Chronological Evolution of Living Space in Palestinian Residential Units: Assessing Spatial Configuration, Social Dynamics, and Thermal Performance

Abstract

Palestinian residential architecture has changed substantially across the Ottoman, Jordanian, and contemporary periods, with traditional spatial elements such as the courtyard and mastaba (raised Platform) giving way to newer forms like the liwan (enclosed central hall) and enclosed kitchen. These shifts, driven by political, social, and constructional change, have tended to be documented descriptively, with little attempt to connect them to measurable thermal performance. This study addresses that gap by tracing how spatial configuration across the three periods has shaped indoor thermal comfort, and by testing whether design strategies drawn from historical precedent can improve contemporary housing performance. Across the three periods, changes occurred in wall composition, window-to-wall ratios, and the relationship between interior spaces and the outside. Three case studies in Abu Dis were selected and verified against the study's case-selection criteria using a household questionnaire, then assessed through field measurements of indoor air temperature and relative humidity (one week in summer, 30 hours in winter) used to build and calibrate DesignBuilder/EnergyPlus models against ASHRAE Guideline 14. The Ottoman house showed a summer diurnal swing of just 1.8°C, against 4.4°C in the contemporary case, which fell outside the Fanger comfort range for 69.5% of summer hours. In the Jordanian case, parametric testing of window-to-wall ratio identified an optimal range of 18.5–30.9%; the contemporary case showed no single best ratio, with a summer/winter trade-off between the tested configurations instead. Reintroducing the veranda as a thermal buffer, tested on the Jordanian and contemporary cases only cut solar heat gain by 43.9% in summer and 66.3% in winter in the contemporary case, and lowered summer Predicted Percentage of Dissatisfied to 19.2% in the Jordanian case. Overall, Selective reuse of historical elements, such as optimized window-to-wall ratios and verandas, can improve passive thermal comfort in contemporary Palestinian housing by drawing on proven local building strategies.