Effects of sunlight and shadow on the surfaces of pigeon towers in Central Asia: Case studies in Iran, Qatar, Egypt and Saudi Arabia
Abstract
In many parts of the world, especially Central Asia, pigeon towers have been constructed as traditional buildings with different forms and types to keep pigeons. These buildings are cylindrical, cubic, dome-like and multi-cylinder in shape. This study was conducted to identify the effects of sunlight and shadow on the surfaces of pigeon towers in Iran, Qatar, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia with hot and dry or humid climates. Several pigeon towers with different types and structures in these countries were selected and modeled in detail in Rhino 5. Radiance and Ecotect were then employed to measure solar radiation and shadow on the surfaces of the pigeon towers on the hottest day of the year. According to the graphical and numerical results obtained, sunlight and shadow differently affected the surfaces of the different pigeon towers. The effect level of sunlight and shadow on the single-form pigeon towers was higher than on the vaults. In fact, solar radiation was lower and shadow was higher per square meter of the surfaces of the vaults constructed as pigeon towers in close proximity. These houses were therefore found to be the optimal type for the hot and dry or humid climate in Central Asia.
Keyword : pigeon tower, solar radiation, Radiance, Ecotect, shadow, Central Asia
How to Cite
Momeni, K., & Shiri, T. (2022). Effects of sunlight and shadow on the surfaces of pigeon towers in Central Asia: Case studies in Iran, Qatar, Egypt and Saudi Arabia. Journal of Architecture and Urbanism, 46(1), 48-57. https://doi.org/10.3846/jau.2022.14757
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
References
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Hachem, C., Athienitis, A., & Fazio, P. (2011). Parametric investigation of geometric form effects on solar potential of housing units. Solar Energy, 85(9), 1864–1877. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solener.2011.04.027
He, B.-J., Wang, J., Liu, H., & Ulpiani, G. (2021a). Localized synergies between heat waves and urban heat islands: Implications on human thermal comfort and urban heat management. Environmental Research, 193, 110584. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2020.110584
He, B.-J., Zhao, D., Xiong, K., Qi, J., Ulpiani, G., Pignatta, G., Prasad, D., & Jones, P. (2021b). A framework for addressing urban heat challenges and associated adaptive behavior by the public and the issue of willingness to pay for heat resilient infrastructure in Chongqing, China. Sustainable Cities and Society, 75, 103361. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2021.103361
Ishraqi, F. (2000). Isfahan, in foreign travelers’ viewpoint. Atriat, Tehran.
Kausika, B. B., Dolla, O., Folkerts, W., Siebenga, B., Hermans, P., & van Sark, W. G. J. H. M. (2015). Bottom-up analysis of the solar photovoltaic for a city in the Netherlands: A working model for calculating the potential using high resolution LiDAR data. In Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Smart Cities and Green ICT Systems (SMARTGREENS 2015) (pp. 129–135). Science and Technology Publications. https://doi.org/10.5220/0005431401290135
Košir, M., Capeluto, I. G., Krainer, A., & Kristl, Ž. (2014). Solar potential in existing urban layouts–Critical overview of the existing building stock in Slovenian context. Energy Policy, 69, 443–456. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2014.01.045
Liu, G. (2014). Development of a general sustainability indicator for renewable energy systems: A review. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 31, 611–621. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2013.12.038
Mattewes, G. V. T. (1951). The experimental investigation of navigation in homing pigeons. University of Cambridge. https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.28.4.508
Mirdanesh, M. (2007). Acquaintance with historical monuments. Madrasa, Tehran.
Mohajeri, N., Upadhyay, G., Gudmundsson, A., Assouline, D., Kämpf, J., & Scartezzini, J.-L. (2016). Effects of urban compactness on solar energy potential. Renewable Energy, 93, 469–482. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2016.02.053
Montavon, M., Scartezzini, J.-L., & Compagnon, R. (2004). Comparison of the solar energy utilization potential of different urban environments. In Plea2004 – The 21th Conference on Passive and Low Energy Architecture (pp. 1–6), Eindhoven, The Netherlands.
