ZEMCH 2015 - International Conference Proceedings | Page 748

functioning (Herzog & Strevey 2008). Pilotti et al. (2014) have concluded that the exposure to an
natural environment at the end of a workday can be invigorating, improving one’s ability to sustain attention and store information into long-term memory (Pilotti et al. 2014).

Figure 2: Sections showing the natural ventilation strategy adapted through the Skycourt in Commerzbank Headquarters Frankfurt, Germany (Fosters + Partners n.d. 1997)

5. Recommendation for Sustainable Design of High-rise Buildings: Skycourt as a
Trend of Passive Sustainable Design Element in High-Rise Building
Skycourts can positively contribute to the urban context from social, environmental and economic perspectives. It has potential of achieving significant reductions of energy consumption and
generating income, besides creating the sense of community, a safety place for recreation and
interaction, and creating more environmentally-friendly spaces. Skycourts could provide natural light and natural ventilation for heating and cooling. In addition, it can provide more spaces
and clean energy with different approaches of design. These characteristics are shared between
courtyards at lower levels and skycourts at higher levels of the buildings.
The previous investigation illustrated some potential of skycourts to function as an effective passive design element in the high-rise building typology. Skycourts can be integrated into the architectural design to use the natural energy sources such as sunlight and air flow to heat, cool or
light the building. This has a great potential for conserving energy and improving the health and
quality of life for the occupants. To conclude, there are two outcomes centred on this concept; the
first that the skycourt in high-rise buildings can function as the traditional courtyard .The second
is that the skycourt could be considered a passive cooling technique.

746

ZEMCH 2015 | International Conference | Bari - Lecce, Italy