Windcatchers as a Green Ventilation Device: A Lost Tale From Hyderabad, Sindh, Pakistan

Abstract

The rapid urbanization process is majorly associated with extreme climate change and many other urban issues that pose new challenges in terms of urban resilience. Bold climate action is one of the main principles addressed by UN-Habitat in Sustainable Development. This problem demands an immediate reduction in carbon footprints. One way of doing this is to revive the traditional climate-controlling techniques/natural ventilation methods in architecture. Windcatchers have been used as a passive technique for ventilation for many centuries. The windcatchers of Hyderabad (Mangh/Hawadani/Badgeers/Malqaf) were a dominant identity of vernacular architecture. This article aims to understand the traditional methods of dealing with climate-controlling techniques in architecture by (1) studying windcatchers in both vernacular and modern buildings in the context of Hyderabad, Sindh, Pakistan by (2) understanding the user’s perspective about windcatchers. A comparison of four buildings in Hyderabad, Pakistan, was performed. The findings of this study show that old Windcatchers in Hyderabad are in dilapidated condition and are found insignificant because they are not fulfilling the current needs of the users looking for modernized solutions. However, newly built windcatchers are well appreciated by users because of their well-functioning mechanism in relation to the local climate and current living requirements. The performance study of windcatchers conducted in this research represents an initial step towards developing a more extensive guide for utilizing windcatchers in passive cooling systems for buildings located in hot regions.