Newell, J. P., Seymour, M., Yee, T., Renteria, J., Longcore, T., Wolch, J. R., & Shishkovsky, A. (2013). Green Alley Programs: Planning for a sustainable urban infrastructure? Cities, 31, 144–155. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2012.07.004
Olgyay, V., & Hainline, J. (2003). Architectural infrastructure for ecological restoration. Journal of Green Machines, 12, 275–287.
Özen, R. (2012). Bird shelters in Turkey: Birdhouses and dovecotes. Kafkas Üniversitesi Veteriner Fakültesi Dergisi, 18(6), 1079–1082. https://doi.org/10.9775/kvfd.2012.6337
Perez, R., Ineichen, P., Seals, R., Michalsky, J., & Stewart, R. (1990). Modeling daylight availability and irradiance components from direct and global irradiance. Solar Energy, 44(5), 271–289. https://doi.org/10.1016/0038-092X(90)90055-H
Perez, R., Seals, R., Ineichen, P., Stewart, R., & Menicucci, D. (1987). A new simplified version of the perez diffuse irradiance model for tilted surfaces. Solar Energy, 39(3), 221–231. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0038-092X(87)80031-2
Petersen, S., & Svendsen, S. (2010). Method and simulation program informed decisions in the early stages of building design. Energy and Buildings, 42(7), 1113–1119. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enbuild.2010.02.002
Pratt, J. G. (1954). An investigation of homing ability in pigeons without previous homing experience. Journal of Experimental Biology, 32, 70–83. https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.32.1.70
Radiance. (n.d.). http://radsite.lbl.gov/radiance/
Rafiei, M. A. (1974). National monuments of Isfahan, national monuments association. Tehran.
Rhino 5. (n.d.). http://www.rhino5d.com
Roudsari, M. S., & Pak, M. (2013). Ladybug: A parametric environmental plugin for grasshopper to help designers create an environmentally-conscious design. In 13th Conference of International Building Performance Simulation Association (pp. 3128–3135), Chambéry, France. http://www.ibpsa.org/proceedings/BS2013/p_2499.pdf
Sedighi, E., Yaghoubi, M., Mousavi, S. M., & Siahpour, S. (2017). Thermal study of domed roofs in a traditional bazaar (the case of old Ganj-Alikhan bazaar in Kerman, Iran). Energy for Sustainable Development, 39, 67–81. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.esd.2017.04.002
Shiri, T., & Momeni, K. (2020). Investigating the effects of sunlight on the dome surfaces of mosques in desert areas. Geographical Excavations in Desert Areas, 8(1), 215–242.
Shiri, T., Didehban, M., & Taban, M. (2019a). The effect of form on the amount of shading and heat absorption in the dome of Yazd reservoirs. Journal of Islamic Architectural Research, 7(4), 75–92.
Shiri, T., Didehban, M., & Taban, M. (2019b). Temporary accommodation design with a thermal optimization approach taken from the potential of water reservoir dome [Master thesis in Architecture and Urban Planning]. Jundishapur Dezful University of Technology.
Shiri, T., Didehban, M., & Taban, M. (2021). Analyzing the amount of radiation absorption related to the form of Ab Anbars dome in a hot and dry climate in Yazd. International Journal of Energy and Environmental Engineering. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40095-021-00437-6
Urbanetz, J., Zomer, C. D., & Ruther, R. (2011). Compromises between form and function in grid-connected, building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) at low-latitude sites. Building and Environment, 46(10), 2107–2113. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2011.04.024
Ward, G. (1994). The RADIANCE lighting simulation and rendering system. In Proceedings of the 21st Annual Conference on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques (pp. 459–472), Orlando, Florida. https://doi.org/10.1145/192161.192286
Yang, L., He, B.-J., & Ye, M. (2014). Application research of ECOTECT in residential estate planning. Energy and Buildings, 72, 195–202. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enbuild.2013.12.040
Zarghami, I., Hanieh, A., & Azimi, H. R. (2010). Physical typology and structures of rural public buildings in Isfahan and Central Anatolia (Case study: Pigeon towers). Housing and Rural Environment, 137, 146–158.