Bioclimatic housing design to desert architecture: A case study of Ghadames, Libya

This article assesses the most common architectural and environmental strategies in Ghadames housing in Libya. Preliminary data were collected through field surveys undertaken in July 2013, the hottest and driest season in Ghadames. The surveys investigated the indoor thermal environment and efficiency of energy use in Ghadames housing. The actual mean vote scale was used to investigate occupants’ thermal feeling coupled with recording physical environment and also actual measurements of a number of existing houses. Additionally, objective surveys were conducted to (a) verify the subjective data, (b) provide an overall view of the residents’ life style in the old town, and (c) understand the most significant techniques employed in old dwellings. The subjective survey “questionnaire” distributed among nine new and eight old houses shows that the majority of respondents is satisfied with the number of architectural issues in modern housing design. This general satisfaction excludes the inherited identity of the traditional architecture embedded within the society. On the other hand, occupants are more satisfied with old buildings in regard to indoor environmental conditions, energy consumption, and construction materials. The occupants of old houses expressed their thermal satisfaction with the indoor comfort conditions, but the predicted mean vote, based on measurements and ISO 7730, implied discomfort (hot).The survey also carried out interviews with a number of locals, underlining their personal impressions and preference toward the change of the existing built environment. Findings indicate that, occupants’ satisfaction and perception toward the built environment have not been achieved in new housing developments of Ghadames owing to the lack of understanding of the sociocultural needs of the local community. In addition, a 3D digital model was created for the old town and imparted a full understanding of the building dynamics and physics, explicating the complexity of the compactness of its urban morphologies. The results also showed subjects were feeling neutral to slightly warm in old buildings even when indoor air temperatures reached 32°C.