Architecture Follows Climate by Birkhäuser

Alexandros Vassileios Emilios

Ioannou-Naoum

ARCHITECTURE FOLLOWS CLIMATE

Traditional Architecture in the Five Climate Zones

Birkhäuser Basel

“Just as the universe is organized by nature as regards the Earth, in terms of the inclination of the zodiac as well as the orbit of the sun and its diversity, so buildings must be aligned with regard to the particular climatic conditions in the different regions.”

—Vitruvius VI, I, 1–2

Architecture A nd

c lim Ate — An Introduction — 11

t he GlobA l c lim Ate —

Basics and Overview — 15

Key Climatic Concepts and Terms — 15

Temperatures — 15

Winds and Their Formation — 20

Humidity — 22

The Five Global Climate Zones — 33

Climate Perception — 38

Thermal Comfort — 38

Heat (Heat Index) — 39

Cold (Wind Chill) — 41

Building in the t ropic A l Zone — 45

Climatic Conditions — 48

Topographical Site Selection and

Building Orientation — 49

Natural, Local (Building) Materials — 51

Architectural Approach in the Tropical Zone — 53

Building Disposition — 53

Moisture Protection through

Elevated Structures — 53

Ventilation through Elevated

Structures — 56

Openings and Ventilation

Strategies — 58

Ventilation Needs — 58

Building Orientation and Position of Openings — 60

Dimensions of Openings — 64

Ventilation through Building

Volume — 66

Ventilation through Materiality — 68

Ventilation through Roofs and Ventilation Accelerators — 69

Building Design — 74

Settlement Layout — 74

Elevated and Framed Structures — 77

Roof Design — 84

Wall Design — 86

Material Selection — 87

Water Resistance — 88

Rot Resistance — 90

Thermal Mass — 91

Addressing Solar Heat Gain — 92

Heat Reduction through Roof Pitch — 93

Thermally Insulating Materials — 94

Heat Regulation through Color — 95

Shading and Planting — 96

Vegetative Funnel — 96

Vegetative Shading — 100

Typical Architectural Elements of the Tropical Zone — 101

Overhangs — 102

Verandas — 102

Building in the Arid Zone — 107

Climatic Conditions — 110

Topographical Site Selection and Building Disposition — 112

Natural, Local (Building) Materials — 116

Architectural Approach in the Arid Zone — 119

Addressing Solar Heat Gain — 120

Regulation through Building

Orientation — 121

Regulation through Building

Density — 124

Regulation through Color and

Light Energy — 126

Material Selection and Behavior — 128

Thermal Mass Energy Storage — 128

Composite Construction

Applications — 131

Climate-Reactive, Responsive

Materials — 136

Building Design — 140

Building Shape — 140

Building Volume — 143

Building Dimensions and Room

Use by Time of Day — 145

Seasonal Room Use — 148

Openings and Ventilation

Strategies — 154

Orientation of Openings — 155

Ventilation through Building

Density — 156

Ventilation through Building

Volume — 161

Ventilation through Building

Openings — 166

Dimensions of Openings — 170

Shading and Planting — 171

Shading through Building Shape and Height — 172

Shading through Alignment — 175

Shading through Urban

Density — 178

Shading through Shading

Elements — 181

Shading through

Vegetation — 184

Natural Cooling and Thermodynamics — 185

Thermal Conduction — 186

Thermal Radiation and the Role of Light — 190

Convection 1: Evaporation through Room Air or Thermal

Conduction — 198

Convection 2: Evaporation through Vegetation — 207

Architectural Cooling Systems — 210

Solar Chimney — 210

Badgir — 212

Dome — 219

Icehouse — 224

Building in the temper Ate

Z one — 229

Climatic Conditions — 232

Topographical Site Selection and Building Disposition — 234

Under/Against an Overhang or Cliff — 234

In/Under the Ground or Mountain — 236

In Flatland areas — 240

Natural, Local (Building)

