1HISTORY AND SIGNIFICANCE OF BARJEEL HOUSES
Growing up in the Middle Eastern country of the United Arab Emirates, I have seen many tall towers in homes and public spaces traditionally referred to as Barjeel towers. Referring back to the history of wind towers in the Middle East, a winder tower is defined as a vent rising above the roof level to assist in air circulation in the rooms/spaces located below to improve its climatic condition (Assi, 2022).
There has yet to be any definite information regarding the appearance of barrel towers in the Gulf region in the past. Still, vague images can be observed through the ancient Egyptian paintings in tombs around the second millennium. Tradition vernacular Arabic architecture was created to protect the residents of space from extreme heat (Assi, 2022).
The United Arab Emirates is a rapidly growing developing country classified as one of the countries with the highest climatic change impact in the world with its rapid technological advances. It has extreme temperatures in the summer, reaching about 55 degrees Celsius (Saleh, 2023). It is classified as a desert with hot and arid climate.
BARJEEL SKETCH
Such high temperatures led to houses being built with passive climate-responsive features with limited resources. One of the unique features of traditional Arabic houses is the daylighting and ventilation features. Promoting natural ventilation throughout a residence serves comfort in such high temperatures. Thus, all the apertures in the vernacular Arabic houses have a dual function of daylighting and natural ventilation through passive cooling. Openings called mashrabiya/ naqoushmefat’ha also offer privacy and shade (Saleh,2023).Barjeel houses have other passive cooling features, apart from the main barjeel/ wind tower, such as the use of courtyards that act as a heat sink and storage of cold air and modify the microclimate, employing materials like mud, plaster, red clay, mangrove poles, and palm trunks, orienting according the wind and sun direction while considering evaporative cooling etc.
Passive cooling uses renewable energy sources such as wind and solar to cool, ventilate, and let light into the houses. It promotes less reliance on the use of mechanical cooling strategies. Through passive cooling, we can improve indoor air quality and reduce the temperature difference between the exterior and interior of a house. It helps reduce energy levels and harmful environmental impacts, such as greenhouse gas emissions (Taleb, 2014).
Unfortunately, due to the rapid development in the United Arab Emirates, air conditioning through mechanical is an essential form of thermal comfort. Due to this, a tremendous amount of energy and natural resources is consumed, and there is a significant dependency on non-renewable resources (WWF, 2012). The country has also been identified as one of the world's highest carbon emitters per capita. Many factors, such as rapid construction, lack of green and sustainable building practices, and using artificial electricity due to cheaper rates, have contributed to this crisis (Ghazal-Aswad et al., 2012).
There has been a rise in the research regarding passive cooling strategies to promote sustainable architecture; thus, this paper aims to refer back to 19th-century history, learn about the famous vernacular Barjeel house, namely Sheikh Saeed Al Maktoum House, and research how such passive cooling strategies is implemented in this traditional architecture.
OVERVIEW OF VERNACULAR ARCHITECTURE 2
This class, “Architecture of Home,” focuses primarily on vernacular architecture and the construction of climate-friendly houses. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, vernacular means domestic or indigenous, which comes from a Latin phrase ‘Verna’ that translates into “home-born slave.” Vernacular architecture refers to the elements and techniques implemented through natural and local resources to create sustainable houses to meet the needs of the local residents (Ghisleni, 2020). The people who build these houses are not trained architects; they construct them using readily available eco-friendly local materials. Vernacular architecture is significant as it is energy efficient and has a long lifecycle. They take into account the local climatic conditions and work well with nature. Furthermore, since communities create these houses, they promote better regional and cultural characteristics.
VERNACULAR ARCHITECTURE IN U.A.E.
The vernacular architecture in the UAE emerges from the interaction of various elements such as climate, culture, and knowledge acquired from indigenous people. The UAE is an Islamic country, and its influence is easily seen in its architecture due to its emphasis on social justice. The houses were constructed as a community, and the members contributed their input during construction. Islam forbids any use of ornaments and painting, which is the rationale behind the extensive use of calligraphy, simple geometry, and plants as decorative elements. The living spaces are separated by gender, and since privacy is the cor-
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nerstone of Islamic societies, the houses were oriented inwards, unaligned from the entrances of other houses, and created divisions on the interior and exterior (Saleh,2023).
The vernacular architecture in the UAE emerges from the interaction of various elements such as climate, culture, and knowledge acquired from indigenous people. The UAE is an Islamic country, and its influence is easily seen in its architecture due to its emphasis on social justice. The houses were constructed as a community, and the members contributed their input during construction. Islam forbids any use of ornaments and painting, which is the rationale behind the extensive use of calligraphy, simple geometry, and plants as decorative elements. The living spaces are separated by gender, and since privacy is the cornerstone of Islamic societies, the houses were oriented inwards, unaligned from the entrances of other houses, and created divisions on the interior and exterior (Saleh,2023).
