Solar Energy Research Institute

Purpose –
Kish Island is one of the most attractive tourism destinations in Iran and it is becoming an increasingly popular destination for tourism investment. Many people have recently migrated to the island. Thus, one of the housing policies for the island is to maximize the efficiency of residential lands, particularly in providing affordable housing for low-income people. The purpose of this study is to develop social, economical and architectural solutions for affordable housing design and overcome related problems using adapted vernacular solutions.

Design/methodology/approach –
The methodology of this study involved identifying the research problem, followed by formatting the research framework, reviewing the comprehensive literature and documenting the concepts of affordable housing and vernacular architecture. Therefore, an affordable house design methodology was used to develop vernacular architecture to minimize cost and environmental impacts, while maximizing the social acceptability in housing projects for low-income earners in Kish Island. Section A in Mir Mohanna, which is the most important residential centre for the low-income people, was used as the study area in this research.

Findings –
The results of this study clarified that the houses in Section A in Mir Mohanna did not meet the criteria of affordable housing and people's needs. Hence, some suggestions for affordable housing would certainly contribute towards formulating all these, including housing policy to be implemented on Kish Island.

Originality/value –
The current paper was an attempt to find strategies for guiding the appropriate process of developing affordable housing on the basis of vernacular architecture for the country and other similar places. It is hoped that the recommendations might increase more regulated housing development and housing policies on Kish Island.

Abstract Rapid growth of urban population and urban area during the past 30 years in Bandar Abbas city with hot and humid climate has been regarded as the major concern of urban designers and planners. In modern fabric climate response urban design has been ignored. This paper investigates the microclimate principals of two different fabrics in South East of Bandar Abbas using different thermal comfort indices and microclimate assessment of residential urban canyons.

This article appeared in a journal published by Elsevier. The attached copy is furnished to the author for internal non-commercial research and education use, including for instruction at the authors institution and sharing with colleagues. Other uses, including reproduction and distribution, or selling or licensing copies, or posting to personal, institutional or third party websites are prohibited. In most cases authors are permitted to post their version of the article (e.g. in Word or Tex form) to their personal website or institutional repository. Authors requiring further information regarding Elsevier's archiving and manuscript policies are encouraged to visit: http://www.elsevier.com/copyright Keywords: Urban heat island mitigation Tree canopy density and quantity Cool pavement Outdoor and indoor air temperature Optimum cooling effect Building energy savings a b s t r a c t This study focuses on the optimum cooling effect of trees with ground materials modification in mitigating the urban heat island (UHI) and the benefits towards building energy performance in tropical climate. The modification focused on both physical properties e i.e. tree canopy density and quantity; and the albedo values of ground materials. Two phases of methodology were developed and applied using field measurement and computer simulation. This study measured the average monthly UHI intensity found to be þ2.6 C. In mitigating its impact, higher levels of tree canopy density (LAI 9.7) coupled with " cool " materials (albedo of 0.8) produced the largest urban air temperature reduction. Simulations predicted an average air temperature reduction of 2.7 C when compared with the current condition. Further, both modifications were found to produce a potential building cooling load reduction of up to 29%. In fact, the optimum improvement of both outdoor and indoor environment was influenced by three major physical factors, namely, larger tree quantity, higher canopy density and cool materials. Thus, it is suggested that appropriate guidelines, influencing implementation of these improvements could be implemented in order to mitigate the UHI effect in tropical climate.

The constricted planning design of most intermediate terrace housing built in Malaysia has impoverished access to personal green space that could render a better living condition to its occupants. Thus, the idea of retrofitting green roof to the existing terrace houses in Kuala Lumpur is advocated as an alternative green space within the unit. This paper attempts to investigate the many significant constructs and variables that may influence the owner-occupants' acceptance of the green roof. Literature reviews are undertaken as a methodology. Attitude towards use, subjective norms and perceived behavioural control are found to be relevant as the main constructs. Others variables include health, leisure, comfort, redundancy, aesthetic, safety, return of investment, capital, spatial needs and privacy.