Materials — 241

Architectural Approach in the Temperate Zone — 243

Addressing Solar Heat Gain — 243

Reduction through Urban

Density — 244

Regulation through Building

Alignment — 247

Building Design and Ventilation

Strategies — 251

Mobile Dwellings — 251

Fixed Buildings Above Ground — 258

Fixed Buildings Underground — 263

Fixed Buildings: Built into a Mountain — 272

Migration within Buildings — 276

Material Selection and Construction

Techniques — 278

Homogeneous Material Use — 279

Heterogeneous Material Use (Composite System) — 282

Additive Materials (Using the Same Material) — 284

Climate-Reactive, Responsive

Materials — 285

Shading and Planting — 288

Shading through Topography — 289

Shading through Vegetation — 290

Shading through Architectural

Elements — 292

Natural Heating and Cooling Processes — 294

Heat Exchange — 294

Ventilation Systems — 297

Building in the continentA l Z one — 303

Climatic Conditions — 306

Topographical Site Selection — 306

Migration between Two

Buildings — 307

Natural, Local (Building) Materials — 308

Architectural Approach in the Continental Zone — 310

Building Disposition — 310

Elevated Buildings — 311

Ground-Level Buildings — 311

Subterranean and Semi-

Subterranean Buildings — 314

Solar Heat Gain and Building

Orientation — 315

Building Design — 316

Heat Conservation through High Settlement Density — 318

Mobile Dwellings — 319

Heat Conservation through Composite Construction — 322

Heat Conservation through Log Construction — 326

Material Selection — 329

Material Properties of Wood — 329

Types of Wood and Their Application — 330

Material Properties of Turf — 333

Types of Turf and Extraction — 334

Openings and Ventilation

Strategies — 336

Planting — 338

Typical Architectural Elements of the Continental Zone — 338

Building in the pol A r Z one — 341

Climatic Conditions and Vegetation — 344

Topographical Site Selection — 346

Natural, Local (Building)

Materials — 347

Architectural Approach in the Polar Zone — 348

Building Disposition and Orientation — 349

Building Design and Typical

Architectural Elements — 350

Urban and Structural Density of Snow Houses — 351

Modularity in Construction and Thermal Energy

Optimization — 354

Material Selection — 357

Openings and Ventilation

Strategies — 360

Epilog — 365

Sources and References — 369

Images – Sources and References — 391

Index — 401

Acknowledgments — 415

Imprint — 416

Building in the ARID ZONE

Fig. 73

Arid Zone according to the Köppen-Geiger climate classification (Source: own sketch based on Zifan 2016).

BWhBWk

BSk BSh

BWh (desert, hot-arid), BWk (desert, cold-arid), BSh (steppe, hot-arid), BSh (steppe, cold-arid)

Climatic Conditions

As previously mentioned, the extreme temperature differences between day and night are a distinctive feature of the extremely dry climate of the Arid Zone, which is classified according to the Köppen-Geiger map, (Hofer 2020, 16). In Iraq, for example, temperatures can reach up to +45 °C in the shade during the day but may drop to as low as –10 °C at night (Al-Azzawi 2017, 264). These temperature variations are due to the extremely dry weather conditions. While nightly clouds in the Tropical Zone, which form every afternoon, significantly restrict or prevent the Earth’s accumulated solar heat from radiating back into cold outer space at night, in the cloudless, extremely dry Arid Zone, this accumulated solar heat can radiate back into the sky without restriction at night, which leads to extreme temperature fluctuations (see Fig. 74 and 75).

A distinction is also made between maximum and minimum temperatures during the summer and winter periods. In summer, when there is less precipitation, it is extremely hot during the day due to the intense daily sunlight, while in winter, when there is slightly more precipitation, it is extremely cold at night (Ehlers 1980, 22, 72; Lehner 2018, 85). One consequence of the recurring dry trade winds is very low humidity, which is typically around 15 to 20 percent throughout the year. This results in the formation of inhospitable desert landscapes that are characterized by a lack of water, extreme heat, and the absence of vegetation, as seen in the Sahara (Al-Azzawi 2017, 264). Situated within this desert belt, Najd in Saudi Arabia, for example, has one of the driest climates on Earth (Hofer 2020, 7).

Fig. 74

Diurnal weather cycle in the Tropical Zone: cloud formation in the afternoon (Source: own sketch).

Fig. 75

Diurnal weather cycle in the Arid Zone: nocturnal heat radiation toward outer space due to lack of clouds (Source: own sketch).

Fig. 90

Multilayered wall construction of a traditional house in Togo (Source: own sketch based on Stanley 2015).

Along with wood, fleece, and straw, earthen materials like clay and loam (see the next section on Climate-Reactive, Responsive Materials), tend to swell or shrink with moisture changes that initially only result in surface cracks. To prevent these cracks from deepening and compromising the stability of the building, it is advisable to shield earthen buildings from intense sunlight and drying out; the best practice includes the use of thermally insulating materials. In general, earthen buildings should undergo annual maintenance to repair any cracks with fresh clay or earthen plaster and to preserve structural integrity (Lehner 2018a, 68, 76; Perry 2017, 90).

