Traditional Earth Architecture as a Tool for Sustainability and Adaptation to Climate Change of Heat and Cold Extremes

Abstract

The design of sustainable architectural and urban spaces should be one of the essential pillars of any strategy for sustainable development and adaptation to climate change, particularly for the population living in rural areas who suffer from cold during winter and heat during the summer. This paper focuses on the traditional earth-based materials buildings and tries to see to what extent the building envelope could be improved to achieve and further confirm the objectives: improving thermal comfort and reducing heat loss through the traditional envelope (walls, roof, glazing, low floor). The paper is based on bioclimatic architecture principles and adopts passive energy efficiency in two different climatic contexts, hot and cold. The analysis of the approach method includes three issues: 1) the bioclimatic analysis of the environment/site including the building ambiance; 2) thermal comfort; and 3) thermal performance. The methodological tools are based on the bioclimatic analysis of the site and the ambiance for the first two issues; and the prescriptive approach of Moroccan thermal regulation for the third issue. The built environment constructed with traditional materials, once improved, is able to prove that it is respectful of the environment and without any risk to the user's health. In addition, this traditional architecture confirms the objectives of sustainable development.