The Architecture of Natural Conditioning in Hot-Humid Climates: Architectural Ethnography study of Hijazi traditional dwellings in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

DISSERTATION

The primary function of the building is to create shelter and mitigate the impacts of climate. Thus, we can look at the traditional House as a modifier between the exterior and interior temperatures, and at the response of occupants to the modified environment, which is of the greatest interest to this research. Developing specific mitigation strategies has shaped vernacular buildings differently from region to region. The culture, human adaptation, and interaction with passive solutions affect the overall building performance. Their forms reflect the lifestyle and culture of their inhabitants and the understanding of comfort within the natural means available in the environment. In this regard, this dissertation aims to study the dynamics of this interrelationship by investigating of case studies of the traditional Hijazi house in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Also, the setting affords a rare opportunity to analyze the environmental performance of the form of the House and how its occupants operated it. The main contribution of this work is to the body of knowledge aimed at understanding the inherent potential of vernacular architecture in determining occupants' thermal adaptive behaviors and outlining bioclimatic strategies in response to the harsh hot-humid climate. This work's value is examining how to integrate bioclimatic strategies into the design of contemporary building design, with awareness of the user's adaptation process, which becomes even more critical in addressing the present world scenario of environmental collapse.

Anwar Islem Basunbul