ASSESSING THE CLIMATIC IMPLICATIONS OF LIGHTWEIGHT HOUSING IN A PERIPHERAL ARID REGION

The provision of housing in peripheral areas is often dictated by a ce ntral planning apparatus, whose lack of attention to local conditions may result in design solutions which are climatically inappropriate. A n example of this phenomenon is the introduction of light eight light eight housing in Israel, as a geographically indiscriminate solution f or the recent wave immigration to the country. In the current study, t he context and consequences of this housing policy are examined. The c onsiderations which led to its adoption are outlined, and the climatic results of its implementation are analyzed through quantitative therm al comparisons. The thermal behavior and comfort conditions of a typic al lightweight residential structure are compared with those of a conv entional heavyweight structure, using numerical simulations and on-sit e monitoring. Comparisons are made in the arid Negev Highlands and the adjacent coastal plain, two regions whose climatic conditions vary su bstantially despite their geographic proximity. The mechanisms respons ible for thermal behavior in this type of housing are analyzed, and th e appropriateness of its proliferation is evaluated.