Study on the ancestral rules of bioclimatic urban fabric in southern Algeria

Abstract

Our present research aims to assess the impact of some parameters of traditional urban fabric (ksar) in southern Algeria on thermal comfort. We took as an example the ksar of Timimoun, located in the Algerian Sahara which is characterized by an arid climate. In this research, we conducted a series of measurements of the main climatic parameters (air and surface temperature, wind speed and direction) for summer comfort, with different spatial and temporal resolutions. A number of these parameters (morphological aspects) such as H/W ratio and street orientation have shown limited effects on reducing air temperatures, while others such as covered streets, palm groves, shading, etc. appear to be more important and equivalent to effective tools for climate control within the traditional urban fabric (ksar).