Analysis of Daylight Performance of a Courtyard House: A Case Study of Prototype House in Riyadh City, Saudi Arabia.

Document Type : Research Studies

Author

Head Of Researches & Consultations Assistant Professor, Department of Islamic Architecture College of Engineering & Islamic Architecture, Um Al-Qura University

Abstract

The Introverted design concept is widely applied in hot dry climatic zones. From the environmental point of view, the main purpose of having a courtyard house is to control the thermal performance as well as to provide daylight for spaces that have not an opening on the external walls. Many courtyard houses are designed with less consideration for daylight performance. This study focuses on the investigation of the daylight performance in a typical- prototype- courtyard house in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The study contains an overview of solar characteristics of Riyadh city. Then it focuses on the selected design, collection of Riyadh city solar and end up with a daily and annually picturing of a three dimensional model in order to record the existing daylight performance of the building. The study concludes with a general observations and recommendations of the daylight performance for the selected design. 

Main Subjects