Analysis Types & Associated Metrics

Learn about the different criteria and metrics we use to gain deeper insights into your results


Pedestrian Wind

Pedestrian Wind Comfort Explained

What is Pedestrian Wind Comfort? Put simply, pedestrian wind comfort is a measure of how local wind patterns impact the pedestrian experience. The speed, direction, and gustiness of winds can all affect how comfortable pedestrians will feel in a certain space. As a general rule of thumb, higher wind speeds and – in particular –…

RWDI Pedestrian Wind Comfort Criteria

The RWDI Criteria is a pedestrian wind comfort criteria developed by RWDI in the 1970’s to assess the predicted comfort and safety of pedestrians in outdoor spaces.   These criteria have been widely accepted by municipal authorities as well as by the building design and city planning community.    In general, strong winds and wind gusts can negatively…

Boston Pedestrian Wind Comfort Criteria

The Boston Pedestrian Wind Criteria is the standard used by the Boston Planning and Development Agency (BPDA) to assess wind impacts on pedestrian safety and comfort. Strong winds and wind gusts can negatively impact the pedestrian experience and may even pose a safety risk.  The BPDA Criteria identifies standards for Wind Acceptability and Wind Comfort.…

Lawson Wind Comfort Criteria

The Lawson Pedestrian Wind Criteria is a globally-accepted standard used to assess wind impacts on pedestrian safety and comfort. In general, strong winds and wind gusts can negatively impact the pedestrian experience and may even pose a safety risk.  Pedestrian Wind Comfort Criteria aim to classify different areas by the activities pedestrians may tolerate under…

Melbourne Pedestrian Wind Comfort Criteria

The Melbourne Pedestrian Wind Criteria is the standard used by the City of Melbourne to assess the impacts of wind and gusting on pedestrian safety and comfort. In general, strong winds and wind gusts may negatively impact the pedestrian experience, and may even pose a safety risk.  Pedestrian Wind Comfort Criteria aim to classify different…

Hunt Pedestrian Wind Criteria

The Hunt et al Wind Criteria is a standard used (mainly in Taiwan) to assess the impacts of wind conditions in pedestrian-oriented locations. In general, strong winds and – in particular – strong wind gusts can negatively impact the pedestrian experience and may even pose a safety risk.  Pedestrian Wind Comfort Criteria aim to classify…

San Francisco Pedestrian Wind Criteria

The San Francisco Wind Comfort Criteria is a standard used in the San Francisco Planning Code to assess wind impacts on pedestrian safety and comfort. In general, strong winds result in decreased pedestrian comfort – especially for more passive activities such as sitting – and may even pose a safety risk.  The San Francisco Criteria…

Boston (BPDA) Pedestrian Wind Criteria

The Boston Planning and Development Agency (BPDA) has adopted two standards for assessing the relative wind comfort of pedestrians.

San Francisco Pedestrian Wind Criteria

San Francisco Planning Code requires buildings in the C-3 downtown districts to be shaped so as not to cause ground-level wind currents to exceed defined comfort and hazard criteria.

Melbourne Pedestrian Wind Criteria

The Melbourne pedestrian wind criteria are used in studies for this area. The comfort and safety conditions for these criteria are based on mean wind speeds and 3 second gust speeds, respectively.

Israeli Wind Criteria

The Israeli wind criteria are required to be analyzed in the Israel region to assess pedestrian wind comfort and safety conditions in the vicinity of new and, in some circumstances, existing developments.

Hunt Wind Criteria

The Hunt Wind Criteria is used in assessing the wind comfort conditions around the Project. As Orbital Stack understands, the Hunt Wind Criteria is commonly used in the Taiwan region.

Thermal Comfort

Thermal Comfort Explained

Orbital Stack’s Thermal Comfort analysis provides objective metrics (e.g., SPMV*, UTCI) and vivid imagery that show how outdoor spaces meet their desired usage profiles. Thermal comfort is a complex concept as it accesses an individuals perception of temperature which are reliant on both physiological/environmental causes and psychological factors. The thermal comfort analysis combines wind and…

Wind Cooling Potential (Ventilation)

What is Wind Cooling Potential?  Wind Cooling Potential is a metric that provides the average wind speed of a location at an indicated time. It is generally understood that wind reduces the perceived temperature people experience in a given location. In the summer, a nice breeze on a hot day acts as a cooling agent.…

UTCI Explained

The Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI) is a metric that attempts to quantify how people perceive given weather conditions by equating them to an equivalent temperature based on standard conditions. It calculates a comfort value for the actual conditions, and then determines an equivalent temperature that would create the same comfort value for that “standard” condition. The standard condition is a location at 50% relative humidity, low air speed, and mean radiant temperature equal to dry bulb.

SPMV Thermal Comfort Criteria Explained

Thermal comfort is a complex topic that combines an understanding of human behavior and physiological response to external environmental conditions. There is a myriad of thermal comfort metrics in existence ranging from simple objective metrics to complex metrics which combine thermal systems and survey results.

Directional Wind

Streamlines and Generalized Wind Flows

When interpreting the results of a Directional Wind Study in Orbital Stack, the generalized wind flows will be show in color-coded streamlines.

Solar and Shade

Solar (% Sun Lit) Color Legend Explained

Below is a description of how to interpret the Solar (% Sun Lit) – Color Legend that is visible in the viewer. Understanding these legends will help make the most out of analyzing your results. What is it measuring? A theoretical shading scale that measures if the sky was clear every day of the year,…