The promising idea of using shipping containers as homes, retail outlets, or even offices has recently been realized in practice. The aim of this research is to find ways to make these shipping container homes more sustainable. A real shipping container home in Aswan was selected as the main case study for this research. Three strategies were implemented: the first was to design a courtyard to act as a form of passive cooling; secondly, green roofs and green walls were used to act as an insulation layer for the container envelope; thirdly, the single glazing of the containers was replaced by double glazing. Using integrated design solutions (IES) and flow design software, these three strategies were compared to the base case model to assess their effectiveness. The results showed that the most effective strategy was the use of green roofs and green walls as these reduced energy consumptions by 13.5% compared to the courtyard which reduced total energy consumption by 3.6%. To optimize sustainability, photovoltaics (PV) panels were also installed. These provided the container users with 12.32 MWh clean energy.

Purpose: This paper aims to find ways to optimise the thermal performance of this courtyard design in current urban communities in hot arid regions.Design/methodology/approach: The case study for this research is the Dubai sustainable city residential cluster. After collecting weather data from a site visit, four courtyard configurations were suggested and assessed using ENVI-met simulation analysis software to build a virtual model to represent the base case. This model is used to evaluate the thermal behaviour of outdoor urban spaces. The four courtyard layout scenarios were suggested and tested against the base case model. Scenario one is u-shaped, scenario two is linear, scenario three has central buildings with square courtyards and finally, scenario four has u-shaped buildings with square courtyards.Findings: All the courtyard scenarios achieved an adequate level of user satisfaction, and the wind speed and distribution affected the relative humidity of the outdoor areas. The main findings indicate that courtyard scenario four provided the best microclimatic behaviour within the urban community, as the relative humidity dropped from 56.27% to 48% and the temperature was reduced from 43.03 °C to 41.03 °C.Research limitations/implications: The study was focused on Dubai and on urban levels, but the findings can be generalized to cover most of courtiers that have similar climatic and environmental contexts.Practical implications: Architects and urban planners will recognize the potential to reduce energy due to natural ventilation and lower solar radiation.Social implications: If the findings be applied, this will lead to energy reduction as well as building foot print reduction.Originality/value: This paper contributes to the existing literature by comprehensively reviewing the concept of courtyards in hot climate and in a region of shortage of studies conducted. It will draw future recommendations of how and where to design courtyards within urban communities.

Buildings incorporating kinetic architecture are designed to allow parts of the structure to move without reducing the structural integrity of the building. This is believed to substantially improve both energy efficiency and lighting performance. The aim of this study was to investigate the advantages of employing a kinetic façade system and achieving a comfort illuminance level. A G+7 office building was chosen as the case study for this research. DIVA-for-Rhino simulation software was used to determine how the proposed kinetic system was integrated and compare it to the baseline case. To validate the software, actual lux level and climatic data were compared with DIVA-predicted lux readings. The results show that kinetic louvers can help to achieve light levels in the range 100 - 300 lux, and a brightness level of 250 to 350 cd/m². The total energy used decreased by 21.3% and the Unified Glare Rating (UGR) fell from 29.5 to below 10. In addition, Kinetic louvers achieved100 - 300 lux and a brightness level of 250 to 350 cd/m2. Furthermore, it was found that an annual reduction of 12% occurred on the east side. More detailed analysis is provided in the paper which will help architects and designers to integrate the kinetic system in the façade of their buildings and achieve visual comfort. Other interesting findings will be revealed in this paper as a result of detailed analysis and discussion. Graphical Abstract