Impact of Vegetation on Visual Comfort in Residential Intermediate Open Spaces Using Rhino-Grasshopper Case Study: Nagpur, India

A built environment encompasses built and unbuilt spaces, with intermediate open spaces in residential areas gaining importance. Surrounding built structures and vegetation often defines intermediate open spaces and affects users’ visual comfort. However, the literature study reveals that researchers rarely study the impact of vegetation in daylight prediction models. Thus, this study addresses this research gap by conducting daylight and glare analysis in intermediate open spaces using the simulation tool, Rhino-Grasshopper. Researchers identified two similar courts in a residential project in Nagpur, India, where one had vegetation while the other did not. The study compares field measurements against simulation results to understand whether the tool can produce accurate data against measured data for daylight and glare in identified open spaces by conducting point-in-time analysis in Rhino-Grasshopper. The results show that vegetation does impact visual comfort in intermediate open spaces. However, it also indicates the need for additional research on vegetation models to produce accurate data for daylight and glare in such outdoor spaces. The study also identifies specificities for the vegetation model that affect visual comfort. Based on these findings, further research addressing these identified vegetation specifications may benefit the development of accurate climate-based simulation prediction models.