Impact of Building Height and Window Configurations on Ventilation Performance and Temperature Distribution: A CFD Study of an Institutional Kitchen Environment

Institutional kitchens often experience inadequate thermal comfort and indoor air quality (IAQ) due to intense heat generation and pollutant emissions from cooking activities, increasing workers’ exposure to heat stress and related health risks. Providing adequate ventilation is essential to ensure acceptable IAQ and comfortable working conditions. Enhancing natural ventilation through architectural design can reduce reliance on mechanical systems and energy consumption. This study investigates the influence of two key design parameters, building height and window configuration, on ventilation performance and thermal environment in institutional kitchens. A validated computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model developed in ANSYS Fluent was used to evaluate airflow patterns, IAQ, and temperature distribution across 53 design configurations that varied in height, cross-ventilation pattern, window–ventilator combination, and window distribution. The impact of these variables was assessed using a performance score derived from Principal Component Analysis. Results indicate that the configuration with a 4 m building height and 40% window-to-wall ratio (WWR) on both windward and leeward sides achieved the best performance, whereas the configuration with a 4.5 m height, 40% WWR on the windward side, and 10% on the leeward side performed the poorest. The findings provide design insights for improving natural ventilation and thermal comfort in institutional kitchens.