Located in the north of Iraq, the historic city of Erbil is one of the oldest cities in the Middle East. The historical Erbil Citadel in the city is the first settlement area of the city and it is built on the mound, and it resembles a small city with its traditional houses, mosques, baths, tekkes and narrow streets. This study explores the spatial characteristics and thermal comfort performances of an exemplary traditional Erbil House. The study focuses on the architectural features of the spaces in the historical houses (the iwan, terrace and rooms on the upper floor; the porch, the cellar on the lower floor) and the top roof. It provides design data that can be used in thermal comfort, reuse, restoration and energy infrastructure planning in historical environments in historical buildings. Energy consumption of historical buildings can be determined with thermal comfort, and more efficient and healthy environments will be obtained by applying this heat level in new buildings. Improvements in thermal comfort level as a result of data obtained from historical buildings contribute to the sustainability of new buildings by increasing their spatial performance values. With the help of these studies, we can evaluate the effects of parameters such as temperature and humidity on building materials, location and shape. Only in this way can we create an important data source for sustainable contemporary building designs.

thermal comfort, housing, climate, traditional material, building materials