Harnessing Local Wisdom for Sustainable and Resilient Architecture
Insights from Sana'a Old City
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.9744/dimensi.53.1.94-113Keywords:
vernacular architecture, Sana’a Old City, architectural resilience, sustainability, thematic analysisAbstract
Clear evidence of increasing interest in vernacular architecture, driven by its energy efficiency and sustainability, can be observed in the research community and global architecture projects that have adopted strategies from vernacular architecture. This trend arises from climatic and environmental challenges and issues in the global building sector, including rising temperatures, increased CO₂ emissions, and resource depletion, all of which necessitate the adoption of sustainable architectural practices. However, a review of the content, themes, and findings of existing studies on vernacular architecture reveals an uneven geographic and climatic distribution of the research. This study aims to highlight the main domains of sustainable and resilient architecture in the Old City of Sana’a, a renowned heritage city that has received limited scholarly attention regarding its vernacular strategies for sustainability. This study combines archival and thematic analysis methods to investigate the sustainability and resilience domains of vernacular architecture. The results identified four interconnected domains that function as a unified systemic framework of sustainability and resilience in the city: traditional construction materials and techniques, climate-responsive design, spatial and functional efficiency, and architectural aesthetics. Together, these domains constitute an integrated system that has underpinned the longevity of the city over the centuries. By leveraging modern technology, such as digital documentation and simulation tools, these findings can provide pathways across design practice and offer transferable insights from this integrated system to contemporary contexts.
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