Energy efficient design strategies for contemporary vernacular buildings in Egypt

ABSTRACT: Current practice of sustainable design encompasses a range of green strategies. Modern passive design concepts have learned to build upon climate responsive methodology that was found in and inspired from vernacular and traditional buildings. With the present energy crises in Egypt there is a cur-rent focus on the development of climate sensitive design building approaches. It will be the thrust of this paper to understand the precepts of passive and energy efficient climatic design, as well as their comple-mentary and integrated roles in the synthesis of climatic sustainable vernacular typology in contemporary practice. An existing project, design center in Sinai, Egypt has been chosen for its specific representation of cold versus hot climate passive vernacular solutions. The paper adopted a mixed survey approach and will discuss how the project had reached the optimum energy efficiency, and how this pilot project could help spreading the notions of contemporary energy efficient vernacular buildings. Politicians and practitioners in the building sec-tor in Egypt are recently and gradually realizing the urge need for a more sustainable approach in building design and construction. It is believed that by introducing tight environmental and sustainabl