Natural Ventilation Strategies for Apartments in Famagusta

Natural ventilation with the aim of achieving desirable indoor air quality has been a part of architectural design since ancient times. Later, development of technology caused replacement of those natural ways by mechanical devices. Discovering airconditioning by “Willis Carriers”, thermal control was available in all aspects, studies on effects of temperature and humidity on human body got more important and the subject of comfort zone was introduced. However, utilization of mechanical tools faced with some disadvantages including discomfort air flew (for instance air movement caused by air-conditions or coolers bothers in some directions and do not work in some other directions) and undesirable noise which these mechanical machines produce. In order for a building to have that equipment, it needs extra spaces as ducts or channels. Moreover, there are services and energy fees as costs. Because the lifespan of the mechanical equipment is not as long as the lifespan of the buildings, the lifespan of the buildings will be reduced. In addition, those equipment harm the environment. Consumption of energy they cause by using natural sources, creates an issue regarding the protection of the environment. Hence, architects and mechanical engineers reconsidered the utilization of natural ways of cooling, heating and ventilation in buildings in order to reduce the usage of mechanical devices. Therefore, this study tries to work on the constructions built in recent decade in the city of Famagusta in North Cyprus by focusing on the natural ventilation strategies in hot and humid regions and utilization of them in residential apartments, to specify their problems according to the subject. To reach the aim, the thesis is defined in four chapters. After introduction of the problem, questions, focus, field of study and methodology of the research and also the literature review in chapter one; the natural ventilation strategies and its systems are introduced in chapter two. Chapter three is assigned to the new constructed residential apartments in Famagusta, findings, discussions and suggestions. To extract the characteristics of contemporary residential apartments through their location, section, plan, interior organization, facade specifications and materials, field observation, photography and drawing are techniques which have been used. Disguised and open ended questionnaire technique have been done. Questionnaires have been given to the residents of the chosen sample apartments to see whether they feel comfortable and satisfied with indoor thermal qualities inside their houses or not, specifically ventilation. This questionnaire survey has been done because there were no chance of measuring climatic factors inside the buildings to check whether air qualities inside are in comfort zone or not. Finally, the problems in ventilation of those buildings and methods for utilizing strategies are discussed. Furthermore, chapter four is assigned to conclusion in which it is mentioned that these apartments do not have enough designed natural ventilation strategies and simple architectural design ideas would be helpful to achieve more natural ventilation inside. Keywords: natural ventilation strategies, residential apartment, Hot-humid climate, Famagusta