The energetic-environmental characteristic of the courtyards. The Ortigia courtyards case study

Courtyards house, thought commonly associated with the Mediterranean and Middle Eastern regions, is found in most of the climates and worm regions. It is the dominant prototype of many of the world’s hot arid climates. Many different societies in very different locations have used this traditional dwelling form. The courtyard house work equally well and is found extensively in composite climates that have cold season. A well-designed courtyard house is cool during the day when ambient temperature is high and warm at night when it is low. The radiation effect (not to be confused with the convective cooling effect of the ambient night air) allows surfaces to be chilled significantly lower than teh ambient temperature. This phenomenon has been used in the architectural design of houses to enhance thermal comfort, by employing the courtyard concept. The salient feature of the courtyard house is the central and private open space. The court is the heart of the house and provides the house light, air and water. The “Laboratory of Architecture Construction” chose as case study the topici of the courtyards, which characterize a big part of Ortigia buildings in Syracuse. The hypothesis of choosing to study courtyards derives from the role that these spaces have had in the course of the centuries: place of interference between the house private ambits and the street collective ambit.