The Role of Sunlit Space in Creating a Favorable Micro-climate in Rural Houses of Mountainous Areas Case Study: Villages of Shemiranat in Tehran

Problem statement: 

Energy crisis and energy saving, have turned the necessity of construction method reconsideration into one of the most important goals of planning and design in the country. This issue is vital in villages that have fewer resources, so the climatic design is at the top of rural architecture. The need to use sunlight as a suitable climatic solution in cold and mountainous villages doubles the importance of sunlit spaces. The title (sunlit spaces) introduced in this study can be part of the open or semi-open space in the body of rural houses, which causes a change in microclimate.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the importance of sunlit spaces and show how to create a microclimate in the houses of mountainous villages. The most important question of this research is what is the role of sunlit space in the microclimate of mountainous rural houses? And what is the function of new constructions in this field?

This research employed analytical method and included field studies. The samples in the case study were the villages of Shemiranat in Tehran. To answer the research question, several vernacular buildings with sunny courtyards were selected. First, to use the residents’ experiences about the importance of the sunlit space, they were surveyed and interviewed. At this stage, the satisfaction and reasons for people’s dissatisfaction were identified. In the next step, the shadow mask and the examination of the sunny hours of the samples were analyzed using Ecotect software.

The results of this study indicate that sunlit spaces on the south front with a geometry protected from winter winds have a very important role in creating a favorable micro-climate and saving energy consumption. In new constructions, much attention should be paid to the solar envelope, and creating unwanted shadows should be avoided.