The results of numerical simulation on the effects of solar chimney for ventilation in the new building of Faculty of International Environmental Engineering Kitakyushu University, Japan are described. The air velocity and pressure within the solar chimney were estimated by simplified methods and CFD calculation and both results agreed quite well. It was found that the air flow rates would depend on the inside wall temperatures and section ratio of solar chimney with the same section area.

A scale mock-up house installed with a "Breathing Wall" was constructed outdoors in order to consider the practical application of breathing walls in houses in temperate-climate regions. It was found that, under outdoor weather conditions, the Breathing Wall provides the necessary amount of ventilation, thermal insulation and moisture transmission required for application in a temperate climate region. No adverse effects on the indoor environment were found even when cold outdoor air flowed through the Breathing Wall.

Hispano-Islamic architecture addresses a great concern about summer heat. The seasonal high temperatures and dry atmosphere of southern Spain constituted a real challenge for the XIV-century Muslim builders of the Generalife. This small palace shows clearly a series of environmental strategies involving cooling due to its condition of summer villa for the sultans of Granada. This paper is based on a PhD research project on the Environmental Aspects of Hispano-Islamic Architecture carried out by the author under supervision of Simos Yannas.

The traditional architecture of the city of Sana's is considered to be one of the best examples of architectural heritage in the world. It also reflects the builders' full understanding of local traditional building materials and of the climatic environment. Building airflow helps maintain comfort in these buildings and therefore the aim behind this study is to understand how the vernacular houses of the old city of Sana's perform in terms of natural ventilation. The study also examines the role of air temperature and wind speed in natural ventilation.

During September 1998 to April 1999, environmental monitoring was carried out in part of the Djomi Museum, located in the warm humid tropics of Arnhem Land, Australia. An important finding of the study is that in this well sealed building with some thermal mass, internal RH under the influence of the air conditioning was generally higher, and more variable. Importantly for a repository building, in its relatively 'passive' mode the Djomi Museum experienced virtually no combination of conditions likely to lead to major problems with mould.

The office workers in Bangkok are accustomed to their environments of a hot-humid climate, resulting in a wider range of acceptable temperatures and higher comfort zone than the recommendation in moderate climate countries. This gives the possibility to use natural ventilation as a tool to provide occupants preference and comfort zone in office buildings, considering a short time experience.

The Nutrition Centre with 836 m2 surface, was finalised on the 30th of July 1999. It is situated in the department of El Peten, municipal of Dolores in Guatemala, 70km from the ancient ruins of Mayas de Tikal. The autochthonous architecture is being replaced with advance and modern materials that may not resolve, but increase, the bad conditions of comfort in the habitat. Constructed with autochthonous materials and local labour, it is part of an integral help program, attendance and formation for an autochthonous population.

The residences that Muslims built in the Iberian Peninsula respond to a similar architectural type. They are commonly distributed around a central elongated courtyard, in whose north wing a tower is normally attached. The spatial sequence established between the tower and the patio improves the environmental conditions of the complex through the combination of some specific cooling strategies. This article includes a typological analysis of this configuration, a study of its environmental aspects, as well as the computer simulations undertaken to evaluate the hypothesis.

This paper describes a thermal comfort survey of people living in courtyard housing. The study took place in the Iranian city of Ilam, which experiences a hot, dry climate. The survey compared the thermal comfort conditions of people outside using the courtyard housing, and was conducting during the hot summer season. Over 570 subjects responded to thermal comfort questionnaires. At the same time physical measurements were taken of such parameters as dry bulb air temperature, relative humidity and air velocity.