3 Simple Tips to Create a Beautiful and Airy Outdoor Seating Area
After my previous post about the crucial economic and health benefit of offering outdoor seating for main street food services, readers raised their concerns on the increasing high temperatures during our summer season. In order to keep up visitors’ traffic and attract people to stay to spend money, reducing outdoor temperatures is the next inevitable topic.
Understanding Apparent Temperature
Before discussing possible mitigation strategies, we need to talk about “apparent temperature”. Apparent temperature is the temperature equivalent perceived by human. It is caused by the combined effects of air temperature, relative humidity and wind speed. In the summer, when the apparent temperature is higher than the air temperature, the heat index is used.
In the summer, peak sun angles occur at the solstice on June 21, but peak temperature and humidity are more likely to occur in August. As you can see from this heat index chart, the higher humidity in the environment, the hotter we human beings feel. (For example, if the air temperature is 90 F and humidity level is 60%, it would be felt like 100 F to us.) You can also simply use NOAA’s heat index calculator to know how warm you feel in your current environment.
How to Make it Airy?
Therefore, to have an airy outdoor space we need to first try: lower the actual temperature; second: lower the humidity of the space.
Here are 3 simple strategies to ensure your outdoor spaces feel cooler than they are. (The first two are related to lowering air temperature, the last is related to lowering the humidity)
+ Orientation
+ Shading Elements
+ Installing Ceiling Fans
- Orientation — establish north facing settings to avoid sun exposure. If your outdoor seating area is adjacent to a structure, place it at the east side of the structure. At northern hemisphere, a 35-foot structure could create approximate 8 to 30 feet of shading during the hours of 12pm to 3pm. (See more detailed shadow study below) Thus, creating a cooler environment.
2. Shading elements: there are three major shading choices — tree planting, event tent and outdoor shading structures.
- For tree planting, it is recommended to use deciduous trees rather than conifer trees. The deciduous trees have wider and thinner leaves to cover the sunlight but also let it penetrate through the veins of the leaf. During the winter, after leaves fall, it offers wider gaps to let sunshine penetrate through outdoor spaces.
- When choosing an outdoor event tent, ensure to have an inner liner. This inner curtain not only functions as a decorative piece (to hide the tent frames) but also functions as an air gap to perform a slight thermal break. (You will feel this “thermal break” more if using the inflatable tent structure). It is recommended to have lighter colors. In general, lighter colors have ability to reject more solar heat than dark colors.
- If you have an outdoor pavilion structure (such as gazebo, open shed, or flat-roof overhang), ensure to select a “cool roof”. There are two categories of roofs: low-sloped and steep-sloped roof. Low-sloped roofs are defined as no more 2 in rise over 12 inches, they primarily use coating or single-ply membrane to reduce the heat influence. Steep-sloped roofs often use metal roofing, tiles and shake to minimize the heat transfer. It is recommended to choose higher SRI for your roof material. (SRI is calculated with a complex formula spelled out in ASTM E 1980 and is a scale of 1 to 100 that measure of a roof’s thermal properties.)
There is also a “Cool Color Project” that research and develop cool colored roof products. If you are interested in learn more, please check out here.
3. Installing ceiling fans: if your event could be hosted under a structure, installing a ceiling fan could significantly reduce the apparent temperature at your seating area. During the summer you want the fan to blow the air straight down, so the ceiling fan need to run in counterclockwise direction (as you look up at it). Adding this air-flow speed does not mean directly lower the temperature; it rather reduces the humidity level so we perceive a cooler environment.
Wait, How to Make it Beautiful?
Here are three simple tips to help you beautify the outdoor seating.
+ Consider Draping
+ Draw the Eye Up
+ Amplify Color Scheme
1. Consider draping: as we mentioned above, adding an inner tent linen can give a decorative effect. Same to adding draping — the depth of layers created by the draping will generate a perfect ambiance for glamour dining experience.
2. Draw the eye up: people often focus on the center piece of the table and forget it is also powerful to have an artistic installation hanging above. An artistic installation can draw your guests’ eyes upwards allowing them to enjoy this curated dining experience. Elevated art pieces (such as decorated ceiling fan, balloons, floral design etc..) can also free up space on the table (remember we want to keep the tables a bit smaller in order to maximize social distancing) and eliminate clutter on the table all together.
3. Amplify your color scheme: choose a theme color to match your dining experience. Ensure that you select a harmonious color palette for your seating arrangement. Picking one or two will enhance the fun spirit in your seating area but not overcrowded it.
There is also a psychological effect on various colors. Color can make us feel happy or sad, exhausted or relaxed. Get inspiration from your surroundings, such as work with a nature tones that mimic nearby landscapes. Those colors tend to be less saturated but bright, therefore providing a relaxing dining experience. Check out this article form Psychology Today to pick the right color to meet your dining experience.
The coronavirus outbreak is rapidly evolving. To stay informed, check your local health department for updates. If you are interested in reading more illustrations in this related article, check out here.
