Thermal zoning and natural ventilation in vernacular Anatolian settlements

Since the widespread adoption of mechanical equipment for cooling buildings, thermal zoning has evolved into a design strategy that provides climate control and maintenance of steady-state interior environments regardless of building orientation or occupancy. Prior to the invention of mechanical cooling devices, early populations achieved thermal zoning by putting basic building attributes and material constituents to task, finely attuning building assemblages to ever-changing factors such as prevailing airflow. Two Anatolian settlements, Catalhoyuk and Mardin, have been analyzed using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) platforms to disclose their respective passive cooling strategies relative to variable inputs, including wind velocity and direction. This paper reports the findings from this analysis and discusses how these attributes produce comfort levels that rival contemporary standards, including air-change rates at 1.5 meters per second. The paper also demonstrates how these vernacular devices have been adapted for contemporary use to passively maintain thermal comfort while offsetting energy consumption.