Passive ambient comfort and the interaction of vernacular strategies and devices in arid zone habitat design: case of Biskra, Algeria

ABSTRACT Up until the industrial revolution, energy consumption was relatively linear, and almost exclusively renewable. The exponential industrial and economic development that began with the industrial revolution became increasingly energy-intensive, and since the switch to fossil fuels that energy consumption has been based on non-renewable resources. Satisfying the energy needs of the present without harming future generations remains a complicated problem, especially at the habitat level. This article proposes a methodology for building designers, building upon research on converging towards a global optimum, more specifically, it investigates the feasibility of integrating mezzanines and vaults as vernacular devices to improve the energy performance of buildings in arid zones, while to ensuring the comfort of the occupants. This level of comfort and energy performance is based on the morphological structure of the proposed building type. Combined, these devices result in a higher reduction of thermal in energy ratio load of up to 20.84%. These reductions in energy needs were achieved by applying the methodology developed for the architectural design of a building located in Biskra, Algeria, a design that takes into account both the comfort aspects of the occupants and the need for reduced energy consumption.