Consideration of climatic conditions in the design of dwellings in the Sahara desert

Y.M Benyoucef,A.D Razin

doi:10.22363/2312-8143-2018-19-4-471-481

Abstract

Climate is one of the important factors in architecture. The historical architecture experience of the inhabitants of the desert zones has created invaluable knowledge on the design of residential environments in these aggressive conditions. Climate also is an important ecological component in the formation of vernacular architecture in the Saharan desert, it had a strong influence on the formation of desert settlements, the Saharan traditional dwellings are an indispensable source for studying organizations and architectural typologies and the adaption to the harsh climate. The article discusses the climatic conditions in which the dwellings in the Sahara desert were built and the important strategies and passive climatization techniques of the design of the dwellings and presents a review of the various techniques developed. These various passive methods and strategies give the Saharan dwellings, adaptation, efficiency, and durability in these hot-arid conditions of the desert and can be a great source of architectural inspiration for new projects.

Highlights

Since old times every population has created its own habitation in accordance with its needs and its environment
The study of climatology is important to understand the relations between the buildings and the climate to determine the urban and architectural characteristics in the Saharan area [2]
The passive design building is an alternative environmental technique, in comparison with mechanical systems used in the design and construction

Summary

Introduction

Since old times every population has created its own habitation in accordance with its needs and its environment. The Saharan climate is characterized by the weakness and the irregularity of the precipitations, an intense luminosity, a strong evaporation and big differences of temperature [3]. Hot deserts are the most challenging regions in terms of energy consumption in buildings due to the intensive demand for cooling, as they experiences an extreme maximum air temperature of over 50 °C, there is increasing consumption of energy buildings are responsible for more than 40% of global energy consumption [4], climate had a strong influence on the formation of desert habitations, for these reasons the problems of the dwellings design and her climate adaptation are strongly imposed

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