Thermal Comfort through the Microclimates of the Courtyard. A Critical Review of the Middle-eastern Courtyard House as a Climatic Response

The last few decades have seen a dramatic increase in using the mechanical means of air-cooling in the Middle East to provide thermal comfort that has caused high rates of energy consumption. This has drawn the attention of specialists who see the reuse of traditional prototype as a highly efficient strategy to confront this issue in contemporary architecture. An in-depth investigation is undertaken regarding this approach by this paper concentrating on thermal comfort through the microclimates of the courtyard to reveal its limitations and possibilities to make a fruitful contribution to contemporary architecture.