Table of Contents
African Traditional Architecture studies old domed houses with almost no side windows. They are tall and earthen, with a round or pyramidal roof and a small opening at the crown. The shape itself, he says, was the cooling system. A dome keeps a room warm in cold weather and cool in heat because air circles inside it. He suggests a home test. Put apple under a paper dome and under another cover, wait several days, and compare the rot. The dome, he expects, keeps the fruit fresher, a small model of the houses. Mud buildings, via a National Geographic article, are said to stay temperate in harsh weather, so ancestors heated and cooled without electricity. Machine coolers, by contrast, burn fuel and can leak gases he ties to the ozone layer. Light is weaker. Rooms look dark outside, yet the top vent gives some day, not equal to a lamp. He urges learning from village elders, mixed designs, and filmed records, because published sources are scattered. The talk is a building history, not a ranking of peoples.
Key points
- The houses in view are domed or pyramidal earthen structures with a vent at the top and few windows.
- The dome is presented as the cooler and heater, by moving air inside the curve.
- A paper-dome apple test is offered as a kitchen version of that claim.
- Mud construction is cited, through a National Geographic article, as naturally temperate.
- Electric cooling is criticized for energy use and for gases tied to the ozone layer.
- The close urges local builders, mixed designs, and public records of the old methods.
Short quotes
we're putting all these concrete blocks everywhere we're utilizing huge amounts of energy at the expense of the environment
African Traditional Architecture, African domes and natural cooling
Modern block construction and heavy fuel use are his contrast with earthen design. Watch at 7:51
doing research on African architecture is one of the hardest jobs because the information is very scattered
African Traditional Architecture, African domes and natural cooling
He says the written record of these buildings is thin, scattered, and often unreliable. Watch at 11:37
Video by African Traditional Architecture. Watch on YouTube.