Indoor Microclimate Conditions and the Impact of Transformations on Hygrothermal Comfort in the Old Ottoman Houses in Algiers

This article focuses on the assessment of microclimatic conditions in the Ottoman residential buildings in the old city of Algiers. It aims to identify the nature of architectural transformations and to analyse their impact on hygrothermal comfort and the indoor microclimate so as to suggest ways to improve the current level of comfort within the traditional houses. The object of this article is to identify the nature of this transformation process, to find out, not only what triggers it but what fuels it, and to analyse its impact on the environment, or more specifically, on the hygrothermal comfort, within the building. It entails, primarily, an analysis of the colonial and post-colonial architectural transformations, followed by a verification of all the components of hygrothermal comfort through numerical simulation and modelling. The aim is to correct the interior comfort of the current houses in the Casbah. The results obtained will clarify the nature of these colonial and post-colonial changes, which were carried out to satisfy the needs of the inhabitants, and lead to an evaluation of environmental quality, assessed through the parameters that influence the indoor microclimate of houses in Algeria.