Windcatchers
Windcatchers, also called wind towers, are used from Morocco to India and their origin is hotly debated with Egypt, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates all claiming to be the place of invention. The windcatchers may look like chimneys to the untrained eye. The stone towers stick into the sky facing the prevailing winds. The wind is forced down on the windward side of the tower and into the space below. The draft then goes up the opposite side of the tower. These cooling towers are still used today but have been recorded as far back as as 1300 BC/BCE in Egypt but are likely even older.
While the towers were often fully integrated into more elaborate structures, more utilitarian ones called malkafs were used on more modest buildings. They functioned much the same.
Windcatcher at the Ganjali Khan Complex in Kerman, Iran. Built in the 16th century.
Sky Wells
Ancient Chinese peoples found that combining aspects of windtowers and courtyards into an architectural element called a sky well created a desired cooling effect. Also called tianjing, they are traditional to homes in eastern and southern China and became widespread during the Ming Dynasty. Similar to windcatchers, when blowing wind enters through the top of the house and travels down the wall to the courtyard, displacing the warmer air which rises through the open courtyard roof.
Of course, some cultures combined many of these different methods. In Persia, shabestan were earth-sheltered rooms connected to wind towers that provided cooling air. They would often have a shallow pool like the one pictured which would add additional evaporative cooling to the space. These were used widely during the Islamic Empire. What a place to escape the summer heat!
An Iranian shabestan
