Exploring thermal comfort in the context of historical conservation. A study of the vernacular architecture of Pompeii

ABSTRACT

Investigations of the Vernacular Architecture of Pompeii revealed that little work had been carried out on the way the buildings respond to climate and to what extent these buildings were comfortable to the occupant given modern day standards. An integrated methodology from archaeology and architectural science techniques was developed and using a critical case study approach these questions were examined. A case study was selected as representative of the vernacular typology and that was suitably documented from the both methodological perspectives. A computer model was constructed from this data and simulations carried out using weather files from Naples. The findings from the computer simulation suggest that Romans would have been reasonably comfortable in summer; however, in winter the villas would need heating.

KEYWORDS:

• Sustainability
• vernacular architecture
• building performance
• thermal comfort
• Pompeii

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the Soprintendenza Archeologica di Pompei for enabling us access to houses in Pompeii, in particular, Professor Cinquantaquattro, Head of the Special Superintendency for the Archaeological Heritage of Naples and Pompeii, the Director of Archaeology, Dr Antonio Varone, as well as Dr Antonio D’Ambrosio. We are also extremely grateful to Sarah Court, the research and outreach co-ordinator of the Herculaneum Conservation Project and Christian Biggi, the Manager of the International Centre for the Study of Herculaneum for generously sharing their knowledge of recent research at Herculaneum.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.