Adriana Zúñiga Terán is an associate professor at the University of Arizona’s School of Geography, Development, and Environment and the Udall Center for Public Policy Research. Her research sits at the intersection of urban planning, sustainability, and environmental governance, focusing on transforming urban infrastructure towards nature-based solutions. conversation.
Modern buildings take electricity and air conditioning for granted. They often have glass facades and windows that cannot be opened. And when the power goes out for days during a heatwave, Houston Area Experiences If Hurricane Beryl hits in July 2024, these buildings may not be able to withstand it.
But for thousands of years, civilizations have known how to protect humans in hot, dry climates.
As Architectural designer and researcher In my research into urban resilience, I have looked at many of the techniques and lessons these ancient civilizations can offer for living in hotter, drier environments.
As global temperatures rise, research shows Dangerously hot summer Like 2023 and 2024 Becoming more and more commonand severe storms could lead to more power outages. To prepare for an even hotter future, today’s designers can learn from the past.
Sumerians: Staying Cool Together
The Sumerians lived in the hot, dry climate of what is now southern Iraq about 6,000 years ago, and they already had the techniques to manage the heat.
Archaeologists studying the ruins of Mesopotamian cities Sumerian buildings used thick walls and small windows to minimize exposure to heat and keep indoor temperatures cool.
The Sumerians built walls and roofs Materials such as sun-dried bricks and mud It can be done Absorbs heat during the day It is released at night.
Buildings close together also reduced the number of walls exposed to the strong sunlight, small courtyards provided light and ventilation, and narrow streets provided shade during the day and allowed pedestrians to move about. Comfortable in the city.
Ancient Egyptians: Harnessing the Wind
The ancient Egyptians Materials that help block heatThe palace was made of stone and had a courtyard, and the dwellings were made of mud bricks.
To escape the heat, many took to the buildings in nomadic fashion, using the cool roof terraces as sleeping quarters at night.
Egyptians developed unique techniques to cool buildings It is called Malqafconsists of openings in a high wall facing the prevailing wind. These openings act as scoops to capture the wind and direct it downwards, cooling the building. As the wind enters, it creates air circulation and helps to expel heat through other openings.
The Malqaf Principles are: Scaling up to cool larger spacesKnown as wind-capturing devices, they are now used in buildings across the Middle East and Central Asia to allow people to stay comfortable even in very hot weather without air conditioning.
Ancient Puebloans: Working with the Sun
Civilizations on other continents and at other times have developed similar strategies for living in hot, dry climates, and they have also developed their own solutions.
The Pueblo peoples of what is now the American Southwest used small windows. Materials such as adobe bricks and rocksWe designed the buildings to have shared walls to minimize heat intrusion.
The Mesa Verde Pueblo cliff dwellings not only provide protection from the elements, but also, thanks to their orientation, from the direct sun in summer. Andreas F. Borchert, CC BY-SA
They also understood the importance of the direction of the sun. A village spread out beneath a south-facing cliffThis orientation keeps the building cool in the summer by providing shade and warm in the winter by radiating heat from the sun.
Their descendants Similar directions and other urban planning strategiesAdobe homes are still common in the American Southwest.
The Islamic Caliphate: Making the most of every drop of rain
Modern water management is rarely designed with arid climates in mind. Stormwater infrastructure is Diverting storm runoff away from the city But those same cities also have to transport water for their people and gardens, sometimes from distant sources.
The landscaping of the mosque of Córdoba, Spain, is designed to channel rainwater to where it is needed for irrigation. Adriana Zúñiga
In the 8th century, the Islamic caliphs of the arid regions of North Africa and southern Spain Buildings equipped with rainwater harvesting technology to collect rainwaterRainwater runoff was collected across the roof and channelled into a cistern, and the slope of the roof and courtyard floor allowed the water to be channelled so it could be used to irrigate the courtyard’s lush landscape.
Contemporary Mendoza, Argentina, has adopted this approach. Water the plants and trees that line the magnificent avenues.
Mayans and Teotihuacans: Collecting rainwater for later use
On a city scale, people collected and stored rainwater to get through the dry season.
Xochicalco, the ancient city of Teotihuacan, and many Maya cities in present-day Mexico and Central America Pyramids, plazas, and aqueducts were used to channel rainwater into large cisterns for future use, and plants were often used to purify the water.
This large cistern in Xochicalco, a community in Teotihuacan in present-day Mexico, was used to capture and store rainwater. Adriana Zuniga
Today’s scientists Quality rainwater harvesting in India and other countriesRainwater harvesting and green infrastructure are currently Effective strategies for building urban resilience.
Putting these lessons into practice
Each of these ancient cultures offers lessons on staying cool in hot, dry climates that modern designers can learn from.
Some architects are already using them to improve their designs: for example, buildings in the northern hemisphere can be oriented to face south, combining south-facing windows with shading devices. Reduce summer solar radiation However, solar heating is permitted during the winter months. Rainwater harvesting Using it to irrigate gardens and landscapes can reduce water consumption, adapt to dry climates and make cities more resilient.
While it won’t be easy to retrofit modern cities and their glass towers to improve heat management, there are techniques we can apply to new designs that will make us more comfortable in hotter, drier climates and less dependent on air conditioning all summer long. These ancient civilizations can show us how.