The climate of the UAE has a significant impact on the architecture of the houses, and the harsh weather has forced builders to implement solutions with limited resources, the famous element being the wind tower. There are two main seasons in the UAE, namely summer and winter, which are separated by two transitional periods. The country has an arid desert climate with high temperatures. The hottest month of the year, August, has an average high temperature of 100°F and low of 86°F. The coldest month of the year is January, with an average high temperature of 81°F and low of 75°F (Dubai Climate. n.d.).
CASE STUDY: SHEIKH SAEED AL MAKTOUM HOUSE
The Sheikh Saeed Al Maktoum House is a historical museum and former residential quarters of Saeed bin Maktoum Al Maktoum ditional lifestyles, the Islamic religion, and limited eco-friendly local resources deeply influence it. The building materials used
The house has a total square footage of 6450 sq. ft. and is two stories tall. It encompasses six independent living quarters and is oriented towards Mecca as per the guidelines of the Islamic tradition. The ground floor consists of the majlis (large gathering space), storerooms, living rooms, and a kitchen that extends into the central courtyard. The house is characterized by tall perimeter walls shielding the hot winds from the courtyard.
Maktoum and his family. The house is strategically located at the entrance of the Dubai Creek in the Shindagha locality. Traused were simple but adapted very well to the lifestyle and harsh climate (Saleh,2023).
The second floor includes bedrooms and terraces that overlook the creek. The construction process started by building around the courtyard space and adding rooms as necessary, making four independent living quarters. The decoration was sparse, consisting primarily of arcades and foliate-shaped archways and recesses, timber lattice screens, the foliate-designed pierced screens, and plaster panels with a carved relief floral motif against a black background made from ground charcoal mixed with water (Hawker, 2002).
Since Sheikh Saeed House is an example of vernacular architecture, it employs local natural resources and several passive cooling techniques that help provide cooling and protect from extreme desert conditions. The locally available materials along Dubai Creek were coral shells, palm trunks, clay, and sand. The coral shells were excellent structural materials due to their lightness and thermal insulation. It was primarily used to make wind towers but not extensively used due to its cost (Ragette, 2003). A combination of clay, gypsum, sand, and limestone was extensively used in making walls, and the thickness ranged from 1.5 ft to 5 ft. The thickness and the materials used give a thick thermal mass that delays the heat gain inside the building. This helps to diffuse the sun light and act as a good insulator. Mud was used on the floors to keep it cool. The upper floors were constructed lighter than the ground floor by making the thinner walls give more space for ventilation. The roof was constructed using mud, palm trunks, leaves, and mangrove wood that provide good thermal insulation to delay and reduce the solar heat gain. The floor is made of sand or mud to keep the floor cool (Ali et al., 2014). Wooden beams were made of mangrove wood or palm trunks. They were 13 feet long, meaning the rooms were limited to that length (Hawker, 2002).
In section and elevation, it is observed that the roofs are at various heights, with the wind towers being at the highest level. The difference in height promotes natural ventilation and daylighting. The Barjeel is the primary cooling source, improving the space’s IAQ. The interior roofs extend out as an overhang to provide shade (Saleh,2023).
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ii. ARCHITECTURE DETAILS
As mentioned earlier, the house employs many passive cooling strategies to keep the building cool. The house’s orientation is along the north-south direction, which reduces solar radiation, maximizes wind exposure, and improves the evaporative cooling of the area. Most of the openings are located in the north facade to limit solar heat gain. As for the entrances, the main entrance is the creekside entrance with an enclosed reception to preserve privacy, which is an essential element in the arrangement of the houses. The male reception area had direct contact with the outside and was separated from the family reception area. The courtyard was restricted to familial activities and was used by women to move through the house. There were separate majlis for males and females in the house (Ali et al., 2014).
The area around the house consists of buildings that were constructed in a compact form, such as double- and triple-height buildings on narrow roads that provided shade through various solar angles (Ragette, 2003). The narrow alleyways were covered with fabric to provide shade to cool areas. The narrowness benefits the people, allowing fresh, cool northern air to circulate freely between these buildings. The photosynthesis of the plants reduces the temperature of the immediate microclimate and reduces heat gain (Ali et al., 2014).