Since the sun is very high in these regions, building roofs are particularly susceptible to intense solar radiation, thus making it crucial to protect this part of the building. Woven grass (where available) may be used on the roofs of earthen buildings (see Fig. 91) to leverage the insulating properties of the grass’s high porosity and help to slow or prevent crack formation in the earthen structure. Additionally, sloped or pitched roofs are generally favored over flat ones in this zone because they allow potential rainwater to run off more

Fig. 91

Left: Traditional house in Ghana (Source: own sketch based on LindingerPesendorfer 2017) Center: Traditional house (chaura) in Pakistan (Source: own sketch based on Shirjeel Imran 2018) Right: Traditional house in Burkina Faso (Source: own sketch based on Van der Kraaij 1982).

quickly. Moreover, they make the sun’s rays strike at a lower angle, which means that the buildings heat up significantly less (Hyland/ Tetteh 1978, 449–476; Lehner 2018a, 67).

In the Arid Zone, such composite constructions (see Fig. 92) prove especially favorable as the different materials can respond individually to the diverse and variable climatic conditions, and thus help to sustain or enhance the indoor microclimate for its residents.

Fig. 92

Composite construction of a courtyard house: earthen walls with wooden roof (Source: own sketch).

Climate-Reactive, Responsive Materials

Reactive, i.e. responsive, materials include those that react plastically or elastically to at least one change in their environmental conditions. Plastic deformation is permanent, whereas elastic materials return to their original shape after deformation. These materials can be categorized into artificial materials, such as plastics or metals with shape memory alloys, and natural materials, such as wood, straw, or goat hair. When building in the Arid Zone, the focus is primarily on the latter – natural elastic and responsive materials. It is important to consider the extent to which their reactivity contributes to maintaining an autoregulating indoor microclimate in traditional buildings. Wood is one of the most notable natural elastic and responsive materials. Through shrinkage and swelling,4 it adapts continuously to changes in the relative humidity of its immediate environment (see Fig. 93; Blaß/Sandhaas 2016). In both living and felled trees, or in processed pieces, wood continues to change below the fiber saturation point until it decays. The extent to which wood warps varies with changes in humidity levels; the greater the humidity fluctuation between two points in time, the more pronounced the deformation (Raimer 2020, 19). The point at which a material’s cells (in this case, wood) maintains a stable moisture level over time is referred to as equilibrium moisture content. This occurs when the water content of the (wood) cells reaches a balance with the humidity of the air (Raimer 2020, 22).

4 Shrinkage describes the release of moisture from the wood cells (drying process), whereas swelling describes the absorption of moisture (the moistening process). Both initiate a movement of the cells and consequently also of the material itself (Blaß/Sandhaas 2016).

Swelling and shrinking of wood cells in response to different air humidities

(Source: own sketch).

In addition to wood, felt and straw can also absorb and release moisture from the air, thus adapting by swelling and shrinkage to help stabilize indoor climates. In the Arid Zone, goat hair also plays a very important role in thermal regulation. Over time, goats have evolved robust, durable hair with a grease layer that repels dirt (similar to the lotus effect) and can thus help compensate for the extreme temperature shifts between day and night. Goat hair is sheared in spring and can be woven into a flexible fabric. However, unlike woven textiles, goat hair felts are moistened and fulled (felted) to produce a thermally insulating and waterproof material used in the construction of yurts (Denninger/Giese 2006, 226–227; Ho 2017, 398).

Nomadic desert communities, like the Bedouins in Jordan, continue to utilize this traditional knowledge to construct their mobile tent dwellings. The black goat hair fabric exhibits two characteristics that help ensure survival in the hostile landscape. Firstly, goat hair

Fig.

can absorb and release moisture. It is worth noting that rain does not fall abruptly in desert regions, but usually starts as a light drizzle and gradually intensifies. This initial drizzle is crucial as it allows the goat hair cells to slowly absorb moisture, which causes the fibers to swell and close the tiny air-permeable spaces between them, and thus renders the textile waterproof (Oliver 1997, 2114; Shoup 2007, 56). By means of adhesion and cohesion, a wafer-thin layer of water forms between the microscopic openings in the fabric and, consequently, over the entire textile, which results in a water-repellent effect for any further rainwater. Secondly, the goat hair fibers release moisture in strong heat, which causes the material to shrink and create small holes that promote ventilation and cooling within the tent (see Fig. 94).

