Application of Traditional Climate Sensitive Building Design Techniques to Modern Housing Programmes in the Constantine Region of Algeria

In common with most developing countries and as a result of an increasing housing shortage, Algeria is undertaking a rapid building development which neglects the climatic aspects and comfort of its inhabitants. The objective of this work is to investigate and compare the thermal performance of both traditional and modern housing types to define the underlying design features that can usefully be integrated with future housing programmes. Initially an appraisal of current need and policy within an historical framework established that trends towards medium and high rise prefabricated housing provide a failure in environmental conditions and a steady increase in domestic energy usage, Climate analysis has verified that the main problem for building in Constantine lies in summer months where strong irradiation prevails, especially on the roof. Solar irradiation values have also been correlated to other climatic features, and representative hourly data have been compiled for use in dynamic thermal simulation. It was also established that solar irradiation would have an effective contribution in winter, where heating is still of importance when calculated as a proportion of disposable income. The thermal analysis, part steady-state and part dynamic, has shown that a traditional courtyard house compared to a typical modern flat, uses approximately 50% less energy for both heating and cooling; and that the courtyard form is still an efficient architectural concept in both the house and urban context. Thermo-physical characteristics of the building envelope and their role in controlling indoor environment are appraised. Further optimisaiton of multi-layer thermal diffusivity is explored in relation to modern materials, with relevance to either housing model, but particularly roof construction in the case of the courtyard type. The conclusion of this work is that the courtyard house form provides many passive solar heating/cooling features that can be evolved in a modern context, to achieve economically compatible thermal strategies for future housing