The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/2631-6862.htm
ARCH
14,1
90
Received 7 April 2019
Accepted 9 May 2019
Archnet-IJAR: International
Journal of Architectural Research
Vol. 14 No. 1, 2020
pp. 90-111
© Emerald Publishing Limited
2631-6862
DOI 10.1108/ARCH-04-2019-0089
Climate-responsive design
strategy for Erbil city
Meltem Vatan Kaptan
Faculty of Architecture and Design, Bahcesehir Universitesi, Istanbul, Turkey
Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate passive techniques used in traditional and
indigenous architecture in order to decrease energy use in the buildings and to increase thermal and users’
comfort. The city of Erbil is explored where in the rapid transformation and import of Western
architectural styles and materials have resulted in ignorance of climate-responsive tradition existing in the
city since thousands of years.
Design/methodology/approach – In order to propose a design strategy for modern residential buildings in
Erbil city, a descriptive and interpretative approach is used as a methodology of this study. A literature
review is done to explore the traditional use of passive techniques, and Waziran district of the city is analyzed
and used as a pilot site in this study.
Findings – Due to the shortage of electric power in the city, residential buildings have limited access to electric
power. Therefore, thermal comfort and reduction of the energy use in residential buildings have become vital for
Erbil. The use of passive techniques in architectural design will help to reduce energy dependency.
Research limitations/implications – This study is limited to residential function in Erbil. Waziran
district is used for the design proposals where dwellings are in a row context. The proposals are made on a
geometrical basis and plan organization; however, the selection of construction materials is not included.
Originality/value – There is a proposal to reduce the use of electricity, which currently has limited access
in Erbil city.
Keywords Thermal comfort, Solar energy, Climate response, Erbil city, Passive techniques,
Semi-arid climate
Paper type Research paper
1. Introduction
The consumption of energy is one of the crucial topics around the globe. It can be traced in a
wide range of sectors such as industrial, transportation, residential, commercial, electric
power and several other sectors. According to the Directive 2010/31/EU, buildings within
the European Union account for 40 percent of total energy consumption (Directive, 2010/31/
EU, pp. 153/13). Similarly, data of US Energy Information Administration (EIA ) show that
the energy use of the buildings is 40 percent and buildings’ electricity use is 74 percent of the
US total energy (EIA – Annual Energy Outlook, 2017).
As the building construction sector is growing parallel to the growing population, the
energy need would be increasing as well. EIA’s Annual Energy outlook (2019) report
shows that energy consumption and on-site generation in the residential buildings sector
are expected to further grow by 2050. With technological advances in energy efficiency,
this growth is partially offset (Annual Energy Outlook, 2017, p. 131). The projection of
EIA’s Annual Energy outlook (2019) report is the increase of electricity consumption by
0.4–0.5 percent per year because of the increasing demand of electricity in residential
buildings (appliances, devices and equipment that are used in daily life), particularly the need
of cooling is significant (Annual Energy Outlook, 2017, p. 134, 136). Therefore, on the basis of
The author would like to thank Pavel Shwany (Ms. Architect) for his contribution, as he explored Erbil
city architecture within his Master Thesis at BAU Graduate School of Natural and Applied Sciences
study, which is not published anywhere yet. He performed a research on existing settlements, both
traditional Citadel and Waziran district (quite new settlement) of the city in order to be used for
proposing a strategy for new dwelling constructions in the city.
these data, it can be said that the use of renewable energy and passive techniques and Climate-
reducing the energy needs of buildings have become more important than ever. responsive
Energy consumption is not related only with the limited sources of the earth but it also design
has a relation with the increase of carbon dioxide emission, which has a direct effect on the
climate change and global temperature rise. In this regard, in Directive 2010/31/EU, it is strategy
declared that “The energy performance of buildings should be calculated on the basis of a
methodology, which may be differentiated at national and regional level.” The needs of 91
“passive heating and cooling elements, shading, indoor air-quality, adequate natural light
and design of the building” and “the methodology for calculating energy performance to
include annual energy performance of a building” are also mentioned (Directive, 2010/31/
EU, p. 153/14, item: 9). Thus, low-energy and climate-responsive strategies such as passive
techniques are emerging design approaches in architecture.
Due to the influence of solar energy on the earth and water masses, human beings have
had the intention to use sun radiation. Therefore, since ancient times, climate-responsive
design and passive solar energy have been used in vernacular and indigenous
architectural examples. The use of passive solar techniques as an adaptation to the
climate dates back to the fifth BC (Maurerova, 2014, p. 420). The Ancient Greeks had used
the forests for heating purposes and when the level had reached to the exploitation of the
trees, they had experienced the energy crisis. This was the time of passive solar genesis.
Ancient philosopher Socrates had introduced the use of solar energy for designing houses
(Lechner, 2015, p. 35). He observed the sun radiation and sun path, and he struggled with
economic crises by developing a house design in order to benefit from sun radiation.
Historian Xenophon explained the approach of Socrates by pointing out the importance of
house orientation. This house building, which is called Socrates’ House, was designed
associated with the heights and azimuths in the course of a day and a year. South-oriented
houses have sun penetration in their portico during the winter, whereas the sun radiation
has an effect on the roof during the summer, which creates shading (Lechner, 2015, p. 35;
Maurerova, 2014, p. 420). South façade must be built lower than the northern one in order
to gain sunlight, otherwise winter sun will be cut off (Lechner, 2015, p. 35). Hence, more
solar energy is gained during the winter time and overheating is minimized during the
summer time.
During the course of time, later in 1933, George Fred and William Keck brothers from
Chicago, US, had presented “house of tomorrow” and, a year later, “crystal house” where
passive solar architecture approach was used for heating and cooling. Similarly in the
ancient time, these attempts were driven by a crisis, which was the crash of the stock market
in New York City. Then, the oil crisis of the 1970s (Lin, 2003, p. 15) brought to the scene a
new term “low-energy house,” which was introduced by Danish designer Vagn Korsgaard in
cooperation with the Technical University of Copenhagen in 1974. This house was energy
self-sufficient one, which did not need any external energy import (Maurerova, 2014, p. 421).
The idea of the use of solar energy in housing, understanding the climate condition of
each location and making the buildings adapt to its characteristics, can be dated back more
than 100 years. According to the topography, altitude, prevailing wind, vegetation patterns,
land‒water mass interaction, etc., there are various climatic zones. In the 1900s, Wladimir
Köppen had made a classification of climate zones, which is still used by many researchers
across a range of the disciplines in order to assess the global climate models. In general,
Köppen classified the climate regions as tropical, arid, temperate, cold and polar (Peel et al.,
2007, p. 440, 462). Another classification is made by Gut and Ackernecht (1993) as hot‒arid
zone, warm–humid zone and temperate zones (Gut and Ackernecht, 1993, p. 15). These zones
are considered vital to differentiate the climate conditions around the globe. Mainly, the
classifications are made according to the factors that affect human comfort, such as extreme
air temperature differences between day and night and winter and summer, humidity and
ARCH precipitation, solar radiation and winds. According to these zones, the main principles of
14,1 climate-responsive design are presented.
Construction techniques of traditional and indigenous architecture mostly have
respective climatic conditions, which is referred to as “climate-responsive architecture.”
Therefore, there are lessons to be learned from traditional constructions that are adapted
to the climate condition of their locations. Most of the strategies used in traditional
92 “climate-responsive” buildings included passive cooling, sun orientation, thermal mass,
insulation, passive solar heating, etc. The reduction of natural energy resources has
brought passive strategies back to the scene in recent decades. Thus, the strategies of
climate-responsive architecture have an important role in the present time because of their
energy-saving attribute.
The aim of this study is to explore the case of Erbil city where the present condition has a
lack of electric power in daily life. Consequently, the use of renewable energy and reduction
of the energy needs in residential buildings have become very important for Erbil city.
The oldest settlement of the city, which is called Citadel, includes traditional house buildings
that were constructed with respect to the climate. The lack of energy for daily use in Erbil
city has brought back the idea of design strategies that had been used in traditional
buildings wherein passive solar and respective climate approaches were applied. Thus, the
focus of this study is to investigate the passive use in traditional Erbil houses in order to
develop strategies for designing new dwellings. The target is to increase thermal comfort
and to reduce the energy use by taking lessons from the past. The existing energy shortage
in Erbil city proves the importance of saving energy, the need for exploration of renewable
energy resources and the use of passive solar techniques.

