Building Physics

By combining applied physics and building construction engineering, the (energy) efficiency of buildings and urban areas can be significantly enhanced – immediately and for years to come.

Physics for architecture, planning and building to improve durability, sustainability and health

Building Physics (BP) is the physics research group of the Building Physics and Services (BPS) unit at Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e). The aim is to acquire new knowledge and to develop and integrate methods, based on physics research and application, that result in a sustainable, healthy, comfortable and productive indoor and outdoor environment. Physical knowledge is vital throughout the lifecycle of building or a built environment, from design right through to planning, construction and maintenance. Especially in the light of fast-changing requirements and development of new materials and processes.

Building Physics research can be divided into two categories:

Urban Physics and Environmental Wind Engineering
Urban Physics is the science and engineering of physical processes in urban areas. It deals with the transfer of heat, air, moisture and pollutants in the outdoor and indoor environment of buildings. The Building Physics group focuses specifically on wind flow and related processes in the atmospheric boundary layer and their interaction with obstacles in this layer, such as buildings, vehicles and trees. Topics such as urban heat island effects, natural ventilation, air pollution, outdoor thermal and wind comfort are also addressed. Fundamental and applied research is based on-site measurements, wind tunnel measurements and numerical simulation with Computational Fluid Dynamics. 

Building physics and monuments
Building physics and monuments deals with heating, cooling and ventilation in historic houses and buildings, effects of humidification and dehumidification, monitoring and controls, pollution and soiling and balancing conservation with human comfort and sustainability. The purpose of this work is threefold: getting a better knowledge of building physics and systems in monumental buildings, improving the indoor climate and durability for the buildings and their collections and propagation of this knowledge to students, engineers and architects.