37º IAHS World Congress on Housing: - Universidad de Cantabria

XXXVII <strong>IAHS</strong><strong>World</strong> <strong>Congress</strong> on HousingOctober 26 – 29, 2010, Santander, SpainCODE: 213ABANDONED METHODS OF PASSIVE SOLAR DESIGN INTRADITIONAL CYPRUS ARCHITECTUREL. Cazacova 1 , A. M. Saymanlier 2 , A. Erdelhun 3 , U. Ulbar 4 , V. Caganaga 51;2;3;4;5 Department of Architecture and Interior Architecture1;2;3;4;5 European University of Lefke, North Cyprus1 e-mail: liudmila_cazacova@yahoo.comKey words: traditional Cyprus house, vernacular architecture, passive solar design, sustainabilityAbstractPresently, the levels of energy consumption and global warming are rising at a rapid pace.One of the main sectors that plays major role in energy consumption is building sector: mostof 20th century buildings in hot climate are not suitable even for present conditions. They aredependent on air conditioning systems and electricity, reliant on fossil fuels and increasinglyunable to adapt to a warming climate. The best way to find a solution for this problem is tofocus on and study traditional buildings and architecture that is more adaptable to the currentconcerns and sustainability in environment. Many traditional technologies are energy efficientand sustainable, although some of them are no longer properly functioning due to cultural andenvironmental changes. In this regard, the key challenge is to learn fundamental lessons andprinciples of traditional architecture, and to find ways of integrating those principles intodevelopment programs to plan new settlements or to upgrade existing ones. Studyingtraditional techniques to understand the sustainable strategies used in hot climate should makea valuable contribution to the field.With the aim to find the extent to how traditional passive techniques are viable and useable,and can help creating a sustainable environment and optimizing the energy use, twotraditional houses in different areas have been analyzed. The intention of the research is tostudy passive solar design techniques in traditional Cypriot Architecture and understand howpassive cooling/heating techniques in traditional architecture provide thermal comfort, andharmonious balance between buildings, climate and people’s lifestyles.37º <strong>IAHS</strong> <strong>World</strong> <strong>Congress</strong> On Housing Science 118