Paper Title
Amelioration of Building Microclimates Through Landscape Design Approaching Hot-Humid Climate

Abstract
Saving energy in buildings has become a more important issue in various countries. One strategy that can reduce the cooling load in buildings is landscaping and environmental design. However, it is difficult to estimate the amount of influence of landscape, environment and their elements on ambient temperature. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between landscape elements and outdoor temperature. The arrangement in relation to temperature reduction is also determined. From the study, it was found that the first important factors that helped to reduce the ambient temperature were water elements, followed by mature trees and groundcover areas. In addition, the outdoor area should be minimally open ground and a hard surface area. The proper placement of each element should be considered specifically the water area should be placed on the south or south-west. The groundcover should be placed next to the building and trees should be placed on the south, east and west sides. The width of canopy of mature trees should be at least 4.5 meters, and evergreen trees should be at least 6 meters of height and dense. Besides these, there are many other variables, such as building layout, building shapes and building materials that may have some effects on the ambient temperature, and they will be studied later. Index Terms - Ambient temperature, building, hot-humid climate, landscape design, passive design