Relation Between the Courtyard and its Around Architectural Spaces in the Heritage Houses of Sharjah: A Study of Sustainable Environmental Indicators

Jus and coral stone houses thrived in the 18th and 19th centuries on Sharjah Creek, distinguished by its architectural design that met environmental and social requirements through the distribution of the rooms and the traditional techniques. The courtyard was the core of the traditional house, which provided a suitable environment, given the high temperatures experienced in the area. Many architectural spaces have been associated with the courtyard to enhance its functional role in achieving thermal comfort.This research paper investigates all the architectural spaces that were associated with the courtyard, whether directly or indirectly, for the purpose of analyzing and studying the importance of the relation between them, and documenting the spaces and their function by referring to the literature studies and interviewing the specialist in the local architecture and the elderly who lived in these houses. Based on that, this research categorizes six architectural spaces associated with the courtyard deduced in these houses, as interviews along with literature and studies totally agreed on the importance of the courtyard's association with liwan, rooms with rooms windcatcher, summer rooms, and balconies. On the other hand, Interviewees added a valuable contribution to the study by pointing out spaces that were not mentioned in the literature, such as al Manama and Taktabush.