2. Climate-responsive architecture
Climate-responsive architecture refers to the effective incorporation of the elements of the
local climate in order to achieve thermal and visual comfort with little or non-use of
non-renewable energy resources. This achievement helps to sustain the ecosystem and to
reduce the negative impact on the environment as well. Design approach and decisions
regarding the building form, including plan geometry consideration, building orientation,
wall opening-to-wall surface ratio, surface-to-volume ratio, natural ventilation, natural light,
thermal mass, shading, etc., are essential considerations that need to be taken into account
within the local climatic context in any climate-responsive design. Briefly, these concerns
are called passive design techniques.
The principles of climate-responsive architecture are listed as “Energy Efficient Design,
Preservation of Natural Ecosystems, Use of Renewable Energy, Water Resource Management,
Use of Eco-friendly materials, Ecological Landscape Design, Solid Waste Management and
Healthy Indoor Environment” by Panarelli et al. (2016, p. 11). Incorporation of these principles
in the initial and conceptual design phases helps to achieve more efficient and less energy
consuming buildings, thereby ensuring the users’ comfort.
Climate control includes active, passive and hybrid systems based on the understanding of
the climate, site condition, function of the building and locally available energy resources.
Within these systems, a passive approach basically uses natural ventilation, daylight, heating
or cooling buildings in order to reduce or eliminate the need for active systems such as HVAC
and fossil-based energy consumption. Passive techniques simply use the sun, light, air and
wind, existing topography and environmental conditions. They take the advantages of solar
heating such as direct heat, indirect heat and isolated heat gain and passive cooling such as
natural cross-ventilation, thermal mass cooling with night ventilation and evaporative cooling.
In addition to the natural energy resources, the landscape has an important role within the
climate-responsive approach. The use of trees and vegetation is a very effective method of
natural cooling and protecting the building from solar radiation. The process of photosynthesis,
performed by the leaves of the plants and trees, helps to absorb the solar radiation and to lose Climate-
the heat by evaporation. Also, the fluids in the trees and plants store a part of the solar radiation responsive
(Panarelli et al., 2016, pp. 15-17). design
This study addresses thermal comfort and passive techniques within the principal of
energy efficient design as a criterion of climate-responsive architecture. The definition of strategy
comfort is consented in accordance with Heerwagen (2004) as “the state of pursuing an
activity without experiencing environmental stress” (Heerwagen, 2004, p. 3). Besides the 93
materials used in building construction, thermal comfort is affected mainly by the form of
the building and its orientation to the sun. Thus, building envelope plays an important role
of regulating the thermal exchange (Panarelli et al., 2016, p. 13; Li et al., 2018, p. 2) and the
aesthetic of the façade as well. So, the design of the walls and the selection of their
construction material are crucial for energy saving in the buildings in terms of applying
passive solar techniques as a climate-responsive strategy.

