Systematic literature review of bioclimatic design elements: Theories, methodologies and cases in the South-eastern Mediterranean climate

This paper presents a systematic review of the extant literature on bio-climatic design systems with the aim of conserving global energy resources. The study explores the ways in which specific passive-cooling design strategies can be tailor-made to their locality, and residential buildings can be purpose-built and modified to optimise occupant thermal comfort and acclimatise indoor-air environments. A range of state-of-the-art vernacular passive-cooling designs that address the sustainability of a given proposal in relation to their respective locations and climate characteristics are presented; the extensive interpretations of these passive-cooling design strategies are in sharp contrast to the highly expensive, technical and exclusive environmental solutions that are so often universally applied in different locations, regardless of the physical, cultural and socio-economic contexts of each. The aim of this research is to investigate the efficiency of passive design systems in light of the thermal performance of prototype vernacular buildings to demonstrate the applicability and feasibility of installing vernacular passive-cooling design strategies onto building envelopes.
One of the prominent conceptual frameworks utilised in this paper is intended to address concerns related to the use of technologies that promote energy efficiency and ecological sustainability, most of which rely upon complex technological devices and a one-size-fits-all approach that only wealthy corporations and institutions are able to afford. Alternately, an increasing number of architects, theorists and politicians—albeit not yet enough—are investigating affordable technologies that are better able to be embedded in cultural practices. These manifestos are main determinant factors for a thorough review of the extant literature on passive-cooling design strategies and undertaking building energy simulations on base-case prototype vernacular buildings to demonstrate the energy effectiveness of implementing existing construction strategies onto current building envelopes.
The study findings suggest that contemporary design methods lack sustainable designs on a purely technical basis on which it is typically discussed and demonstrates that significantly more needs to be done to conform to locally identifiable requirements and practices. It was determined that while many of vernacular passive-cooling design strategies are still effective, others are disappearing due to changes in construction technology. This systematic review outlines an alternative, hybrid approach to sustainability that is proudly inherent in vernacular environmental design principles. The study conclusions offer an alternative perspective on sustainable design and brings to the forefront a broader systematic analysis of current literature that focusses on environmental technologies in the south-eastern Mediterranean area and the Middle East, where the weather is subtropical (Csa) and partly semi–arid (Bsh). The study further demonstrates that for environmental design to be sustainable, a fundamental reorientation needs to emerge and move away from current construction practices with purely understanding of the domestic built environment, which fails to address the societal values of a particular place and people; and the findings underscore the necessity of recalling invisible technologies that are embedded in socio-cultural practices to effectively ventilate our dwellings and optimise occupant levels of thermal comfort throughout the year.