The Alhambra
1. Vermillon Towers 2. Alcazba 3. Gate of Arms 4. Gate of Law 5. Palace of Charles V 7. Court of the Myrtles 8. Tower of the Peinador de la Reina
9. Court of the Lions 10. Torre de las Damas 11. Partal 12. Oratory 13. Tower of the Captive 14. Tower of the Infantas 15. Gate of the Seven Heavens
Detailed drawing of elaborately designed feature. Marble surface for cooling
Method of using Courtyards and open spaces for better ventilation
Court of the Lions
Method of using waterbodies to cool building Court of the Myrtles
Abdel Wahed El Wakil
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Corniche Mosque, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia - El Wakil
Concept - Arabian ideas of brick domes and arches is extended to larger buildings. Form that generates buildings with a very robust seperation between inside/outside for sustainable buildings in extreme climates
Large span domes/arches are tall so that considerable temperature gradients can develop, allowing hot air to collect above the occupied zone while cooler air pools at lower level.
With its location facing the Red Sea, the mosque utilises the cooling effects of the breezes coming in from the sea and dispenses with air conditioning.
Rasem Badran
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Focuses on how contemporary design practice can make use of the cultural heritage of society. Responds to the local lifestyle, climate and physical surroundings.
Famous for the Great Mosque of Riyadh and old city centre development.
Badran looked at the urban surroundings to influence his design, and to ensure his buildings place in the urban fabric.
Alternative roofscape study in context.
open street
Badran heavily considers the surroundings of a building. To access where it can fit into its urban setting. 1 Pedestrian multifunctional Street.
2 Courtyards link Shunes Street with Mosque.
3 Direct access from street to the Mosque.
Alternating the transitional space between Shunes Street and Mosque Building.
Alternative roofscape study in context.
open street
Badran looked into prayer patterns to access local spatial traditions.
Louis Kahn
National Assembly Building, Bangladesh.
National Assembly Building. Bangladesh 1982.
The artificial lake acts as a natural insulator and cooling system for the building. It also begins to create interesting spatial and lighting conditions.
“In the assembly I have introduced a light-giving element to the interior of the plan. If you see a series of columns you can say that the choice of columns is a choice in light. The columns as solids frame the spaces of light. Now think of it just in reverse and think that the columns are hollow and much bigger and that their walls can themselves give light, then the voids are rooms, and the column is the maker of light and can take on complex shapes and be the supporter of spaces and give light to spaces. I am working to develop the element to such an extent that it becomes a poetic entity which has its own beauty outside of its place in the composition. In this way it becomes analogous to the solid column I mentioned above as a giver of light.� - Louis Kahn
Fathy is credited with bringing the vernacular architecture of Egypt to a wider audience, for using preindustrial building systems and for designing for the poorer class.
Fathy liked to look to the cultural past for reference, his main theme within his work is that it has an articulated cultural authenticity. Using dense brick walls, vaults and courtyards throughout his work.
Heat loss by convection ventilation
Radiation Heating
Heat loss by conduction through walls and roof
Heating by inhabitants Heat gain by ventilation
Heat loss by ventilation
Radiation heating of interior air and surfaces
Models of heat loss and gain in a building
Sidi Krer house, Alexandria. Showing the ventilation generated by the wind escape.
Windcatcher / Malqaf
Hot air from the prevailling wind direction is drawn into the shaft of the Malqaf.
Hot air then passes by a water fountain and humid charcoal baffles. This promotes evaporative cooling.
The now cooler air flows past another fountain, which is in front of a salsabil, a decorative marble slab. This enhances the cooling effect.
The fountain and salsabil is also seen as an alternative to the fireplace in temperate zones.
Windcatcher / Malqaf
Hot air then passes by a water fountain and humid charcoal baffles. This promotes evaporative cooling.
Hot air from the prevailling wind direction is drawn into the shaft of the Malqaf.
This Malqaf does not feature a salsabil or fountain. It would probably be used in a more functional sense, rather than a decorative object. Or as a way to allow for light to enter the space.
Chuck Hoberman
Chuck Hobermans infamous mechanical design is recognisable to many. The Hoberman Sphere, invented in 1992, is a combination of engineering and sculpture, it has since been a very popular children's toy. But the mechanism behind it has now been applied to construction, in the form of faรงades and arches.
Chuck Hoberman
Hoberman’s mechanical design can also be applied to climatic design. Simons Center for Geometry and Physics of New York University features a clever façade system. Its multi-planar façade can dictate the amount of light let into the building by the alignment of the holes in it’s planes. This example is secondary to a glass wall, however, the theory could be applied to affect the wind into and out of a building.