• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Global Ecovillage Network

Connecting Communities for a Sustainable World

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
Donate
  • Contact
  • FAQ
  • Login
  • About
  • Ecovillages
  • Regions
  • Our Work
  • Resources
  • Get Involved!
  • Search
  • News
  • Market
  • Solution Library
  • Impact Assessment
  • Climate Solutions
You are here: Home / Solution Library / Malqaf

Malqaf Wind catch tower (Malqaf)

Written by Ernesto Sun,

Description of Challenge

In hot arid zones, a difficulty is found in combining the three functions of the ordinary window: light, ventilation, and view. If windows are used to provide for air movement indoors, they must be very small, which reduces room lighting. Increasing the size to permit sufficient lighting and an outside view lets in hot air as well as a strong glare. Therefore, it is necessary to satisfy the three functions ascribed to the window separately.
Malqaf is a part of a complete ventilation system, consisting of a large shaft rising high above the roof of a building. The system of ventilation developed depends primarily on air movement by pressure differential, but also secondarily on air movement by convection.

Solution

To satisfy the need for ventilation alone, the Malqaf or wind-catch was invented. It is a shaft rising high above the roofline, with an single large opening and a diagonally sloping top that faces the prevailing wind. It traps the wind from high above the building where it is cooler and stronger, and channels it down into the interior of the building.
The Malqaf thus dispenses with the need for ordinary windows to ensure ventilation and air movement. The Malqaf is also useful in reducing the sand and dust so prevalent in the winds of hot arid regions. The wind it captures above the building contains less solid material than the wind at lower heights, and much of the sand which does enter is dumped at the bottom of the shaft.
The value of the Malqaf is even more obvious in dense cities in warm humid climates, where thermal comfort depends mostly on air movement. It’s found especially in Egypt, Iran, and Pakistan but also in Egypt, where the Malqaf has long been a feature of Islamic architecture.

Related websites:

  • Wind catcher (Malqaf)
Share this:
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Pinterest
  • Share on LinkedIn

About Ernesto Sun

IT-staff for GEN-IS
ecovillage.org

Reader Interactions

Primary Sidebar

Logo for Solution Library
  • Solution Library
    • About the Solution Library
    • Solution Library Partners
    • Solution Library Guidelines
    • Add Solution

Solution info

  • Regeneration Area

    :
    • Ecology
      • Green Building

Add a solution

Help improve the library by adding your own solutions!

Newly Added Solutions

Almost Heaven Farms

CASA Latina and EmerGENcies Musurrunakuna-Mocoa-Colombia

CASA Latina and EmerGENcies Musurrunakuna-Mocoa-Colombia

Afristar Foundation Creating Sustainable Futures

SAFECO Synergie des Associations Feminines du Congo

Cameroon Vision Trust An awareness-building NGO that seeks to contribute to international efforts to foster sustainable development

Most Viewed Solutions

Almost Heaven Farms

CASA Latina and EmerGENcies Musurrunakuna-Mocoa-Colombia

CASA Latina and EmerGENcies Musurrunakuna-Mocoa-Colombia

Afristar Foundation Creating Sustainable Futures

Agriculture for hope

Algae production – Lasse Melgaard

Tags

Advocacy Africa Annual Report Ashram Auroville Board Conference Consultancy Damanhur Dimensions of Sustainability economy education Europe Findhorn Gambia Ghana gift economy Hildur Jackson Award indigenous peoples intentional communities Kibbutz Latin America NextGEN Nigeria North America Oceania & Asia Permaculture Personal stories Report rural development Showcase Ecovillage Social Sunseed Desert Project sustainability Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Sweden Talk Tamera traditional communities Training urban ecovillages Video volunteer Webinar Youth

Top Footer

Donate to GEN

Donating funds to GEN is a tangible way to contribute to this concrete and dynamic movement for positive change. Your donation helps to support and to spread ecovillages around the world. We invite donations to GEN International or a GEN Region.

Donate

Join our Newsletter

Subscribe to our monthly Newsletter to keep up to date with the latest news and happenings in ecovillages and their allies around the globe. You can also subscribe to your region's newsletter for local updates!

Join Us

Volunteer with GEN

Volunteering supports the network while forming valuable connections, meeting incredible people, and contributing to a positive future. There are many ways you can support GEN with your time and energy.

Volunteer

Footer

Our Work

  • Consultancy
  • Development
  • Education
  • Research
  • Advocacy
  • Youth
  • Women
  • Projects

Resources

  • News
  • Market
  • Solution Library
  • Impact Assessment
  • Climate Solutions
  • Frequently asked questions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Login

Vision & Mission

The Global Ecovillage Network envisions a world of empowered people and communities, designing pathways to a sustainable future, while building bridges of hope and international solidarity.

As a solution-based, multi-stakeholder alliance, GEN provides information, tools, examples, and representation to the expanding global network dedicated to demonstrating principles and practices of sustainability in their lifestyles and communities.

Creative Commons License
All content on this site is licensed under under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License
The Global Ecovillage Network is a registered charity: SC043796 and has consultative status in the UN – ECOSOC.