3. The case study: Erbil city

3.1 Location
Erbil is located in an autonomous region of Kurdistan, in the northern part of Federal Republic
of Iraq (Figure 1) in the Middle East. It is a large and mountainous plateau surrounded by four
states ‒ South East of Turkey, North East of Syria, North West of Iran, and North of Iraq. The
plateau of Erbil is inhabited since 30m years (Akram et al., 2016, p. 96). It is the capital city,
which has assumingly a population of 2m according to 2017 data (Gordon, 2008; Akram et al.,
2016, p. 96). After Baghdad, Mosel and Basra, Erbil is the fourth largest city in Iraq, located
about 350 km North East of Baghdad; it is the capital of Iraq and is about 80 km South East of
Mosul (Shwany, 2018, p. 27; (Gordon, 2008). The city is stated as the oldest, continuously
inhabited city in the world by the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS),
with its history around 6,000 years of age (Akram et al., 2016, p. 96).
Growth of the city. The city of Erbil, with its long history, had been ruled by many
different empires (Morris, 1994). However, the growth of the city and its modernization are
dated back to the establishment of Iraq in the 1920s‒2000s. Sabr stated that 90 percent of
the city has been built in this period of time (Sabr, 2014, p. 327). The growth of the city is
dominated by the political changes of the state. After the establishment of the Republic
system in 1958, rural and urban areas and housing settlements were rearranged by the new

Figure 1.
Location of Erbil city
0 100 200 300 km
on Iraq Map [13]
0 100 200 ml
ARCH legislations. Based on this change, low-cost housing projects were initiated. The increasing
14,1 demand for housing ended up with new governmental decisions (1979) so as to reduce the
differences between the neighborhoods. According to this decision, “the minimum allowed
area of the plot subdivision was 120 m2 in the center of provinces (cities) regardless the
urban area category and 100 m2 in towns and suburbs.” As a result of this decision, the
urban fabric and house building typology in all cities of Iraq have changed, including Erbil
94 city (Sabr, 2014, pp. 330-331).
Another impact on the housing of Iraq, in general (and for Erbil city), was the period of
war between Iraq and Iran (1980–1988) in which new policies were established. The
government offered lands for free to the families of soldiers and martyrs for housing
purposes. These areas had created new neighborhoods including the plot area between
200 and 600 m2. The continuity of the legislative changes of housing in Iraq has brought a
significant effect on the urban fabric and panoramic view of the cities. Additionally, the
economic crises after the war created new neighborhoods. Due to the politically unstable
condition, urbanization and building process were not well controlled by the authority. As a
result, illegal and slum quarters appeared. Later on, in the first master plan of Erbil city,
which was prepared during 2006–2009, a noticeable change in the urban fabric emerged
(Sabr, 2014, pp. 332-335).
To summarize the growth of the Erbil city, it is clearly observed that the city has
witnessed significant and sensational changes in certain periods wherein housing has been
affected more than the other functions. The differences in each period of change and the
policies as well have influenced the formation and transformation of the urban and
house planning. As a result, the traditional and indigenous architectural character of house
buildings, which has a continuity since 6,000 years, and climate-responsive approach
have been ignored, and Western architectural styles concerning only aesthetics and modern
life have started to dominate the urban fabric.
Climate zone. Erbil city, located in the northern part of Iraq, has a semi-arid
continental climate (Figure 2). The main characteristics of this climate zone are the big
differences between summer and winter and between the day and the night temperatures.
The summer season ( June–September) is typically hot and dry and the winter season
(November–February) is cold and wet. Between October and November, there is a limited
rainfall (Erbil Governorate Profile, 2015; Diler and Serbest, 2017). In the hot summer time,

Hot–arid zone Temperate, monsoon and upland zone

Figure 2. Warm–humid zone Annual mean temperature 20°C

Climate zone map
Source: Gut and Ackernecht (1993, p.16)
the maximum daily temperature can reach 50°C, whereas in the cold winter time, the Climate-
minimum temperature can decrease to −5°C (Rozhgar, 2018, p. 22; Shwany, 2018, p. 26). The responsive
level of humidity is very high as 80 percent (average) in the winter time and low as 20 design
percent (average) in the summer time (Qusai and Lookman, 2012).
strategy
3.2 Erbil Citadel
The Erbil Citadel, listed in the World Heritage List of UNESCO since 2014 (https://whc. 95
unesco.org/en/list/1437), is a man-made settlement that is inhabited continuously for
thousands of years. Citadel is located in the central part of Erbil City; it is defined by its
residents as “the crown of the Erbil” since it rises about 32 m above the city level (Shwany,
2018, p. 29). The footprint of the Citadel is approximately 430 m in width and 340 m in
length, with a 45° slope (UNESCO Pilot project for the Erbil citadel, 2004). There are two
main gates, located on the south side of the Citadel, that open to the spreading streets to the
residential neighborhoods (Shwany, 2018, p. 29).
The Citadel is a large and mountainous plateau on a hill (Plate 1), which is created
through the generations of its residents. The presence of its fortification wall (Plate 2)
represents its remarkable dominance to the city (https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1437).
Archeological findings show that it has a history dated back to at least 6000 years, which
makes it the longest inhabited place on the earth (Akram et al., 2016, p. 97). According to
Pavelka et al. (2007), the Citadel includes layers of Assyrian, Akkadian, Babylonian, Persian,
Greek and pre-Arabic settlements. Thus, traditional architecture has started to grow and is
continuous since more than 6,000 years for this central part of Erbil City.
The typology of the houses located in the Citadel is mostly shaped by courtyard houses,
reached through a maze of narrow alleyways. The houses were usually two storied with flat
roofs, and most of the courtyard houses were formed in irregular geometric shapes (Shwany,
2018, p. 30). Traditional buildings were designed and constructed with respect to climate

Plate 1.
Erbil Citadel
Source: https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1437
ARCH
14,1

96

Plate 2.
Fortification
wall of Citadel
Source: https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1437

conditions (Diler and Serbest, 2017). The fact that the Citadel still exists and the houses have
shown a good performance to the test of the time, climate-responsive design approach and
construction techniques used have proved themselves to be successful.

