Preserving the Identity of Traditional Buildings Through Conserving Their Passive Systems

Abstract

In hot and dry climates, traditional buildings needed to respond to the harsh environment and did so by adopting passive systems, such as wind catchers that served to ventilate and lower the indoor temperature. Therefore, to meet the environmental requirements, wind catchers’ designs varied in response to the different economic and social influences of each region, thereby contributing to their significant cultural heritage. However, with technological developments, most passive features in traditional buildings were abandoned and replaced by new mechanical systems. An underappreciation for wind catchers’ environmental implications led to a disregard for their performance and cultural significance. This paper explores the environmental, social, cultural, and historical values of three types of wind catchers in Kuwait: wind towers, wind parapets, and wall openings. Both historical research method and an experimental study using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) were used to assess the importance of these features. The analysis was conducted to evaluate wind catchers’ historical value and to determine that they have a cultural significance for Kuwait.