CLIMATE CHANGE 79 ‘I work a lot on vernacular architecture
and we have a long built history of 3,000 years – we had bathrooms inside houses in 700BC, so there’s so much to learn and reuse. I don’t say “learn from the past”, because the word “past” has connotations that something is outdated, but this is the wisdom of thousands of years; adapting buildings to their surroundings, using local materials and building in the most economical way with no waste. Technology and science are very important, but it’s also important to reflect and rediscover these ancient solutions.’ Among these solutions, she counts
mashrabiya screening, household water reservoirs, mud architecture, vaulted structures, naturally insulated terraced roofs and passive ventilation as tried-and-tested local methods that could have a wide role in
the modern world – despite some issues with modern building codes. ‘All vernacular architecture has a low carbon footprint. Every country’s architecture has something that’s uniquely adapted to that environment; it’s part of our role as architects to analyse this wisdom and reuse these solutions, and the role of politicians to validate these solutions and make codes to support them.’ In Tunisia, the Hôtel Ksar Rouge in
Tozeur, created by architects Tarak Ben Miled International, and the Ibrahim El Khalil Mosque in Tunis by Lotfi Rejeb, both stand out to Bchir as examples of this vernacular wisdom – but architects elsewhere are also picking up on many of the same ideas. A new housing complex in Los Angeles, Corazón del Valle, was designed by Perkins & Will in three curved masses, carefully designed to funnel the prevailing winds into
the courtyard, gardens and homes. In a similar vein, the Ayla Golf Clubhouse in Aqaba, Jordan, was designed by Oppenheim Architecture with openings to capture coastal breezes, and mashrabiya-inspired perforated Corten steel screens, to keep the building cool. Massachusetts-based CambridgeSeven
drew from traditional Arabian architecture for its College of Life Sciences in Kuwait, where locals contend with 49°C temperatures, sandstorms and occasional flash floods. ‘As global temperatures rise, the Gulf region has become hotter than the traditional weather patterns would predict,’ explains principal Marc Rogers. Te location’s extreme heat, dry air and the intense solar glare were managed through the use of mashrabiya and large atria that act like heat chimneys, passively drawing cool air up through the
PROJECT IBRAHIM EL KHALIL MOSQUE
Ibrahim El Khalil Mosque in Tunis features garden-level openings to draw air in through purifying, humidity-regulating plantings. The circular form creates natural convection through the whole volume, and the funnel-shaped minaret draws warm air out using the Venturi effect.
Architect Lotfi Rejeb – Studiarchi International
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