Daily Dose 1808

Hyderabad Wind Catchers

Daily Dose Monographic Images 1808 | Malqaf - Wind Catchers "These unusual roofscapes are a prominent feature of the lower Sind district in west Pakistan. From April to June, temperatures range above 120°F (49°C), lowered by an afternoon breeze to a pleasant 95°. To channel the wind into every building, “bad-gir,” windscoops, are installed on the roofs, one to each room. Since the wind always blows from the same direction, the position of the windscoops is permanently fixed. In multistoried houses they reach all the way down, doubling as intramural telephones. Although the origin of this contraption is unknown, it has been in use for at least five hundred years." From Architecture without Architects, Bernard Rudofsky, 1964. Photographs of Hyderabad by Martin Hürlimann, 1927. Via HIC arquitectura. Section of the Uthman Katkhuda Palace (c. ad 1350) in the old town of Cairo (Egypt), highlighted by Hassan Fathy in his publication Natural Energy and Vernacular Architecture (Chicago 1986)