BIOCLIMATIC ARCHITECTURE FOR HERITAGE RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS IN THE KINGDOM OF SAUDI ARABIA: Environmental Design Approach Towards Providing Thermal Comfort in Future Buildings.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has a remarkable historical heritage. It maintains architectural and urban evidence of great diversity in different parts of the Kingdom, and it reflects diversity due to climate variability and the topography and quality of the soil, resulting in the emergence of different architectural and urban styles, characterized by the diversity of traditional building designs and different building materials. Saudi Arabia is divided into five regions according to different topography and climate: central, northern, southern, eastern and western regions. Due to their exposure to surrounding environmental and climatic factors, traditional buildings are characterized by the uniqueness and diversity of their designs and the availability of thermal comfort. This research aims to study the impact of environmental and climatic diversity on the shape and design of traditional buildings in each of the five regions of the Kingdom, including the impact of traditional architectural treatments on the interior design of buildings and the extent of their ability to achieve thermal comfort. This shall provide an approach to maintain and develop traditional buildings to commensurate with modern times and set up foundations and criteria for achieving thermal comfort in the design of future buildings in each region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]