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This paper reviewed related research works and developments on the traditional architectural element "mashrabiya" focusing on its history, design and structure, typology, and functions in hot climates. Moreover, the paper assessed the effect of the traditional mashrabiya on the indoor thermal environment and thermal comfort in a selected case study building. For this purpose, two similar rooms were investigated in a selected historic building with abundant mashrabiyas located in the Makkah Region, specifically in Old Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The field tests were conducted during a typical hot summer month with two different configurations. The study demonstrated that opening the mashrabiya allowed more airflow into the room during the day and reduced the indoor temperature by up to 2.4 °C as compared to the closed mashrabiya. Besides, the building envelope played an important role in preventing the high fluctuation of the indoor air temperature, where the fluctuation of the rooms air temperature ranged between 2.1 °C and 4.2 °C compared to the outdoor temperature which recorded a fluctuation between 9.4 °C and 16 °C. The data presented here can be used for the future development of the mashrabiya concept and the potential incorporation with passive cooling methods to improve its design according to the requirements of modern buildings in hot climates. Moreover, further studies and tests on mashrabiyas under different climatic conditions are required. Also, the different strategies or materials can be incorporated with mashrabiyas in order to improve its thermal performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The case study is a passive house located in the heart of historic Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. • Three different techniques of evaporative cooling were integrated with the Mashrabiya. • The most effective strategy was the use of wetted cloth near the inlet of the Mashrabiya. • The thermal mass played an important role in reducing fluctuations in indoor temperatures. • Strategies used did not lead to achieving the indoor desired temperature comfort (33.3 °C). Mashrabiya is one of the primary features of Arab-Islamic architecture which can be found and still used in different cities around the world. It can be defined as an opening covered with wooden lattice for ventilation, daylight, privacy, and an aesthetic appeal for houses. The motivation for this work stems from the lack of existing field studies on the ventilation and thermal performance of buildings incorporated with Mashrabiya and the potential to enhance its capabilities by combining it with different passive cooling techniques. The present study aims to investigate the influence of Mashrabiya on the indoor environment in a traditional building situated in a hot climate. The case study selected for this work is the Baeshen House which is located in the heart of historic Jeddah and the area with the most traditional Mashrabiyas in Saudi Arabia. The field data of air temperature, relative humidity, globe temperature, and air velocity were collected for two similar rooms (one open Mashrabiya and one close) in the building during typical hot summer conditions when the outdoor temperature ranged between 40 and 41.6 °C in the afternoon. Different techniques of passive/evaporative cooling strategy were integrated with the Mashrabiya: thermal mass, water pots, water spray, and cloth. The results showed that the closed Mashrabiya contributed to reducing the flow of hot air into rooms during the afternoon, and the indoor temperature was maintained at 35.4–35.8 °C. Increasing the speed of airflow into the room by opening the Mashrabiya had a minimal effect during the afternoon, but it was observed that the night cooling improved. It was found that the most effective strategy was the use of wetted cloth near the inlet of the Mashrabiya (33.8 °C indoor average when the outdoor temperature was at 41.6 °C). The study demonstrated that comfortable conditions could be attained between 1 and 9 a.m. during hot summer conditions. Overall, the Mashrabiya with evaporative cooling was not able to provide comfort during the midday, and other strategies should be considered for hot summer conditions. Future work will focus on investigating different materials and strategies to enhance the performance of Mashrabiyas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]