points: Site, Orientation and shape, Plan, Section, Fagade, Ventilation elements, and Interior spaces.

Site

A natural ventilation concept is based on the characteristics and potentials of the site. The most dominating driving force on the site (wind or buoyancy) is selected and utilised as effectively as possible. The ventilation concept is thus designed for the primary driving force (buoyancy in the case of Media School) or for both wind and buoyancy (like in the GSW Headquarters). The climatic conditions on the site also influence the design of the natural ventilation concept. Cold climates favour central ventilation inlets and outlets, as that is advantageous with regard to heat recovery and pre-heating of the ventilation air (e. g. Media Primary School). Local inlets and outlets may be applied in temperate climates (e. g. GSW and B&O Headquarters) where the risk of draught is lower. The investigation on the three case-study buildings indicated that their urban/rural response (to neighbouring buildings, streets/roads, the building typology at the site and so forth) and laws and regulations governed the design of their natural ventilation concepts to a great degree, especially in the initial design stages.