ABSTRACT

The presence of traditional school buildings in Egypt led to the absence of environmentally friendly buildings, which contributes to endangering the environment and promoting climate change. To attain sustainability, it is imperative to establish a harmonious interaction between the environment and buildings. The purpose of the present research is to study the microclimate impact with and without landscaping on the thermal performance of a building (traditional building, shipping container with and without insulation) and the material impact on the environment. Program simulation tools such as Envi-met, Design Builder, and One Click LCA are used to apply the methodology of the research. It includes a case study on New-Assiut City in Egypt, proposing four scenarios. The outcomes indicate that the thermal performance of a shipping container building is comparable to that of a traditional building. The reuse of shipping containers has a lower environmental impact than a traditional building. In addition, the presence of landscaping such as trees significantly lowers the dry bulb temperature and operative temperature of the building. The outcome implies that the Egyptian government must enhance the sustainability of reusing shipping containers as a green building to reduce the negative impacts that existing constructions have on the environment and people.