Old and Contemporary Mediterranean Courtyard: Between climatic Performance and social Evolution
Résumé
Historical courtyard was found in old civilizations, and it was developed on a great geographic area during a long period. In Mediterranean cities, including old Medinas, the buildings with courtyards were adopted as a dominant model.
However, in the past, the courtyard was adopted for socio-cultural and climatic reasons, which are specific to Mediterranean regions. That involves a particular inhabitant’s adaptation; we mean internal nomadism and diurnal life rhythm. Recently, in southern and eastern mediterranean Medinas, we observe the revival of buildings with big courtyards. They are mixed-use buildings: habitat, trade and office. The first concept of this new type is the combination between many uses in one building to solve social problems; the second is the integration of interior courtyard to answer the climatic needs. These buildings may also preserve the Mediterranean identity. Nevertheless, this new type of buildings is implanted in a new social and urban context. Moreover, the courtyard here is used as a semi-public space. These changes make the subject of this paper; we will focus on the convenience of new building’s type from social and climatic point of view.