The Vernacular Architecture and Thermal Comfort Standards of the Pastoral Afar in Ethiopia,Lessons for Contemporary Buildings: In the Case of Surrounding Areas Dubti and Semera Towns,Afar,Ethiopia.
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Date
2021-05
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
This thesis aimed to study and take lessons from sustainable thermal cooling features of the
vernacular architecture of the pastoral nomads of Afar, in Ethiopia and extract useful principles
that can be applied to the current architectural and construction sector in Afar. Current modern
architectural practice in the area has suffered from harsh indoor environments forcing people to
use mechanical ventilation which has its drawbacks concerning sustainability. The impact doesn’t
end there since the architectural styles are adapted from modern practice the cultural and
traditional entity that was embedded in their spaces through activities are disconnected from the
people.
The thesis focused on studying the socio-cultural structure of the Afar pastoral nomads and its
integration with the their vernacular dwellings, their indoor environment, nearby open spaces, and
their mobility pattern surrounding the emerging cities of Afar: Semera and Dubti. The urban areas
were selected because of the growing inter-relation of the Afar pastoral nomads with the urban
zones looking for public facilities as well infrastructure. In addition, it is to assess and evaluate the
perception of the public living in urban regions about the pastoral nomad’s sustainable way of
living, the thermal performance of the dwelling unit and representation of the Afar culture and
identity through the nomadic pastoralist lifestyle.
The assessment was conducted using methodologies such as observation, questionnaires,
focused group interview and physical measurement. Study samples are taken using the purposive
sampling technique. The result showed that the ranking of indoor thermal environmental
conditions slightly differed between female and male respondents, between different types of
dwelling sizes as well as material specification. Additionally, during outdoor environment analysis,
it is observed that outdoor surrounding is used for a lot of activities through simple modifications
and shade.
Extracted results from both the survey, questioner and physical measurement results showed that
the Afar pastoral nomads were able to provide sustainable thermal cooling features in a space
that represent their culture that provides comfortable and productive space. These results were
finally discussed and interpreted into guidelines that offer basic considerations during Architectural
design in hot and arid climates for people with nomadic pastoral life style. Particularly spatial
management, building material selection and adaptation of strategies were considered.
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Keywords
Sustainable Architecture, Passive strategy, Thermal Comfort,, Modern architecture,, Pastoral Nomad,, Nomadic Vernacular architecture, social structure.