Thermal Performance of Housing Open Spaces in the City of Mosul

Abstract

The rapid urban growth has lead to an urgent need to increase residential buildings in such a way that requires quick execution of such buildings. The appearance of modern materials such as reinforced concrete has helped in getting fast-constructed houses of a westerly pattern such that excluding the inherited styles that are in harmony with severe environment like that of the Middle East. This has resulted in a modern pattern of buildings lacks the microclimate which was enjoyed by the traditional pattern and which have provided the inhabitant with a relative thermal comfort. ‎This research try to compare different microclimates due to the variation of open architectural spaces patterns in the residential units (traditional ones) represented by (the courtyards and Iwan) and the modem one represented by the space of (garages and terraces) in Summer in Mosul city. ‎ ‎The results showed that the traditional open spaces are the nearest to the thermal comfort zone, although both of them don't represent the ideal state of human comfort in this ‎period of Summer.

Keywords

• Thermal performance, comfort zone, open spaces, Mosul city