Analysis of Thermal Comfort within the Historic Islamic Residential Buildings in Egypt. (Case Study)

Abstract

Islamic architecture is a cultural and environmental product rich in factors that have influenced many countries. Where Islamic architecture reflects the cultural differences of Islamic societies and expresses the cultural movements of these societies. It preserves the identity by taking into account the social, cultural, and environmental aspects. Cairo (the capital of Egypt) is unique as it expresses the local identity, as well as the spatial quality, found mainly in the region. It was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1997 under the title "Islamic Cairo", in recognition of its historical, archaeological, and architectural importance that is indisputable, based on the recommendation of the International Council of Antiquities and Sites (ICOMOS). Historic Cairo has proven over time that it is one of the distinctive cities that contain a set of spatial relationships and environmental and climatic solutions, which made its urban fabric and architectural installations able to interact efficiently with the local climate and environment. This paper aims to analyze the harmony and integration between the elements of Islamic architecture to achieve thermal comfort within the historical Islamic residential buildings that made "Islamic Cairo" a distinctive sustainable environmental city, where the quality of the internal environment; To arrive at the design standards used by the architects of that era. The case study in this paper is to understand the performance of thermal comfort, taking into account previous experiences on historical Cairo while introducing the use of digital technology in simulation programs through an analytical study of an apartment building (Zainab Khatoun's house). The results of the research also led to guidelines for performance design, and to provide a contemporary interpretation of the use of Islamic architectural elements.