The black color of the fabric also plays a crucial role in managing extreme temperatures. While light colors reflect sunlight and reduce heat absorption, darker colors absorb sunlight and convert it into heat. What might initially seem counterintuitive is actually a sophisticated system: the black color heats the fabric and surrounding air much faster than a lighter color. As the surrounding air warms, it rises (unlike cool air) and creates a low-pressure area, which pulls the heat out of the tent and draws cooler air inside. This process results in a refreshing draft inside the tent (see Fig. 95; Steele 2017, 204).

A similar principle is used to regulate the air and temperature in the round huts in the KwaZulu-Natal region of South Africa (Fig. 96). The roofs are made with insulating natural thatch, which responds to changes to humidity and temperature. On hot or dry days, the thatch shrinks, which allows heat to escape and fresh air to enter. On wet days, however, it swells and thus tightens the weave of

Swelling of a nomadic black tent textile (Source: own sketch based on Riegler 2010)).

the structure, thus making it rainproof. Depending on the location, these huts are coated with an outer layer of clay plaster that further helps regulate the indoor microclimate (Gleimius/Mthimunye/Subanyoni 2003, 24; Whelan/Peters 2017, 230).

Fig.

Comparison of the ventilation of a nomadic black tent vs. white tent (Source: own sketch based on Riegler 2010).

Building Design

Building Shape

In the Arid Zone, the dense arrangement of buildings within a settlement helps to keep buildings and their interiors from overheating. It also protects them against strong wind and sandstorms (Lehner 2018a, 88). Courtyard houses such as those found in Najd, Saudi Arabia, serve as a classic architectural example from this climate zone. These houses typically feature a square or rectangular, compartmentalized layout, with rooms facing inward towards a central courtyard (see Fig. 97; Hofer 2020, 12).

Fig.

Fig. 96

Round hut made of straw in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa (Source: own sketch based on JMK 2014).

Courtyard houses emerge from the need to manage very dense settlements. They provide privacy and private open spaces that are otherwise absent in such environments. Additionally, they provide protection from the above-mentioned wind and sandstorms

Typical floor plan of a courtyard house (Source: own sketch).

Fig.

(Al-Azzawi 2017, 266; Lehner 2018a, 88). As the central element, the courtyard itself is often lushly planted and irrigated, and not only facilitates light, ventilation, and shade but also cools the microclimate within the courtyard.

Integral to the internal layout of the courtyard house, verandas or covered walkways are not only essential for the ventilation of the house but also provide shade for the residents during the day (see Fig. 98 and 99; see more details in the section on Openings and Ventilation Strategies below; Hofer 2020, 7; Tasca 2012, 19).

Ksar houses in the Maghreb region of northern Africa represent one variant of courtyard house architecture. In addition to their climatic advantages, they cater to the widespread regional preference for clan seclusion (Lehner 2018a, 88).

floor plan of a courtyard house with internal arcade (Source: own sketch).

of the covered outdoor space by an arcade (Source: own sketch).

Fig. 98

Typical

Fig. 99

Shading

Over centuries, courtyard houses have proven to be an effective architectural solution that provides socially and climatically comfortable dwellings in the hot, arid desert landscapes of North Africa. For this reason, their form can be found from Morocco to Iran. Similar courtyard typologies, such as the tulous of China, can also be found in the steppes of Asia.

Building Volume

The structural volume of a courtyard house is a simple extrusion5 of the cell-like floor plan along the vertical axis (see Fig. 100). Courtyard houses are typically one to three stories high and oriented inward towards an internal courtyard. For climatic reasons, the structures present a closed-off exterior with thick walls, about 50 centimeters thick, and small window openings. This design helps to retain the coolness accumulated during the night for as long as possible (thermal lag). Larger openings would allow the cool air to escape much

Fig. 100

Building volume of a courtyard house (Source: own sketch).

5 Extrusion describes the expansion of a two-dimensional shape into a three-dimensional object.

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Alexandros Vassileios Emilios Ioannou-Naoum

Acquisitions Editor: David Marold, Birkhäuser Verlag, Vienna, Austria

Content and Production Editor: Bettina R. Algieri, Birkhäuser Verlag, Vienna, Austria

Translation German into English (including quotations unless stated otherwise): Karin Ioannou-Naoum-Wokoun

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Library of Congress Control Number: 2023942481

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