3.3 Climate-responsive traditional architecture in Citadel

As it is explained in the above paragraphs, the history of Erbil Citadel dates back to
thousands of years, and during its long history, it was settled by various societies. Thus, its
traditional and indigenous architectural examples are very rich. Especially, the use of
passive architectural techniques with regard to the climate is impressive and there are many
lessons to be learned for new constructions of Erbil city.
The main characteristics of the Citadel houses as climate responses are as follows:
• urban fabric;
• form and orientation;
• the use of courtyard;
• plan arrangement;
• construction material;
• windows (ventilation);
 • vegetation; and Climate-
• water mass responsive
The urban fabric of the Citadel has evolved in an organic shape during the course of the time. design
The width of the pedestrian alleyways ranges between 1.00 and 2.5 m in a pattern similar to strategy
branches of the trees, which provides many advantages against climate exposure. First, the
narrow and organic pattern of the streets provides shading over them and neighboring
buildings, reduces the air temperature and contributes to the protection from the sand storms, 97
because the high density of the buildings helps to reduce the wind effect (Givoni and Orlick,
1985). This approach allows the occupants to have comfortable use of outside areas during the
hot summer days. The form and orientation of the houses to the sun have been made in an
ecological way so as to include south orientation in order to get solar radiation during the
winter time and to exclude the summer heat (Givoni and Orlick, 1985).
One of the main concerns for the form and plan arrangement of the houses is the use of
the courtyards. Courtyards are mostly located centrally and shaped in accordance with the
geometry of the plot shapes. The main idea is to locate long axis perpendicular to the sun
orientation and to have openings of the rooms toward the courtyard in order to provide
natural ventilation (Fazia, and Helmut, 2006). The organization of the central courtyard
(Plate 3), also known as introvert enclosure, has solid outer façade walls, which provide
privacy to the occupants and help in the noise control. Figure 3 shows the typical formation
of courtyard geometries.
The plan arrangement of the traditional houses is based on the idea of placing summer
rooms with high ceilings (4.00–4.50 m) at the ground floor to keep them cool during the summer
days (Shwany, 2018, p. 33). The arrangement of having summer rooms at the ground floor with
a high ceiling and winter rooms at the upper level (where more solar radiation reaches during
the winter time) provides comfort (in terms of thermal comfort) to the occupants.
Construction materials have an important role in climate-responsive design because of
their potential to absorb and collect solar radiation during the day and to transfer the heat
during the night. Mostly, the walls were made of masonry such as fired bricks or sun-dried
mud bricks. The roof constructions were flat and made of mud, pieces of broken bricks and
smaller stones (Abdulkareem, 2012).

Plate 3.
A typical courtyard
Source: Shwany (2018, p. 32)
ARCH Another feature used within the passive architectural techniques is natural ventilation,
14,1 which has been quite successful for increasing thermal comfort. It has an important role in
the manipulation of the hot and dry climate in order to increase the comfort level of the
occupants. Natural ventilation is based on the convection principle, which is provided by the
arrangement of the wall openings or the use of wind towers. Water masses and vegetation
also help to increase the thermal comfort level.
98
3.4 Current state of residential architecture in Erbil city
The housing architecture of Erbil city has been affected by the Iraqi liberation in 2003,
resulting in its transformation in accordance with the economic, cultural and political
changes. This transformation has led to the misconception of the traditional architectural
characteristics (Baper and Hassan, 2010). Most of the modern buildings in Erbil (built after
2000s), particularly residential ones, are influenced from Western architectural styles and
contextually are far from the local characteristics and culture (Shwany, 2018, p. 26).
Especially, climate condition, social, cultural and environmental aspects are not considered
well enough in the modern residential designs. Particularly, the use of imported materials
and the lack of information about their thermal characteristics, fluctuation of the policies
and ignorance of the local attributes have not resulted to attain a comfortable level of the
occupants in terms of their physical and mental needs. The current state of the urban fabric,
form and orientation, plan organization, natural ventilation and shading, the use of water
mass and vegetation in Erbil city is far from the climate response concept of the semi-arid
continental climate.
Plate 4 shows an example of a modern house building in Erbil city. In this building,
facade windows are oriented toward the street and the front garden, whereas interior ones
face the lighting shaft, which is locally called as “minwar” (Shwany, 2018, p. 39; Srivastav
and Jones, 2009). As a result of this formation, there is no benefit, as the sun radiation cannot
be gained during the winter time and the heat cannot be excluded during the summer time.
It is obvious that the large windows in semi-arid continental climate overheat in the summer
and lose the heat in the winter. Consequently, active systems such as HVAC are required to
achieve thermal comfort for the occupants. So, the idea of traditional construction
techniques to respond to the local climate condition and the needs of the occupants is far
from the concept of modern buildings in Erbil city. Table I shows a comparison between the
features of traditional and modern residential buildings’ aspects.

4. The climate-responsive design strategy for Erbil city

The thermal comfort level, achieved naturally by the construction (without the addition of
any mechanical system), of the modern buildings in Erbil city is far from the users’ comfort
requirements. Rapid transformation and import of Western architectural styles and
materials have resulted in ignorance of climate-responsive tradition existing in the city since

Figure 3.
Courtyard geometries
Source: Architecture Faculty of the University of Texas at San Antonio 2009
 Climate-
responsive
design
strategy

99

Plate 4.
House building
in Erbil city
Source: Shwany (2018, p. 40; photo courtesy: Pavel Shwany)

