The Vernacular Architecture And Thermal Comfort Standards Of The Pastoral Afar In Ethiopialessons For Contemporary Buildings In The Case Of Surrounding Areas Dubti And Semera Townsafarethiopia.

This thesis aimed to study and take lessons from sustainable thermal cooling features of the rnvernacular architecture of the pastoral nomads of Afar, in Ethiopia and extract useful principles rnthat can be applied to the current architectural and construction sector in Afar. Current modern rnarchitectural practice in the area has suffered from harsh indoor environments forcing people to rnuse mechanical ventilation which has its drawbacks concerning sustainability. The impact doesn’t rnend there since the architectural styles are adapted from modern practice the cultural and rntraditional entity that was embedded in their spaces through activities are disconnected from the rnpeople. rnThe thesis focused on studying the socio-cultural structure of the Afar pastoral nomads and its rnintegration with the their vernacular dwellings, their indoor environment, nearby open spaces, and rntheir mobility pattern surrounding the emerging cities of Afar: Semera and Dubti. The urban areas rnwere selected because of the growing inter-relation of the Afar pastoral nomads with the urban rnzones looking for public facilities as well infrastructure. In addition, it is to assess and evaluate the rnperception of the public living in urban regions about the pastoral nomad’s sustainable way of rnliving, the thermal performance of the dwelling unit and representation of the Afar culture and rnidentity through the nomadic pastoralist lifestyle. rnThe assessment was conducted using methodologies such as observation, questionnaires, rnfocused group interview and physical measurement. Study samples are taken using the purposive rnsampling technique. The result showed that the ranking of indoor thermal environmental rnconditions slightly differed between female and male respondents, between different types of rndwelling sizes as well as material specification. Additionally, during outdoor environment analysis, rnit is observed that outdoor surrounding is used for a lot of activities through simple modifications rnand shade. rnExtracted results from both the survey, questioner and physical measurement results showed that rnthe Afar pastoral nomads were able to provide sustainable thermal cooling features in a space rnthat represent their culture that provides comfortable and productive space. These results were rnfinally discussed and interpreted into guidelines that offer basic considerations during Architectural rndesign in hot and arid climates for people with nomadic pastoral life style. Particularly spatial rnmanagement, building material selection and adaptation of strategies were considered.

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