scholarly journals Typology and Solar Gain Analysis: Vernacular Courtyard Houses of Tabriz, Iran

Author(s):  
Maryam Khatibi

The study presents the results of typological analysis and simulation modeling analysis of traditional courtyard residential houses in the cold semi-arid climate of Iran. The purpose of the research has been to analyze and evaluate traditional passive environmental strategies and their elements to provide implications for the design of sustainable residential buildings in contemporary time. Five existing traditional courtyard houses in the city of Tabriz, Iran, are used as case-studies to analyze the typology and the solar zoning conditions and to develop simulation models. The Ecotect simulation program is used to calculate the solar gains of the buildings and to analyze the effectiveness of the natural passive systems along with native design strategies in terms of potential solar gains of main and secondary living spaces. However, in the vernacular, not only the awareness of the climatic and topological considerations is important, but also the values, rituals, and beliefs that shape the design of the dwellings need to be considered. The research is based on the hypothesis that vernacular buildings (courtyard houses) of Iran have been environmentally sustainable structures. However, an important challenge of the study has been to avoid the technological bias and to consider the cultural and social aspects and embodiment of the studied houses, as well. The study also addresses the potential shortcomings that limit the reliability of Iranian vernacular architecture at present in order to arrive at a more holistic understanding of the sustainability of the vernacular architecture in the country. 

2020 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 175-196
Author(s):  
Purushothaman A. Purushothaman A. ◽  
Thirumaran K. Thirumaran K.

PurposeVernacular architecture is an architectural style of buildings that were constructed by artisanal builders who lacked formal qualifications, used local materials and had a deep understanding of local climatic needs. This approach addressed climatic, energy, materials and construction issues in a low-cost way. Building interiors were often made comfortable by using passive internal climate regulation methods, which could be key to resolving some of the current issues of the modern world.Design/methodology/approachTamil Nadu is a land full of local architecture, with Konearirajapuram settlement a thriving specimen of its vernacular architecture, as one of the original Vathima villages (planned Brahmin villages). Here the authors present an appraisal of this settlement's native architecture with its various passive design elements. A questionnaire survey was also conducted among local residents, living in both vernacular and contemporary residential buildings, to understand the quality of indoor environmental comfort in the different building types (single courtyard, multiple courtyards and multiple story houses with courtyards).FindingsThe results of this study show that energy-efficient bioclimatic design strategies of traditional buildings can be analyzed with the help of climatic data and analysis tools such as Mahoney tables and Olgyay's bioclimatic chart. The study shows that vernacular design techniques and principles conserve more energy than modern buildings. The findings suggest that practical solutions for improving contemporary residential developments can be found in traditional architectural approaches and that these approaches should be incorporated in new developments to achieve energy efficiency and a sustainable future.Research limitations/implicationsA detailed survey and the user preferences are plotted in detail in this paper; similarly, Mahoney table and its requirements are analyzed with respect to context; and the results are elaborated and justified.Originality/valueThis study analyzes an entire settlement of Konearirajapuram with 300 units of vernacular residences high in comfort even at extreme climates. Assessment is carried in both qualitative case and quantitative case. Even though there are no previous studies analyzed to identify the effectiveness of the artisanal builders of bioclimatic architecture. Hence, this study brings out the solution for current energy problems from the traditional settings, because the traditional buildings requires no active systems for indoor comfort except a fan, which is negligible in terms of energy use.


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 43-70
Author(s):  
Milica Madanović

The name and the achievements of Aleksandar Deroko shine brightly in the constellation of Serbian architectural history. Deroko actively contributed to the Serbian twentieth-century architecture as a distinguished professor at the University of Belgrade, a prolific author, esteemed scholar, designer, and a highly driven heritage enthusiast. However, though recognised by his contemporaries and successors alike, Deroko's design activity has not yet been thoroughly examined. Exploring residential buildings designed for Deroko's Belgrade clientele, this paper widens the knowledge of his architectural production. Deroko's well-known passion for architectural history and extensive research of the Serbian vernacular buildings serve as a starting point for the study of his residential structures in Belgrade. Was Deroko's design process influenced by his deep appreciation for architectural past, and by the results of his findings? Or has he only adopted the formal characteristics of historic styles and vernacular architecture in his work? If so, to what extent? Discussing five structures built in the interwar period - house of Colonel Elezović, the Rakić villa, the Simić villa, the Marinković villa, the Stakić villa and the architect's personal villa - the paper traces transformation of Deroko's architectural inspiration, from typical academic historicist eclecticism to vernacular construction.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2042 (1) ◽  
pp. 012146
Author(s):  
D Mohaibesh ◽  
S Monna ◽  
H Qadi ◽  
R Sokkar

Abstract Climate-resilient buildings in Palestine can play an important role in a more sustainable residential building sector. This paper aims at evaluating the effects of adopting architectural design strategies and material technologies from vernacular architecture to create a new climate-resilient building. The paper targets single houses as these represent the majority of residential buildings in suburban and rural areas, and are similar to the vernacular architecture in size and functionality. The EDSL Tas simulation tool was used to assess the thermal performance and energy savings in the proposed model compared with traditional houses and modern typical houses, in two different climatic zones. The proposed climate-resilient house has materials and design strategies derived from vernacular architecture, in addition to the use of thermal insulation. The results show that the proposed house is more climate-resilient compared to modern houses. In cold winter and hot summer climates, the proposed model presents a total annual heating and cooling energy consumption of 59% less than typical modern houses, and 5% more than old buildings. In hot arid summer and warm winter climates, the proposed house presents a total annual heating and cooling energy consumption of 58% less than a modern typical house and 8% more than the traditional house.


Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (13) ◽  
pp. 3876
Author(s):  
Sameh Monna ◽  
Adel Juaidi ◽  
Ramez Abdallah ◽  
Aiman Albatayneh ◽  
Patrick Dutournie ◽  
...  

Since buildings are one of the major contributors to global warming, efforts should be intensified to make them more energy-efficient, particularly existing buildings. This research intends to analyze the energy savings from a suggested retrofitting program using energy simulation for typical existing residential buildings. For the assessment of the energy retrofitting program using computer simulation, the most commonly utilized residential building types were selected. The energy consumption of those selected residential buildings was assessed, and a baseline for evaluating energy retrofitting was established. Three levels of retrofitting programs were implemented. These levels were ordered by cost, with the first level being the least costly and the third level is the most expensive. The simulation models were created for two different types of buildings in three different climatic zones in Palestine. The findings suggest that water heating, space heating, space cooling, and electric lighting are the highest energy consumers in ordinary houses. Level one measures resulted in a 19–24 percent decrease in energy consumption due to reduced heating and cooling loads. The use of a combination of levels one and two resulted in a decrease of energy consumption for heating, cooling, and lighting by 50–57%. The use of the three levels resulted in a decrease of 71–80% in total energy usage for heating, cooling, lighting, water heating, and air conditioning.


CONVERTER ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 39-45
Author(s):  
Tian Hu, Wenbin Gong

This paper divided the evolution of modern Chinese vernacular architecture (1949–2010) into 3 stages: early exploration, confine and confusion, and modern development, by taking time line as the clue, vernacular characteristics of modern architecture in Xi’an during different phases as the support, and combining literature research and field investigation. On this basis, it reviewed historical background, relevant context and typical features of modern vernacular architecture in Xi’an during different phases, and further concluded the evolution laws and research level of modern Chinese vernacular architecture.


X ◽  
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonio Conte ◽  
Xin Wu ◽  
Jianjun Li ◽  
Marianna Calia

The work of documentation of part of fortified architecture in rammed earth and wood, typical of Fujian region in south-eastern China, represents the start of a research and cooperation project between DiCEM Department at Università degli Studi della Basilicata and Fuzhou University, determined by a MAECI co-funding project named “Youth Exchanges”, for the cultural mobility of Italian and Chinese students1. Generally, three types of fortified vernacular architecture can be found in Fujian region, China: Tulou, Tubao (soil castle), and Zhuangzhai. Even though they are all residential buildings built in rammed earth, they are different historically, geographically, functionally and typologically.


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 896 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fajer Tawayha ◽  
Luis Braganca ◽  
Ricardo Mateus

The strongest point of vernacular architecture is the harmony between environment and buildings. Mediterranean vernacular architecture is harmonized with its local context, including culture and traditions. In addition, it respects environmental and climatic factors, construction materials, and morphology. In the past, people in Palestine built their houses according to their possibilities, needs, available materials, topography, and culture. Without any control from the government or any legal limitations or architects, it was people’s architecture, simple architecture. This paper discusses the differences between vernacular and contemporary residential buildings of the city of Nablus at the building scale. The research methodology adopts explanatory qualitative analysis and comparative synthesis methods for both the old and the new buildings of the city of Nablus and considers many parameters of residential buildings such as building materials, interior spaces, openings and vegetation, and the effect of sociocultural values on each. The outcomes of this research allow understanding how the new city residential buildings are far away from the sustainability principles and how the old city is close to it and how the architects and stakeholders could learn from the strategies of vernacular architecture.


Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 237 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Soutullo ◽  
E. Giancola ◽  
M. J. Jiménez ◽  
J. A. Ferrer ◽  
M. N. Sánchez

Based on the European energy directives, the building sector has to provide comfortable levels for occupants with minimum energy consumption as well as to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This paper aims to compare the impact of climate change on the energy performance of residential buildings in order to derive potential design strategies. Different climate file inputs of Madrid have been used to quantify comparatively the thermal needs of two reference residential buildings located in this city. One of them represents buildings older than 40 years built according to the applicable Spanish regulations prior to 1979. The other refers to buildings erected in the last decade under more energy-restrictive constructive regulations. Three different climate databases of Madrid have been used to assess the impact of the evolution of the climate in recent years on the thermal demands of these two reference buildings. Two of them are typical meteorological years (TMY) derived from weather data measured before 2000. On the contrary, the third one is an experimental file representing the average values of the meteorological variables registered in Madrid during the last decade. Annual and monthly comparisons are done between the three climate databases assessing the climate changes. Compared to the TMYs databases, the experimental one records an average air temperature of 1.8 °C higher and an average value of relative humidity that is 9% lower.


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