Building elements Traditional architecture Modern architecture

2
Total area Small houses: 50–100 m Small houses: 50–100 m2
Medium houses: 100–150 m2 Medium houses: 100–150 m2
Large houses: 300–400 m2 Large houses: 300–400 m2
Geometry/form Regular and non-regular geometries Regular and non-regular geometries
Courtyard All the rooms look toward the courtyard. Benefit Mostly is not included
from the sun, overheating is avoided in the summer,
and heat loss is achieved in the winter
Interaction with Ground level is equal/similar with the ground line Raised ground floors are used
the ground
Number of the Mostly, 2–3 floors Mostly, 2–3 floors
floors
Walls Thick mud bricks, wall thickness: 50–70 cm; walls Bricks, wall thickness: 15–25 cm
are used as thermal masses without any thermal insulation
Windows Rectangular windows with a square vent hole Large rectangular or circular
above the windows. Sun orientation is attained. windows. Sun orientation is not
considered.
Shading elements Dense urban fabric and narrow streets help to Most of the walls and windows are
shade the external walls. Wooden screens, locally not shaded
called “mashrabiya,” are often used
Natural Cross ventilation is ensured by the plan organization; Passive techniques are not
ventilation vent holes above the windows are used considered Table I.
Cooling Existence of the courtyard is the main element to Passive techniques are not Comparison between
cool summer rooms. Additionally, evaporated considered traditional and
cooling and wind towers are used modern residential
Notes: Shwany (2018, pp. 43, 45) and Ayyash (2015) buildings in Erbil city
ARCH thousands of years. As Erbil city is located in semi-arid continental climate zone, the
14,1 exposure of the weather and climate is a very important feature to be considered in the
design of residential buildings in order to attain thermal comfort for the occupants.
Therefore, the main aim of this study is to explore the lessons learnt from the traditional
passive techniques as climate-responsive approach to the design of residential buildings in
order to propose solutions for improving thermal comfort in modern ones. By this way, the
100 reduction of dependency on electric power can be reached.
The adaptation of the use of passive techniques in new buildings is considered as
the backbone of this study. Due to many different reasons explained shortly in part three
(growth of the city), the urban fabric has changed dramatically during the course of the time,
and the use of passive techniques is proposed by their adaptation to the new urban fabric.
The peculiarities of the urban transformation are considered, such as the use of buildings in
a row instead of individual houses. So, the current urban fabric is taken into account.
Waziran district of Erbil city is chosen as the pilot location for the proposed method
(Figure 4). This district is a quite new built neighborhood. The total area of residential
buildings in Waziran district ranges across 300 and 600 m2. The number of floors is mostly
two or three.
For developing the proposal, two different sites (in respect to their total area) are
considered. The first one is 600 m2 (Proposal I) and the second one is 300 m2 (Proposal II).
These sites reflect the average of the existing plot scales. Both sites have one main elevation
facing the street and the urban fabric is buildings in a row. Each proposal includes the
identified passive design strategies based on traditional techniques. The proposals are made
on a geometrical basis and plan organization; however, the selection of construction
materials is not included in this study.
Both design alternatives are two-storey buildings. Proposal I (I-a, I-b, I-c) includes three
alternatives, whereas Proposal II has four different alternative types (II-a, II-b, II-c, II-d).
The use of a courtyard and a pool is considered as a passive technique for responding to the
climate and increasing the thermal comfort quality.

Figure 4.
Waziran district
4.1 Proposal I (600 m2) Climate-
Proposal I-a: it includes a central courtyard with a pool shaded by pergolas. Entrance, living responsive
room and the kitchen, facing the front garden, are located in the ground floor. The pool and design
vegetation within the courtyard have been used to help cooling (Figure 5).
strategy

Location: Waziran, Erbil and Iraq 101

Total Area: 600 m2
Number of Floors: 2 floors

The ground and first floor plan, top

view and the cross section of the
house are shown below. The ground
floor consists of entrance, living,
dining, office, library, gym, laundry,
kitchen, bedroom, whereas there are
bedrooms, living area, gamming
room and terrace on the second floor

6 6

N
6 5
7

5 5

4 6
5
8

4 POOL 4 POOL

4 7
9
3

12 11
3 3
3

2 2 8
10
1

2 2

1 1- ENTRANCE 1
2- LIVING ROOM
3- DINNING ROOM
4- OFFICE
5- LIBRARY 1- LIVING AREA
6- GYM 2- BEDROOM
GARDEN 7- LAUNDRY GARDEN 3- GAMMING ROOM
8- BEDROOM 4- MASTER BEDROOM
GARAGE 9- FAMILY ROOM GARAGE 5- TERRACE
10- KITCHEN 6- MASTER BEDROOM
11- ELEVATOR 7- GUEST ROOM
12- WC 8- BEDROOM

A B C D A B C D
GROUND FLOOR FIRST FLOOR
1 5 1 5

6 5 4 3 2 1
SECTION
TOP VIEW
1 5
1 5
Figure 5.
Proposal I-a
Source: Shwany (2018)
ARCH Proposal I-b: it includes a bigger courtyard than I-a, ending at the edge of the plot. The pool
14,1 and vegetation within the courtyard have been used to help natural cooling (Figure 6).
Proposal I-c: it includes twin courtyards located at the side edges of the building.
Increasing the number of courtyards can help to reach more portions of the living rooms

102 Location: Waziran, Erbil and Iraq

Total Area: 600 m2
Number of Floors: 2 floors

The site plan, ground and first floor

plan, top view and the cross section
of the house are shown below. There
are the entrance, dining, living,
library, office, gym, kitchen, laundry,
bedroom on the ground floor, whereas
living area, bedrooms, gamming
room and terrace are on the second
floor

6 6

6 N
7

5 5

4 5
5
8
POOL POOL
4 4

4 6
9 3

12
3 3 3

2 7
2 10 1
1
2 2

1 1- ENTRANCE 1
2- LIVING ROOM
3- DINNING ROOM
4- OFFICE
5- LIBRARY
6- GYM 1- LIVING AREA
GARDEN 7- LAUNDRY GARDEN 2- BEDROOM
8- BEDROOM 3- GAMMING ROOM
GARAGE 9- FAMILY ROOM GARAGE 4- MASTER BEDROOM
10- KITCHEN 5- MASTER BEDROOM
11- ELEVATOR 6- GUEST ROOM
12- WC 7- BEDROOM

A B C D A B C D
GROUND FLOOR FIRST FLOOR
1 5 1 5

A B C D
SECTION
Figure 6. TOP VIEW
1 5 1 5
Proposal I-b
Source: Shwany (2018)
that have contact with the courtyard. The semi-open part is located on the south and is Climate-
covered with the shading element (Figure 7). responsive
design
4.2 Proposal II (300 m2) strategy
Proposal II-a: it includes a central courtyard at the ground floor. All the other functions are
placed accordingly to benefit from the natural lighting and the ventilation since there are
103
Location: Waziran, Erbil and Iraq
Total Area: 600 m2
Number of Floors: 2 floors

