Utilization of Earth Mass in World Vernacular Architecture: As a Technique of Passive Cooling in the Buildings

The issue of thermal comfort, especially cooling,is highly significant due to the role that it plays in sustaining the environment and climate. Indeed,thermal comfort is the main constituent of vernacular architecture in all regions. Shelter as a man-made development, has taken climate into consideration in the form of passive cooling and heating throughout history.In spite of its significance, the issue of climate has been ignored in the past century. It can be argued that the purpose of construction is livelihood. In an urban context, thermal comfort comes alongside architectural development. In this paper, the indigenous architecture of different regions has been analyzed and the physical features of earth in arid and tropical climates have been compared with one another.By considering the climatic classification, and in order to achieve appropriate techniques for cooling by passive means by using the earth mass, several vernacular architectural structures have been examined.