In 2015, London Legacy Development Corporation commissioned the project "Case Study: Wind Microclimate Analysis of London Legacy Development Masterplan" to address a defined challenge in the building and construction sector. The assignment combined computational fluid dynamics (CFD) with a decision-focused engineering study. Its purpose was to explain the governing physical behaviour, identify the variables controlling performance, and convert the findings into practical recommendations for design, operation and future development.

It is somewhat inevitable that, with the construction of new developments, the wind microclimate in the vicinity of the site(s) will be altered. Where new buildings are significantly different in size, form, orientation or height from those in the immediate vicinity, winds can be introduced which may cause discomfort to pedestrians. This project simulates the large scale ventilation and wind microclimate around the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and its legacy master plan which includes numerous buildings and developments across a large area. The computational model in this project represents one of the most complicated configurations ever attempted by computer simulations. The Team successfully simulated this masterplan and provided important input into the urban design in this large part of London in order to minimise environmental impact and pedestrian discomfort.

The methodology centred on a three-dimensional external-aerodynamics CFD model of the development and its urban context. The representation retained building massing, neighbouring blocks, terrain, streets, entrances, canopies, podiums and other features that can create channelling, downwash or corner acceleration. Boundary and operating conditions covered representative atmospheric boundary-layer profiles derived from the wind climate, ground roughness, and the wind directions and speeds most relevant to annual pedestrian use, with material, fluid and equipment properties assigned from the available design information. Resolution was concentrated in regions where steep velocity, thermal, concentration or phase gradients were expected, while the overall model remained efficient enough to compare several credible configurations. This balance allowed system-level performance to be linked to the local mechanisms responsible for it.

The assessment compared building-form refinements, screens, canopies, parapets, landscaping and local public-realm changes. Performance was judged using pedestrian-level velocity ratios, comfort and safety exceedance, channelling, downwash, corner acceleration, shelter and the usability of entrances, routes and amenity areas. Results were reviewed through quantitative summaries and engineering visualisations, such as contours, vectors, streamlines, sections and time histories, selected to suit the physics. Important assumptions and operating uncertainties were considered so that the recommendations relied on repeatable comparative trends rather than a single nominal case.

For London Legacy Development Corporation, the principal value was clear planning and design evidence for a comfortable, safe and usable public realm. The final evidence linked each recommendation to the relevant model or process output, making it suitable for internal design reviews, supplier or contractor discussions and, where applicable, planning, safety or regulatory dialogue. The work also created a reusable baseline that can be updated as geometry, operating data or test results become available, reducing the cost and risk of later design iterations.