The site plan, ground and first floor

plan, top view and the cross section
of the house are shown. Entrance,
living, dining, office, library, gym,
laundry, kitchen, bedroom are on the
ground level, and bedrooms, living
area, gamming room and terrace are
on the second floor

6 6

6
N
5 7 3
4

5 5

COURTYARD COURTYARD COURTYARD COURTYARD

4 4

4 3 8

3 3

2 9
2 5
1 1

2 2

1 1

1- ENTRANCE
2- LIVING ROOM
GARDEN 3- DINNING ROOM GARDEN
4- OFFICE
5- LAUNDRY 1- LIVING AREA
GARAGE 6- WC GARAGE 2- MASTER BEDROOM
7- BEDROOM 3- BEDROOM
8- FAMILY ROOM 4- BEDROOM
9- KITCHEN 5- MASTER BEDROOM

A B C D A B C D
GROUND FLOOR FIRST FLOOR
1 5 1 5

D C B A
Figure 7.
TOP VIEW
SECTION Proposal I-c
1 5 1 5
ARCH common walls between neighboring houses. There is only one elevation facing the street
14,1 and there are possibilities to provide openings (Figure 8).
Proposal II-b: the courtyard is located in order to prevent dead ends and to provide a
larger space for the users to benefit from the courtyard’s natural air and vegetation
compared to Proposal II-a. In both design alternatives, the south elevation is the only
elevation facing the street (Figure 9).
104
Location: Waziran, Erbil and Iraq
Total Area: 300 m2
Number of Floors: 2 floors

Here, the site plan, ground and first

floor plan, top view and the cross section
of the house are shown. Entrance, living,
dining, office, library, gym, laundry,
kitchen, bedroom are on the ground level,
and bedrooms, living area, gamming
room and terrace are on the second floor

4 4

N
5 6

4 5

3 3
7
4
3 6

3
2 2

2 9 2 7
1
1
1- ENTRANCE
1 2- LIVING ROOM 1
3- DINNING ROOM 1- LIVING AREA
4- OFFICE 2- BEDROOM
5- GYM 3- GUEST ROOM
6- LAUNDRY 4- BEDROOM
7- BEDROOM 5- BEDROOM
8- WC 6- GAMMING ROOM
9- KITCHEN 7- BEDROOM

A B C D A B C D

GROUND FLOOR FIRST FLOOR

1 5 1 5

+ 6.0

+ 3.0

+ 0.35
+ 0.176
0.0

4 3 2 1
TOP VIEW
SECTION
Figure 8. 1 5

1 5
Proposal II-a
Source: Shwany (2018)
 Location: Waziran, Erbil and Iraq Climate-
Total Area: 300 m2 responsive
Number of Floors: 2 floors design
The proposal consists of site plan, strategy
ground and first floor plan, top view,
and the cross section of the house.
Entrance, dining, living, office, 105
library, laundry, gym, kitchen,
bedroom are on the ground level, and
bedrooms, living area, gamming room
and terrace are on the second floor

4 4

N
5 6

5
4

3 3

4
7
6
3

3
2 8 2

2 9
2 7
1
1
1- ENTRANCE
1 1
2- LIVING ROOM
3- DINNING ROOM 1- LIVING AREA
4- OFFICE 2- BEDROOM
5- GYM 3- GUEST ROOM
6- LAUNDRY 4- BEDROOM
7- BEDROOM 5- BEDROOM
8- WC 6- GAMMING ROOM
9- KITCHEN 7- BEDROOM

A B C D A B C D

GROUND FLOOR FIRST FLOOR

1 5 1 5

+6.0

+3.0

+0.35

D C B A
TOP VIEW
SECTION
Figure 9.
1 5

1 5
Proposal II-b
Source: Shwany (2018)

Proposal II-c: it includes twin courtyards. The functional organization is similar to the
others (Figure 10).
Proposal II-d: the living room and bedrooms on both floors face the single courtyard,
which is located on the back side of the building. The kitchen and the other functions are
oriented toward the south elevation. The south elevation is the only elevation, which is not
common with the neighboring house. The shading elements are provided on the veranda
and south side windows to prevent overheating (Figure 11).
ARCH Location: Waziran, Erbil and Iraq
14,1 Total Area: 300 m2
Number of Floors: 2 floors

The site plan, ground and first floor

plan, top view and the cross section
of the house are illustrated. Entrance,
106 living, dining, office, library, gym,
laundry, kitchen, bedroom are on the
ground level, and bedrooms, living area,
gamming room and terrace are on the
second floor

4 4

4
N
3 5 3 4

3 3

2 2

2 6 2 5

1 1

1 1

1- ENTRANCE
2- LIVING ROOM 1- LIVING AREA
3- LAUNDRY 2- BEDROOM
4- WC 3- BEDROOM
5- BEDROOM 4- BEDROOM
6- KITCHEN 5- BEDROOM

A B C D A B C D
GROUND FLOOR FIRST FLOOR
1 5 1 5

+6.0

+3.0

+0.35
+0.176
0.0

4 3 2 1
TOP VIEW
SECTION
1 5 1 5
Figure 10.
Proposal II-c
Source: Shwany (2018)

5. Conclusion and final remarks

Design requirements for any building are numerous and vary according to the existing
environment, function, and context, such as the level of the thermal comfort, noise control,
safety and security, aesthetic and so on. Fundamental concerns to achieve these
requirements focus on how to control the building environment and how to satisfy the
physical and mental health of the occupants.
 Climate-
Location: Waziran, Erbil and Iraq
Total Area: 300 m2 responsive
Number of Floors: 2 floors design
Here, the site plan, ground and first
strategy
floor plan, top view and the cross
section of the house are shown.
Entrance, living, dining, office,
107
library, gym, laundry, kitchen,
bedroom are on the ground level, and
bedrooms, living area, gamming
room and terrace are on the second
floor

