Traditional Iranian courtyards as microclimate modifiers by considering orientation, dimensions, and proportions

Soflaei, Farzaneh; Shokouhian, Mehdi; Shemirani, Seyed Majid Mofidi

doi:10.1016/j.foar.2016.02.002

Cited by 57 publications

(47 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…The use of plants and proper vegetative cover can improve a courtyard's functional conditions in residential buildings. The green areas and the vegetative cover bring a reduction in the energy consumption, besides improving the psychological health conditions by reducing the temperature and the creation of shaded areas [49]. The existence of greenery influences the temperature, relative humidity, wind orientation and transpiration [47].…”

Section: Vegetationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Optimal Thermal Characteristics of the Courtyard in the Hot and Arid Climate of Isfahan

2018

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The courtyard is a common and traditional architectural concept in Middle Eastern countries, especially Iran. This study presents practical solutions to arrive at the optimal form and features of a courtyard based on this traditional architecture to cope with the hot and arid climate of Isfahan, Iran. A model using the ENVI-met 3.1 software was used to simulate the courtyard orientation, the height of the wall enclosure, the albedo of the materials and the vegetation level in Isfahan. As the first step of the simulation, different orientations were simulated. Based on the results, the northern courtyard is recommended as the optimum orientation for the remainder of the simulation process. A high wall enclosure is recommended in the second step of simulation to ensure cool temperatures at noon and warmth at night. In the third step, it is advised to use low-albedo material in the courtyards to avoid the extra reflected radiation of used materials on the inhabitants. The final step suggests that more than 50% of the courtyard plan should be covered by greenery to ensure thermal comfort in the courtyards. Based on these suggestions, designers can create more sustainable courtyards that are better suited to the hot and arid climate of Isfahan.

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Section: Vegetationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Optimal Thermal Characteristics of the Courtyard in the Hot and Arid Climate of Isfahan

2018

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“…To deal with these two factors, Indigenous people of Sistan have come up with sustainable as well as viable solutions that can be easily recognized in different aspects of their lives, from their traditional attire to their vernacular architecture [12,[41][42][43][44]. The history of architecture exhibits a positive correlation between the environment and vernacular buildings which are designed with respect to climatic requirements and socio-cultural contexts [45]. The vernacular architecture of Sistan is not an exception to this rule; it uses different elements and mechanisms to overcome the climatic conditions and provide the dwellers with a comfortable living environment [46,47].…”

Section: Sistan's Vernacular Architecturementioning

confidence: 99%

Natural Ventilation in Vernacular Architecture of Sistan, Iran; Classification and CFD Study of Compound Rooms

2017

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Extensive energy consumption in construction and ventilation has caused numerous environmental problems alongside huge waste of nonrenewable natural resources in today's world. Meanwhile, vernacular architecture has been able to sustainably adapt to climate by developing creative and local solutions which provide a comfortable living environment, consume less energy and cause less pollution than the new ways of construction, one of which is wind induced ventilation. Vernacular architecture of Sistan (southeast of Iran) is not an exception to this rule. It utilizes its own set of unique elements and techniques that are compatible with region's climate. This original article studies wind induced ventilation and its elements in Sistan's architecture, including: (1) roofs (Sistani, Filpush and Barrel); (2) ventilator openings (Kolak, Surak and Dariche); and (3) walls. Then, this paper continues to classify three different compound room types in Sistan's architecture, based on orientation and use of mentioned elements by documenting thirty-two sample houses across the region: (1) stretched against the prevailing winds; (2) stretched aligned with the winds; and (3) L shaped. CFD simulations are used to study the wind behavior and evaluate the ventilation performance of these room-types. These simulations lead to guidelines to enhance the ventilation performance of existing buildings and future constructions, including: where to put the windows, which orientation maximizes the natural ventilation performance, where to consider precautions to block the undesirable winds from entering and how far from each other should different room types be built.

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“…Traces of this type of semi-outdoor space can be found in major parts of the world, especially in hot regions [12]. Recent studies in the traditional courtyard houses show the performance of this space in different climates [3,[12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Building Microclimate on the Thermal Environment of Traditional Japanese Houses during Hot-Humid Summer

Hosham

Kubota

2019

Buildings

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The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of building microclimate on the indoor thermal environment of traditional Japanese houses, focusing especially on the shading effect of trees as well as the cooling effect of spraying water. Basically, the indoor thermal environment was found to follow the outdoor conditions due to the open-plan and lightweight wooden structure. Nevertheless, air temperatures of the living rooms in the two case study houses were lower than the corresponding outdoors by approximately 0.5 °C and 2 °C, respectively. It was found that the semi-outdoor spaces acted as thermal buffers for promoting cross-ventilation as well as pre-cooling to provide “warm but breezy” conditions to the surrounding indoor spaces. The results showed that the surface temperature of semi-outdoor spaces can be reduced by shading and water spraying, among which shading has prolonged effects and water spraying can reduce the surface temperature during peak hours and the following night.

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Traditional Iranian courtyards as microclimate modifiers by considering orientation, dimensions, and proportions

Cited by 57 publications

References 11 publications

Optimal Thermal Characteristics of the Courtyard in the Hot and Arid Climate of Isfahan

Optimal Thermal Characteristics of the Courtyard in the Hot and Arid Climate of Isfahan

Natural Ventilation in Vernacular Architecture of Sistan, Iran; Classification and CFD Study of Compound Rooms

Effects of Building Microclimate on the Thermal Environment of Traditional Japanese Houses during Hot-Humid Summer

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