Windcatcher

A tower or roof structure that captures outdoor breezes and directs them into a building. Windcatchers ventilate and cool interiors through passive airflow.

Wind pressure: The force exerted by moving air, which varies with wind speed and surface orientation. Windward openings collect higher-pressure air and drive it into the building.
Badgir: A traditional Iranian windcatcher tower, often divided into directional air shafts. Badgir is the Persian architectural form most closely associated with the windcatcher.
Passive cooling: Cooling a building through design and natural heat flows rather than powered refrigeration. Windcatchers are a passive cooling strategy that can reduce reliance on air conditioning.
Yazd: A historic city in central Iran known for its desert architecture and many windcatchers. Yazd's skyline and hot, dry climate make it a prominent setting for traditional badgir.
Stack effect: Airflow caused by temperature-driven density differences between indoor and outdoor air. Warm indoor air can rise through a windcatcher, drawing cooler air into lower rooms.
Malqaf: A traditional wind-catching shaft used in Egyptian architecture to direct breezes indoors. The malqaf is a regional form that captures prevailing winds through a single prominent opening.
Evaporative cooling: Cooling that occurs when water evaporates and absorbs heat from its surroundings. Air routed over water or damp surfaces can leave a windcatcher cooler and more humid.
Ancient Egyptian architecture: The architecture of ancient Egypt, including domestic and monumental buildings across several millennia. Ancient Egyptian evidence includes early wind-catching structures related to the malqaf.
Natural ventilation: The exchange of indoor and outdoor air through openings driven by wind or buoyancy. A windcatcher is a built form of ventilation that operates without powered fans.
Solar chimney: A sun-heated vertical shaft that induces airflow by warming the air inside it. Unlike a windcatcher, it can generate ventilation through solar heating rather than captured breezes.

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