Urban sustainability in the Arabian Gulf: Air conditioning and its alternatives
本文以卡塔尔的Msheireb Downtown Doha项目为例，研究阿拉伯海湾地区城市可持续性中空调与热舒适问题，探讨传统与遗产在大型项目中的凸显，并借鉴Appadurai的设计单一性批判分析室内舒适规范。
This paper examines shifting approaches to urban sustainability in the Arabian Gulf by focusing on the issue of air conditioning and thermal comfort. It considers the recent foregrounding of tradition and heritage within the arena of mega-project development in Qatar, using the Msheireb Downtown Doha Project as an example of a wider regional trend around urban sustainability. Through its focus on air conditioning, the paper draws on Appadurai’s recent critique of design singularity to examine built environment sustainability in relation to the indoor comfort norms and practices, for both bodies and objects, which are now well established across the Gulf region.