Journal of Climate Research

Journal of Climate Research

Climatic Adaptability in the Establishment of Local Settlement Buildings (Case Study: Mahabad City’s Villages)

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Soran Mahmoudi 1
Bayezid Golabi 2
yousef hamejani 3
1 1- PhD Researcher, Department of Architecture, Khalkhal Branch, Islamic Azad University, Khalkhal, Iran.
2 2- Assistant Professor, Department of Architecture, Faculty of Engineering, Mahabad Branch, Islamic Azad University, Mahabad, Iran.
3 Assistant Professor, Department of Architecture, Faculty of Engineering, Mahabad Branch, Islamic Azad University, Mahabad, Iran.
10.22034/jcr.2024.209619
Abstract
Extended Abstract

Introduction

Local settlers in the past were inevitably driven to innovative methods to establish climate-adapted settlements due to the lack o acilities to harness nonrenewable energy resources. This also paved the way or vernacular architectures to be ormed. Adapting vernacular patterns to the climate is a well-established topic, and many researchers have conirmed the idea that local people constructed buildings adapted to the climate they lived in. Orientation is a crucial actor in climate-adapted buildings. Man has sought to create a suitable shelter or lie throughout history. or this purpose, he has tried to coordinate his shelter with the environmental conditions so he can take the highest advantage o the climatic conditions (Hosseini et al., 2015). Vernacular architecture is based on the needs o people living in a region and the limitations o the climate (Oktai, 2017). Due to considering the design context, the building has the most impact on sustainability (Jaaari and Mehdipour). It should be designed in such a way that it can prevent direct sunlight in summer and use renewable resources such as wind and water to reduce cooling costs (Yang et al. 2020). Generally, the orientation o buildings in a cold and mountainous climate should be such that it can help in the optimal use o sunlight and wind currents in the region (Widera. 2021).

Materials and methods

This comparative study sought to assess climate adaptation o local settlements o the villages in Mahabad County, Iran. It aimed to ind the best angle or optimal orientation o buildings in order to ensure maximum climatic comort o the residents. In this quantitative study, irst, the Mahoney model was utilized to extract and assess the proposed vernacular design based on Mahoney tables according to the monthly data rom the Mahabad Country weather station. Next, building orientation was surveyed and analyzed based on documents in 70 models o vernacular rural buildings based on the Mahoney index.:

Results and discussion

The indings o the study could be discussed in two categories: descriptive indings (recognition stage) and analytical-inerential indings (analysis and hypothesis testing stage). Patterns o building establishment were assessed in 70 cases (theoretical saturation) using large- and small-scale indices and the results were reported. Given the vastness o the study area and to ensure reliable results, at least one village was chosen rom each rural district. Accordingly, a total o 9 villages in the Mahabad County were examined. The selected villages had a relatively rich abric and intact buildings with a vernacular architecture that it the purpose o the study. The inclusion criteria or the model villages were presence o complete (or completely visualizable) rural abric and body, oldness (including several generations), presence o active population and rural lie, and presence o buildings with vernacular structure and materials.

Conclusion

The results indicated that buildings oriented east-west (20 degrees to the west and 45 degrees to the east) had the best adaptability. However, the best case scenario was 12 degrees to the east to harness sunlight maximally and let in more pre-noon sunlight as opposed to aternoon sunlight, resulting in earlier heat absorption. Moreover, the results o one sample T test in SPSS showed that there was a positive signiicant dierence between the adaptation o vernacular patterns and the Mahoney climatic suggestions. This revealed that the vernacular buildings were consistent with the suggestions extracted rom the Mahoney ramework in terms o building orientation. Thereore, the vernacular architectures in the studied villages were in agreement with the Mahoney climatic principles. The percentage o agreement or each village was as ollows: Badam: 50.00%, Ziveh: 50.00% Saminu: 50.00% Kani Rash: 33.33% Kani Kowtar: 50.00% Kavelan-e Olya: 40.00% Kuran: 62.50% Kitekeh: 70.00%, and Gerd-e Yaqub: 50.00%. Overall, approximately 52.85 percent o the local settlements o the study area were consistent with the Mahoney ramework in large- and small-scale indices with regard to building orientation. Thus, it can be argued that people living in the villages o the Mahabad County enjoy climatic comort. The low percentage o agreement between vernacular patterns and the optimal climatic principles was evident in the area, highlighting the need or the inclusion o the principles in the vernacular design by both the inhabitants and the architects.

Keywords: local settlement, climatic comfort, Mahoney index, building establishment
Keywords
local settlement
climatic comfort
Mahoney index
building establishment
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Journal of Climate Research
Volume 1403, Issue 60 - Serial Number 60
Vol. 15 , No. 60, Winter 2025
Spring 2025
Pages 93-108