DIFFERENT TYPES OF ARCHES
WORKING OF A MASHRABIYA
In terms of openings and windows, the house had various styles, such as windows, arches, doors, and mashrabiya. The house's facade was characterized by a solid wall and a minimum number of openings on the western and southern parts to delay and reduce the solar heat gain (Ali et al., 2014). Mashrabiyas are perforated glass door screens located on the upper level, which conceal the openings. Besides its aesthetic value, mashrabiya helps promote privacy (important in Islam), manages natural daylight through diffusion and reduces heat gain, regulates the airflow to improve the local climate, reduces the temperature of the wind flowing into the room, and increases humidity for cooling. They work well with the open courtyard to improve air circulation and enhance cooling (Saleh, 2023). The high windows act as a fan since hot air rises up and escapes out, allowing cool air to come in. Small windows allow indirect light to come in, reducing heat gain. The roof parapet also consisted of small openings to air movement into the space, creating privacy (Ali et al., 2014).
The central element of the building is the courtyard, which acts as a semi-private area that links to the different parts of the house. The walls of the courtyards are made of stones or bricks and have openings called Riwaq (arcades). The courtyard enhances natural ventilation and promotes building heat dissipation. It acts as a heat sink by maximizing the surface-to-ratio volume, limiting extreme temperature, and allowing an acceptable level of interior heat in the high air (Saleh, 2023). It stores cool air in the center at the ground level and helps to cool the rooms on the lower story, which are open to the courtyard through open arches and perforated walls. In the daytime, the courtyard has a stack effect in which it heats up quickly by gathering the hot air from the rooms and the hot air being light rises. At times, wells are present in courtyards that aid in evaporative cooling (Ali et al., 2014). The Riwaqs surrounding the courtyard are semi-open spaces blocking direct sunlight and providing shade. They aid in circulation for the residents without sun exposure. These corridors help in cool breeze circulation. Using Riwaqs also helps circulate warm air out into the courtyard (Batterjee, 2010).
WORKING OF A BARJEEL
The house's unique and most important feature is the Barjeel or the wind tower. Each residential block was fitted with a wind tower, a tower rising 25 feet in the air. It was constructed in an X-shaped design and opened on four sides to catch and push the cooling air down into the room under it (Hawker, 2002). The house contains four towers and has the following elements: a vent, a rooftop, a head, a canal, and interior walls (Saleh, 2023). The wind tower catches the prevailing cool air, which descends with an increased velocity to replace the hot, less dense air that rises and escapes out of the vent. Positive pressure is formed on the windward side due to the flow of the exterior breezes, and negative pressure is felt on the leeward side during the day (Rashdan & Mhatre, 2019). Some wind towers have sprinklers with fans and charcoal that create the effect of evaporative cooling. Wind towers are commonly used in the summer months and are closed in the winter months with a triangular-shaped hutter at their base (Know the UAE). All the Barjeels are located at the north end of the rooms to which they are connected as it is the best solution in terms of the arrangement. The factors that affect the use of wind towers include wind orientation and speed, ventilation orientation, length of the tower apertures, and room orientation with respect to the wind tower (Ragette, 2003).
Horizontal Barjeels are present at the ground and upper levels of the house. In the upper level, it presents as a roof parapet. Its function is to bring cool air into the space at the lower level, and in the case of the roof, it helps to cool the roof surface to carry out leisure activities. The horizontal Barjeels consist of two panels with wooden shutters in which the upper panel deflects the wind downwards, and the lower panel brings cool air to the lower part of the room to cool the floor. The horizontal panels also provided indirect lighting to the lower part of the room (Salameh & Touqan,2023).
The research addressed passive cooling strategies that indigenous people in the UAE used to create sustainable houses that inculcate tradition and culture. It is concerned with sustainability elements and techniques implemented through the Barjeel House. The design of the Sheikh Saeed Al Maktoum House was successful in withstanding the harsh climate of the Gulf and works well to preserve the regional, cultural, and socio-economic aspects. From the initial construction that began with choosing indigenous materials to the end of completion, it demonstrates how the vernacular house employed passive cooling strategies that work well with the existing environment. A combination of local materials, variation in the height of the roofs, natural daylighting through mashrabiya and other openings, passive cooling with the Barjeel (main feature) during the summer, and the courtyard during the winter help to create a comfortable thermal environment for the interior of the house. The design details, such as the arches, Riwaqs, and Mashrabiya, follow the local Islamic effect, respecting the culture. In the UAE, vernacular design elements are reasonable solutions for contemporary architecture to create sustainable designs to overcome extreme heat while respecting the Islamic tradition.
This house works very well without mechanical systems because it works with nature, not against it. Architecture nowadays has completely strayed away from vernacular architecture and they do not embrace the regional characteristics. This contemporary trend should turn to the direction of vernacular architecture that is extremely energy efficient, which is what we need to relieve the pressure from the current environmental challenges. This study highlighted Dubai, a rapidly developing country where the need to refer back to the design principles of the Barjeel houses is essential to reduce the levels of carbon emitter per capita and create sustainable houses with less impact on the environment. However, this research needs to be expanded on implementing these indigenous design principles in the urban context.
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