VERNACULAR

BIOINSPIRATION
The termite mound
Termites are an extraordinary example in the animal kingdom of
ingenious animal architects in the sense of master builders. The
nest of a termite species Apicotermes gurgulifex is embedded in
the soil but clothed by a mantle of air. With a system of carefully
adjusted convection currents, air is sucked in at the lower part
of the mound, down into enclosures with muddy walls, and up
through a channel to the peak of the termite mound.

J. Scott Turner and Rupert C. Soar. 2008. Beyond biomimicry. What termites can tell us about Illustration of a sectioned termite hill in Sierra Leone © British naturalist
realizing the living building.
Henry Smeathman (1742–1786)

7000 BC
Cretans and Cypriots
Perhaps the absolute initial moves towards present-day ventilation
can be attributed to the Greeks who were the trailblazers of the
alleged hypocaust framework (from the Greek signifying ‚under‘
and ‚consumed‘). Wood-burning furnaces were sited beneath
floor level and the subsequent hot air. After the fire had burnt
out, little floor hatches were opened, delivering warm air into the
rooms above.

Cigna, A. A. (1968). An analytical study of air circulation in caves. Int. J. Speleol. 3, 41–54. doi:
10.5038/1827-806x.3.1.3, last accessed : 26 December 2022

The interior of a Roman villa and its central heating system or hypocaust.

3000 BC
Traditional Windcatcher
Some historians and archeologists credit Persians as the inventors
of windcatchers, after discovering ruins. Once the cool air enters
the space, the warm air circulating inside the interior space is
pushed out through openings created on the opposite side of the
windcatcher. In areas without cool breeze, windcatchers act as
chimneys and push warm air upwards.

Persian Windcatcher © Shervin Abdolhamidi / BBC

1500 BC
igloos - extremely cold condition
The hemispherical shape of the igloo provides the maximum
resistance to winter gales from all directions, which at the same
time exposing the minimum surface area to heat loss. Snow acts
as an insulator due to the amount of air that forms between the
spaces in the crystal structure of the snowflake. 95% of these
crystals contain air within the structure that can trap heat, greatly
reducing the amount of heat lost.

Della Hansmann(2014), WARMTH AROUND THE WORLD: IGLOOS, Categories: Environment

Materials

Igloo, Carpathians Mountain,Ukraine © Alexander Kotenko

 1000 BCE
Chinese Courtyard
In Mesopotamia (2000 BCE), the city-state of Ur featured two-
story brick homes built around a central courtyard living area.
In cold northern China, courtyards are built broad and large to
increase the exposure to sunlight, and there are more open areas
inside the courtyard walls for daylight, fresh air, rainwater for
plants and gardens to be harnessed.

Vivian Loftness and Dagmar Haase (Eds.) 2013, Sustainable Built Environments, Center for
Building Performance and Diagnostics. Carnegie Mellon University. Pittsburgh, PA, USA

Illustration of a sectioned termite hill in Sierra Leone © British naturalist

Henry Smeathman (1742–1786)

1500 BC
A traditional tropical housing
Airflow beneath the floor cooling the building’s floor as well as
decrease humidity. Raised floor will make positive impact on
thermal comfort inside the building. TM1 recorded a higher
internal airflow when stilts height is 3 meters. Area beneath
the house or ‘kolong’ that shaded during daytime will make air
temperature in this area lower and suitable for air intake.

Feriadi H. Thermal comfort for naturally ventilated residential buildings in tropical climate
Doctoral dissertation. National University Singapore: 2003.

Traditional Karo rice barn,

c.1910-1930

1190s
Cave chaotic air flow
Air flow in caves is frequently observed and is caused by
temperature and pressure gradients between the internal and
the external atmosphere. Deep (-1 km) and long (>>1 km) caves
with more than one entrance show variable, often intense, air
circulation, and these underground winds guide the explorations
of speleologists through connected, yet unknown branches of
subterranean voids. The physics of such winds is much more
complex.

Cigna, A. A. (1968). An analytical study of air circulation in caves. Int. J. Speleol. 3, 41–54. doi:
10.5038/1827-806x.3.1.3, last accessed : 26 December 2022

Uchisar in Cappadocia, Turkey

1714
The fireplace
A construction diagram from Nicolas Gauger’s Méchanique
du Feu, illustrating the proper configuration of the firebox and
ventilation systems for a scientifically optimized fireplace. Note
the rounded back corners, which are actually parabolic arcs,
calculated with respect to the length of the log to be burned, and
intended to maximize the reflection of heat rays back into the
room. The entablature, fireback, and hearth floor all admit the
passage of ducts for the circulation of regulated flows of air—
some to feed the fire, some to transfer its warmth.
THE RATIONAL HEARTH Gauger, Descartes, and the Vestal Complex Frumento Combusti
WINTER 2008–2009
Rational hearth-craft, ca. 1714, Nicolas Gauger,ventila-
tion systems for a scientifically optimized fireplace.