Summary
This study applies the WELL V1 rating system to evaluate the health performance of Matmata cave dwellings in Tunisia, finding strong performance in daylight saturation, glare control, and thermal comfort despite lacking modern technologies. The findings suggest that vernacular architectural strategies can naturally achieve many evidence-based lighting and wellbeing standards, offering lessons for contemporary biophilic and circadian-conscious design.
Key Findings
- Cave dwellings demonstrated good performance in daylight saturation and solar glare control according to WELL V1 criteria, without modern lighting technology.
- Dwellings scored well on biophilic design, exterior noise reduction, and indoor thermal relief under WELL V1 evaluation.
- Poor performance was identified in air purification, social interaction spaces, clean water supply, and altruism encouragementâareas less addressable through passive design alone.
- No quantitative metrics (lux levels, melanopic EDI, effect sizes) were reported; assessment was qualitative against WELL V1 feature checklists.
Categories
Mood & Mental Wellness: The study evaluates biophilic design and psychological health features of cave dwellings using WELL V1 criteria, including cultural enrichment and emotional wellbeing factors.
The Science of Light: The paper applies WELL V1 lighting standardsâspecifically daylight saturation and solar glare controlâto assess the health-relevant light performance of historical architecture.
Author(s)
HM Raslan, DS Saeed
Publication Year
2023
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