## 1 Introduction
[18] analyzed and compared the effectiveness of air renewal in two school buildings with a mechanical ventilation system compared to a natural ventilation system, and showed that by using a natural ventilation system, energy savings of 18-33% could be achieved while maintaining classroom comfort. Furthermore, [PERSON] et al. [19] and [PERSON] et al. [20] conducted a comprehensive summary of various natural ventilation methods and the current status of natural cooling methods, pointing out the research direction of achieving natural cooling through natural ventilation. Considering the energy-saving potential of natural ventilation in the early stages of building design, especially in China, is currently the subject of more limited research. [PERSON] et al. proposed a preliminary design methodology for naturally ventilated buildings utilizing a target air change rate [13]. The heavy dependence of sizable public structures on air conditioning systems for maintaining indoor thermal comfort leads to substantial energy consumption within these buildings. Consequently, mitigating the energy use of air conditioning systems in public structures has emerged as a pressing concern demanding immediate attention. However, although some scholars have considered the impact of natural ventilation potential on building energy efficiency in the early stages of building design, research based on a typical case of considering the cooling potential of natural ventilation in the early stages of building design is still insufficient. Even though existing studies offer various concepts, methods, and ideas for building ventilation and air conditioning systems, with comprehensive consideration from experimental, technical, economic, and thermal perspectives, attention has been paid mainly to natural ventilation performance and operation from the viewpoint of the system designer. Designers of air conditioning systems pay relatively limited attention to air conditioning energy consumption, and reducing it is considered a challenging task. Therefore, the authors of this paper suggest that it is possible to approach this issue from the perspective of architects. By incorporating considerations of building energy consumption in the early stages of architectural design, it becomes feasible to effectively reduce overall building energy consumption. This approach offers an effective reference and design strategy for achieving energy efficiency in buildings at the architectural design level. Consequently, this paper addresses several key questions: How can internal land use and space planning of buildings be determined from the perspective of building design as a way to reduce energy consumption? How can building design be optimized to leverage natural ventilation in local wind environments? What could be the pre-estimated energy-saving potentials of such naturally ventilated public buildings, compared to traditional reference design modes? This study presents tentative answers to these questions using the new construction project of a science museum in Guangzhou, China, as a typical illustrative example. The main body of the paper is structured as follows: (1) The natural ventilation dynamic models are established based on the local wind environment and climatic conditions. (2) The detailed architectural design and space planning are demonstrated and optimized with an atrium-centered floor layout to make full use of the free cooling effect through natural ventilation. (3) The energy saving potential for such a design is evaluated with dynamic building load simulation and annual energy consumption comparison. This work can provide a typical design reference and application prototype for new construction with natural ventilation considerations, especially for big public buildings with air conditioning energy efficiency improvement expectations.