A Study on the Microclimatic Performance of Courtyard and Non-Courtyard Residential Buildings in Hot-Arid Climate

Abstract

Scholars have opined that the courtyard is a passive architectural design element and that it can act as a microclimate modifier provided that its design requirements are not ignored. But despite the assertions, empirical studies on the microclimatic performance of a fully enclosed courtyard house and the non-courtyard house seems to be deficient, and the assumption that the Courtyard is a passive architectural design element needs to be substantiated. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to investigate the microclimatic performance of a fully enclosed courtyard and noncourtyard residential buildings. The main objective is to compare their microclimatic performances in other to draw a conclusion on the best option. Three Hobo Weather Data Loggers were used to collect climatic data in the buildings, and the third one was situated in the outdoor area as a benchmark. The climatic variables investigated are; air temperature and relative humidity. The fully enclosed courtyard residential building is seen to have a better air temperature difference of 2 oC to 4 oC and the relative humidity of 2 % to 6 %. In conclusion, the fully enclosed courtyard residential building has confirmed a more favorable microclimatic performance, and future studies towards its optimization are recommended.