The Efficiency of Using Different Outer Wall Construction Materials to Achieve Thermal Comfort in Various Climatic Zones

The traditional vernacular architecture that is based on natural construction materials such as clay and stone is the most effective way to achieve thermal and climatic comfort inside different architectural spaces. Despite their efficiency, these natural materials are deficient when building large-scale and high-rise buildings. These materials also need periodic maintenance to protect buildings from construction collapse, especially clay structures. After the industrial revolution, the architectural movement shifted towards high-rise and large-scale buildings through using artificial materials such as cement, steel and glass. These materials demonstrate mass production and quality in implementation, but they are not sustainable in terms of thermal comfort in most climate zones across the world. It would thus seem sensible to integrate the two types of construction materials, by using a skeletal system for the building made of concrete or steel, which guarantees the structure, and by using natural materials like clay or stone for the outer walls, which assures thermal and climatic comfort in the indoor spaces. The aim of this paper is to analyse a new construction method that combines the two different construction materials -natural and artificial - to discover which outer-wall material is more effective in terms of thermal comfort in different climatic zones by using simulation programs. The study constrains the concrete skeletal structure system and tests the efficiency of using different outer-wall construction materials to achieve thermal comfort in three different climatic zones. (C) 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. Peer-review under responsibility of the organizing committee of AREQ 2017.