The Climatic performance of courtyard residential buildings needs to be
investigated if the assertion that courtyard is a microclimate modifier is to be
accepted. Therefore, this study seeks to examine the microclimatic performance
of two existing courtyard residential buildings with similar characteristics in
Kafanchan-Kaduna Nigeria, -the fully enclosed courtyard residential building and
the semi-enclosed courtyard residential building. The purpose of this research is
to investigate their microclimatic performances in other to establish the best
courtyard house. This study uses measurement to achieve its aim. The tool
employed for data collection is the Hobo Weather Data Loggers (HWDL). Three
HWDL were used to collect data in the two case-study, and the third one was
placed in the outside area as a benchmark. Only air temperature and relative
humidity were measured. This study revealed a tangible difference in the
microclimatic performance of the two case-study. The fully enclosed courtyard
residential building is seen to have air temperature difference of 1 oC to 3 oC, and
the relative humidity difference of 4 % to 8 %. In conclusion, the fully enclosed
courtyard house demonstrated a more favorable microclimatic performance than
the semi-enclosed, and further simulation studies towards its optimization are
required.
Scholars have opined that the courtyard is a passive architectural design element and
that it can act as a microclimate modifier provided that its design requirements are not
ignored. But despite the assertions, empirical studies on the microclimatic
performance of a fully enclosed courtyard house and the non-courtyard house seems
to be deficient, and the assumption that the Courtyard is a passive architectural design
element needs to be substantiated. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to
investigate the microclimatic performance of a fully enclosed courtyard and noncourtyard
residential buildings. The main objective is to compare their microclimatic
performances in other to draw a conclusion on the best option. Three Hobo Weather
Data Loggers were used to collect climatic data in the buildings, and the third one was
situated in the outdoor area as a benchmark. The climatic variables investigated are;
air temperature and relative humidity. The fully enclosed courtyard residential building
is seen to have a better air temperature difference of 2 oC to 4 oC and the relative
humidity of 2 % to 6 %. In conclusion, the fully enclosed courtyard residential building
has confirmed a more favorable microclimatic performance, and future studies
towards its optimization are recommended.