Passive sustainability strategies in traditional Gaziantep residences: a critical report on historical development

In recent years, the increase in the need for energy and the rapid depletion of energy resources have revealed that energy control in buildings is of vital importance. This situation requires energy efficiency not only in new buildings but also in existing building stocks. For this reason, passive strategic measures affecting thermal comfort and energy efficiency in historical buildings built in Gaziantep in the late 18th and early 19th centuries have been evaluated in this study. First, the cultural, technological and natural images of the region that are effective in the development of these strategies were identified. The reflection of these images on architectural design and the parameters affecting energy use as a result were revealed. In order to examine the effect of passive strategy measures in the spaces, a field study was carried out on a selected Gaziantep traditional residential building. For the field study, measurements were taken from the selected building and the street every hour during the day. These measurements have been made under the following conditions: sunny inside the courtyard, sunny outside the courtyard, shade inside the courtyard and shade outside the courtyard. Afterwards, all measurements have been compared. As a result, it is concluded that the courtyard systems that form the cultural, technological and natural image of the region have a great effect on thermal comfort.