Urban Morphology and Solar Gains in Cities with Warm Mediterranean Climate: Comparison of Two Collective Residential Complexes in Tunis, Tunisia

Abstract

Facing the growing impacts of climate change, adaptation is no longer a choice but a necessity particulary in vulnerable countries. This is the case for cities with warm Mediterranean climate. Architects and urban planners’ challenge is to rethink the cities in order to achieve the transition to local resilience. The energy efficiency of the indoor environment is the main adaptation measure. Indeed, the use of a bioclimatic architectural design has a big role assuring energy efficiency. But the urban morphology can deeply influence the solar availability on façades and, therefore, the solar gains. This article is part of a research project that aims to assess the environmental quality of the current collective habitat in the city of Tunis and to identify the gaps in order to guide the designers in their future ecological approach. For that, this article presents a comparison of two collective residential complexes as part of our representative sample: The districts are Ennour—Jaafer and Les Pins—Lac II. The calculations and simulations are done using Revit Architecture and the plugin Insight 360°. The results confirm that the urban density, the roughness but also the shape of the buildings can have a big role assuring the energy efficiency and enhance the interior thermal comfort helping the cities with warm Mediterranean climate facing the heat waves during the summer.