4 4

3 3

3
3 4

2 2
2

5
5
2

1 1
1 1

1- ENTRANCE 1- LIVING AREA

2- LIVING ROOM 2- BEDROOM
3- BEDROOM 3- BEDROOM
4- WC 4- BEDROOM
5- KITCHEN 5- BEDROOM

A B C D A B C D
GROUND FLOOR FIRST FLOOR
1 5 1 5

+6.0

+3.0

0.0

4 3 2 1
TOP VIEW SECTION
Figure 11.
1 5
1 5
Proposal II-d
Source: Shwany (2018)

This paper is focused on climate-responsive architecture as part of building environmental

control systems in general and Erbil city, located in hot–arid climate zone, in particular.
The question of this study is formulated to identify what are the design strategies that can
be employed in contemporary residential buildings of Erbil city to provide shelter, to ensure
comfort, to reduce energy use, to use passive solar and climate-responsive techniques as
lessons learned from traditional and indigenous architecture.
ARCH The climate-responsive design approach and the use of passive techniques reduce the
14,1 embodied energy directly and carbon footprint indirectly. Therefore, in places such as Erbil
city where the energy shortage is a fact, the climate-responsive design approach for
residential buildings has an important role to increase the comfort level of the occupants.
Erbil city, as listed in UNESCO World Heritage List and as being accepted as the
oldest continuous inhabited city in the world, has very rich architectural characteristics.
108 Particularly, the traditional architectural design approach in accordance with the semi-arid
continental climate condition, which provides thermal comfort to the occupants and reduces
the energy use, is significant. However, in the course of the time, the city of Erbil has
experienced many changes both politically and architecturally. As a result of these changes,
urban fabric and construction traditions of the city have been transformed dramatically.
The peculiarities of past traditions and adaptation to the climate gave place to the Western
architectural styles, which do not have any consideration of the local condition. Therefore,
modern buildings do not meet the thermal comfort requirements of the occupants.
Another important fact for Erbil is the shortage of electric power in the city. Residential
buildings have limited access (both the time period and the amount) to electric power for
their daily routine. Therefore, thermal comfort and reduction of the energy use in residential
buildings have become vital.
This study is focused on the application of passive techniques within the climate-responsive
design phenomenon in order to increase thermal comfort and decrease dependency on electric
energy. As a result of a detailed study about climate-responsive architecture in general and
traditional passive techniques, particularly in Erbil city, seven design alternatives for two
different plots are proposed. The study area is selected as Waziran district, which is a quite
new neighborhood.
The main principles of the proposals are the use of the courtyard and organizing the
rooms according to the sun orientation. This method is structured as a step-by-step
approach, which is possible to be applied in any other location. It is successful due to the
first step that starts with analyzing the site. Therefore, climate zone, site condition, urban
fabric and so on will be investigated and proposals will be based on the local characteristics.
The steps suggested in this design approach are given below.

5.1 Step 1
Investigation of the site condition. The local characteristics of topography, prevailing wind,
sun orientation and the impact of the immediate environment need to be analyzed.

5.2 Step 2
Evaluation of the data obtained from the site. Decisions need to be taken on the optimal use of
existing local conditions such as the use of topography, sun orientation, and mass orientation;
the possibilities of natural ventilation, maximum heat gain, minimum heat loss, compatibility
and accordance between functions and passive strategies and the like should be investigated.

5.3 Step 3
Synthesis of the data. The relationship between functional requirements and local conditions
needs to be investigated. Targeted orientation aims to find optimal, cost-effective, easy
maintained, long-lasting, comfortable solutions.

5.4 Step 4
Decisions need to be taken on the use of passive cooling, passive solar heating, building
orientation, shading and thermal mass considering local climatic context, design concept
and functional requirements.
5.5 Step 5 Climate-
Design alternative proposals. The advantages and disadvantages of each proposal should responsive
be investigated and the final decision should be made as a project proposal. design
In order to make this approach successful, consideration of thermal mass, maximization of
cross ventilation and evaporative cooling, using vegetation and shading, are vital. Additionally, strategy
in order to develop a plan and a geometry for the building, studying the orientation of short
side and long side and wall to openings ratio will have an important effect on the performance 109
of the building.
Alongside the climatic condition and characteristics of the site, local and regional authorities
are critical for the successful design and a good building performance including thermal
comfort. National and regional legislative procedures need to support climate-responsive
design approach and to include this aspect in urban planning both in the national and regional
level. Furthermore, the government should enable and encourage architects and planners to
involve climate-responsive strategies and to improve the energy efficiency of the buildings by
reduction of energy use and by using renewable energy.
The results of this study show that incompatibility between local condition and
design decisions and ignorance of the climate and local conditions increase the energy
use and decrease thermal comfort of the buildings and the comfort level of the occupants
as well.

