Young Scholar Seminar Series: Merve Karabeyeser

Energy efficiency of historic buildings in hot and dry climate regions of Türkiye

The building sector, which is responsible for almost 40% of Co2 emissions, has substantial opportunities for energy efficiency studies. Since conserving the heritage value of these building stocks is essential, historic buildings' energy efficiency is more complex than modern buildings. While applying energy-saving measures, understanding the potential of historic buildings is an essential source for minimum intervention for these buildings. Historic house typology in Türkiye shows diversity for various reasons like culture, climate, material, social, economic and geographical conditions. Historic houses in hot climate have various passive strategies to protect them from the adverse effects of this climate. These specific features are significant for the users not only in terms of thermal comfort but also in terms of heritage value.
In this presentation, Merve will discuss the strategies developed for the energy efficiency of historic houses in hot and dry climate regions of Türkiye and the dynamic relationship between heritage value energy efficiency and thermal comfort.

Merve Karabeyeser Bakan graduated from Gazi University, Department of Architecture, in 2016. She was a research assistant at Hasan Kalyoncu University, Department of Architecture, for four years. She is a PhD candidate at University College London, The Bartlett School of Environment, Energy and Resources, and the Institute of Sustainable Heritage with a Turkish government scholarship. Her PhD focuses on the dynamic interconnections between energy efficiency, heritage and thermal comfort. She has been working as a postgraduate teaching assistant at UCL since 2022.