Graphic Analysis of the Environmental Influence on the Traditional Construction of a House in Órgiva, Granada, Spain

Abstract

Software simulations allow the interior composition of buildings to be graphically analysed. Thus, it is possible to make an approximation related to very diverse parameters such as the comfort or earthquake resistance of the buildings. From the perspective of traditional architecture, this work aims to rigorously examine the characteristics of the construction systems used in Órgiva, a town of Las Alpujarras, in Granada, one of Spain's most seismically hazardous regions. Hence, using graphical interpretation, objective values are obtained to better understand the intrinsic performance of the materials. For this purpose, the simulation of a masonry wall is created by interpreting data related to heat and vapour flow, temperature, humidity and partial pressure. By means of internal analysis, and including the climatic conditions of the territory, we can observe how the construction systems affect the comfort of the users, causing condensation dampness in joints between walls and pathologies in the systems. In addition, the results are valuable for the maintenance of the building as they foresee future problems and guide the technician in the resolution of architectural encounters, benefiting the strong points and optimising the performance of the construction, even in terms of earthquake resistance. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.