Vernacular Elements, Response to Climate; Based on the Position of Physical Proportions of the Porch and the Central Courtyard in the Temperature Equilibrium of Houses in the Historical Context of Shiraz

Research Problem:

 Living in the context of nature has led vernacular peoples to invent spaces in line with it. Therefore, their creativity and rich mind created elements that are compatible and responsive to the climate. A central courtyard, with a combination of water and plants, created a microclimate that influenced culture and climate; they created a semi-open space like a porch to take advantage of the optimal ambient temperature.Research Question: Based on the main problem of this research, key questions have been raised, such as; what effect do the physical proportions of porches and courtyards have on the thermal comfort index in semi-open and open spaces? Which of the physical parameters had the closest correlation with the thermal comfort index in the porches? What has been the role of the porch-yard variable on Indicators affecting environmental com-fort in open and semi-open spaces?

Aims of Research: 

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of physical proportions of open and semi-open spaces on the thermal performance of microclimates in traditional houses of Shiraz historical texture with the approach of thermal comfort in those spaces.

The research method of this work is a quantitative-comparative approach. Field measure-ment method (experimental; which includes measurements used by portable instruments in the targeted build-ings), climate data was collected with the help of instruments such as thermo-Hygrometers and Thermo-pyrometers. Then, the climatic data were retrieved and analyzed using simulation software, Envi-met (Climate Analysis Software), and the thermal comfort index PET (Physiologically Equivalent Temperature, an indicator for determining the temperature of comfort in open and semi-open spaces) was measured using Bio-met. Final-ly, the correlation (linear Pearson between 1 and -1) of SPSS23 software with climatic variables along with the physical characteristics of the porch and the central courtyard were validated. It should be noted that in this study, in two parts of descriptive and inferential statistical analysis, data analysis was performed, and an at-tempt was made to evaluate the differences between several statistical societies. Due to the dispersion of the whole data, analysis of variance between different groups is possible. In this way, the equality of the mean be-tween different groups can be tested.

The findings of the study indicate that the average amount of PET in the yard is higher than the porch. And the porch-yard component has increased the impact of climate data on this index. Among the climatic data, humidity has no effect on the PET index. The lowest mean radiant tem-perature recorded was in the north porch of Saadat House which was 2.38 degrees Celsius different from the west porch and 2.92 degrees Celsius different than the Manteghi nejad House. The north porch of the Saadat House showed the most optimal comfort index. Among the physical factors of the houses, it was seen that the height of the porch from the yard, the width and the area of the spatial opening of the porch in the facade had the closest correlation with the thermal comfort index. However, the north porch of Saadat house, with all the introduced coordinates, had a lower temperature. According to the results, it was observed that with increasing the width and area of the spatial opening of the porch in the facade and increasing the height of the yard on one hand and the amount of shading, on the other hand, we will see a decrease in radiant temperature and im-proved thermal comfort index.