Environmental Value for Heritage Conservation and Urban Sustainability: Adaptation in Widely Divergent Climatic Conditions

Abstract

ABSTRACT Focusing on traditionally-constructed urban housing in diverse climates, this article illustrates passive means historically providing comfortable living conditions while minimising technology dependence. This is especially relevant today with a tendency towards high-energy solutions, climate change extreme weather events, and pandemics. Minimising energy demands and emissions requires an understanding of theenvironmental value of historic housing in addition to their heritage value. This, to support their own conservation and contributing to passive contemporary architecture strategies. The global potential for mainstreaming retrofit measures is then expanded beyond a restricted heritage sector together with up-scaling localised construction methods and practices. This research revisits traditional solutions and behavioural patterns in Yazd (Iran), Røros (Norway), Santiago-de-Compostela (Spain), and Paramaribo (Suriname). In hot extremes (Yazd), high mass materials in concert with carefully arranged openings and windcatchers have provided low-energy housing. Whereas, wood construction, whether in the cold (Røros) or tropical zones (Paramaribo), relies heavily on material quality, architectural features, and layout. Temperate areas (Santiago-de-Compostela), adapted to seasonal variations for centuries, can share their dynamic qualities. The tendency in many climates to introduce closed air conditioning systems is counterbalanced by a better understanding of traditional systems for environmental control, contributing to a natural ventilation renaissance..