References
Abdulkareem, S. (2012), “The adaptation of vernacular design strategies for contemporary building
design in Kurdistan”, doctoral dissertation, Environmental Sciences Department, Science
College, University of Salahaddin, Erbil.
Akram, O.K., Sumarni, I. and Franco, D.J. (2016), “The significant of urban form of Erbil city, Iraq”,
International Journal of Engineering Technology, Management and Applied Sciences, Vol. 4 No. 2,
pp. 96-101, available at: www.ijetmas.com
Annual Energy Outlook (2017), “EIA – US energy information administration, independent statics and
analysis”, available at: www.eia.gov/outlooks/steo/ (accessed April 5, 2019).
Annual Energy Outlook 2019 with projections to 2050 (2019), EIA – US Energy Information
Administration Office of Energy Analysis, US Department of Energy, Washington, DC, available at:
www.eia.gov/aeo (accessed April 5, 2019).
Architecture Faculty of the University of Texas at San Antonio (2009), “Architecture as membrane:
new opportunities for social interaction in the city”, available at: http://cacp.utsa.edu/ (accessed
July 10, 2018).
Ayyash, A.B. (2015), “Sustainability in vernacular architecture of Iraq and its applicability in modern
residential buildings in Iraq region”, doctoral dissertation, thesis submitted to the Graduate
School of Natural and Applied Sciences, Çankaya University, Ankara.
Baper, S. and Hassan, A. (2010), “The Influence of Modernity on Kurdish Architectural Identity”,
American Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Vol. 3 No. 3, pp. 552-559.
Diler, H.M. and Serbest, K.I. (2017), “A comparative study between the climate response strategies and
thermal comfort of a traditional and contemporary houses in KRG: Erbil”, Kurdistan Journal of
Applied Research, Vol. 2 No. 3, pp. 320-329, doi: 10.24017/science.2017.3.11.
Directive 2010/31/EU, Directive 2010/31/EU of the European Parliament and of The Council of 19 May
2010 on the Energy Performance of Buildings (Recast), The European Parliament and the
Council of the European Union, Strasbourg.
Erbil Governorate Profile (2015), “Erbil at a glance”, available at: www.ncciraq.org/images/infobygov/
NCCI_Erbil_Governorate_Profile.pdf (accessed April 5, 2019).
ARCH Fazia, A. and Helmut, M. (2006), “Numerical study on the effects of aspect ratio and orientation of an urban
14,1 street canyon on outdoor thermal comfort in hot and dry climate”, Building and Environment,
Vol. 41 No. 2, pp. 94-108.
Givoni, B. and Orlick, L. (1985), “Planning for comfort in hot dry climatic regions”, in Gradus, Y. (Ed.),
Desert Development. The Geo Journal Library, Vol. 4, Springer, Dordrecht.
Gordon, J. (2008), “Erbil (Hawler) Citadel”, Iraqi Kurdistan, available at: www.nowpublic.com/world/
110 erbil-hawler-citadel-iraqi-kurdistan (accessed January 2012).
Gut, P. and Ackernecht, D. (1993), Climate Responsive Building, Appropriate Building Construction in
Tropical and Subtropical Regions, SKAT, Niedermann.
Heerwagen, D. (2004), Passive and Active Environmental Controls: Informing the Schematic Designing-of
Buildings, 1st ed., McGraw Hill Higher Education, ISBN: 0-07-250173-1, New York, NY.
Lechner, N. (2015), Heating, Cooling, Lighting – Sustainable Design Methods for Architects, 4th ed.,
John Wiley & Sons, NJ.
Li, J., Lu, S., Wang, W., Huang, J., Chen, X. and Wang, J. (2018), “Design and climate-responsiveness
performance evaluation of an integrated envelope for modular prefabricated buildings”,
Hindawi – Advances in Materials Science and Engineering, Vol. 2018, 14pp., available at: https://
doi.org/10.1155/2018/8082368
Lin, H. (2003), “Design and analysis of sustainable architecture system”, Architecture Journal, Vol. 12,
pp. 15-17.
Maurerova, L. (2014), “Elements of passive solar architecture in Villa Tugendhat”, 2nd Annual
International Conference on Architecture and Civil Engineering, Global Science & Technology
Forum, pp. 420-425.
Morris, A.E.J. (1994), History of Urban Form, Before the Industrial Revolutions, 3rd ed., Longman
Group, Essex.
Panarelli, G., Di Tonno, C. and Spiegelhalter, T. (2016), Climate Responsive Architecture, Climate Change
Adaption and Resource Efficiency, Franco Angeli s.r.l, Milano, ISBN 9788 891736628.
Pavelka, K., Svatušková, J. and Králová, V. (2007), “Photogrammetric documentation and visualization
of Choli minaret and great citadel in Erbil/Iraq”, XXI International CIPA Symposium, Athens,
October 1-6, pp. 1-6.
Peel, M.C., Finlayson, B.L. and Mcmahon, T.A. (2007), “Updated world map of the Köppen-Geiger
climate classification, hydrology and earth system sciences discussions”, European Geosciences
Union, Vol. 4 No. 2, pp. 439-473.
Qusai, Y.A. and Lookman, M.M. (2012), “Dust storm in Erbil city as a result of climatic change in
Kurdistan region Iraq”, Iraqi Journal of Science, Vol. 53, Special Issue, pp. 40-44.
Rozhgar, H.K. (2018), “Comparative study on thermal performances of traditional and contemporary
houses, in Erbil, Iraq”, thesis submitted to the Graduate School of Applied Sciences, Near East
University, Nicosia.
Sabr, C.A. (2014), “A study on the urban form of Erbil city (The capital of Kurdistan region) as an
example of historical and fast growing city”, Humanities and Social Sciences Review, CD-ROM,
Vol. 3 No. 3, pp. 325-340.
Shwany, P. (2018), “A proposal for improving the use of passive solar techniques in residential
buildings: Erbil City”, master thesis, Bahçeşehir University, Graduate School of Natural and
Applied Sciences, Architecture Program, İstanbul.
Srivastav, S. and Jones, P. (2009), “Use of traditional passive strategies to reduce the energy use and
carbon emissions in modern dwellings”, International Journal of Low-Carbon Technologies,
Vol. 4 No. 3, pp. 141-149, doi: 10.1093/ijlct/ctp021.
UNESCO Pilot project for the Erbil citadel (2004), UNESCO Helps in Reconstructing Iraq, available at:
http://portal.unesco.org/culture/en/ev.php-URL_ID=24125&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_
SECTION=201.html (accessed January 2012).
Further reading Climate-
Ahmed, A.H., Haji, S.O. and Azeez, H.H. (2012), “Radon dosimetry in Erbil city hospitals”, Journal of responsive
Physical Science and Application, Vol. 2 No. 7, p. 240.
design
Erbil Citadel (2014), “World heritage list”, available at: https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1437 (accessed
April 5, 2019). strategy

111
Corresponding author
Meltem Vatan Kaptan can be contacted at: meltem.vatankaptan@arc.bau.edu.tr

For instructions on how to order reprints of this article, please visit our website:
www.emeraldgrouppublishing.com/licensing/reprints.htm
Or contact us for further details: permissions@emeraldinsight.com