A socio-environmental analysis of contemporary modifications to Algerian Mzab traditional houses

ABSTRACT

Algerian Mzab traditional houses, using passive techniques since the eleventh century (from 1012 to 1882), have seen recent modifications. Analysis of 612 questionnaires and interviews with Mzab residents reveals 81.2% of these houses have been modified. Modifications include adding floors, thinning walls, and replacing lime with cement, driven by the need for space, ventilation, and modernisation. However, such modifications often increase energy consumption, with residents requiring more heating in winter and air conditioning in summer. This reliance on fossil fuels exacerbates regional climate insecurity. Planting roof terraces and using high-insulation building materials can reduce energy consumption in modified Mzab houses.

KEYWORDS:

• Traditional houses
• thermal comfort
• passive technique
• energy consumption
• arid climate

Acknowledgments

We sincerely thank everyone who helped us conduct this work. We express our gratitude to the inhabitants who provided their valuable responses, the school directors, and the teachers for their collaboration in distributing and collecting the questionnaires. We also extend our heartfelt thanks to the anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments and suggestions.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.