RETROFITTING GLAZED BUILDING ENVELOPES FOR ENHANCED THERMAL COMFORT (A CASE OF NAIROBI CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.22159/ijss.2026v14i1.56836Keywords:
Thermal comfort, Retrofitting, Glazed facadesAbstract
Nairobi’s central business district features a growing skyline of high-rise buildings with glazed facades, creating modern, and light-filled spaces but with intensified solar heat gain. Indoor overheating and heavy energy use for cooling results, despite the prevailing tropical highland climate. This study, therefore, responds to arising urgent concerns about energy efficiency and occupant well-being. It investigates adaptive building strategies that are rooted in the shearing layers concept, adaptive thermal comfort, and the mediating role of building envelopes. Using a mixed-methods approach through case studies, field observations, surveys, focus group interviews, and digital sensor data, it explored passive cooling solutions. Such are external shading, thermal coatings, ventilation enhancements, and advanced glazed facades, as well as green retrofitting techniques. Comparative analysis identified climate-adaptive retrofit options that boost energy performance and occupant comfort, offering cost-effective, sustainable solutions that are tailored to the evolving urban context of Nairobi city.
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