Escuela de Politécnica Superior

Introduction: This research will determine if a native American shelter (wigwam) can create comfort and if while doing so can provide healthy indoor air quality (IAQ) levels as defined by current standards. Concurrent to this research a technique to digitally model the outcomes of comfort created within the shelter was developed. Methods: A fullsize example of a wigwam was built and data from inside and outside the wigwam monitored for comparison. Data collected both inside and outside was temperature and relative humidity of the air, collected inside the wigwam were CO2, VOC, and PM2.5 levels. The wigwam allowed us to compare the accuracy of a digital model created in Design Builder. The Design Builder model was made to the specific size, materials, and location of the actual wigwam. This allowed an accurate comparison of temperature and relative humidity levels. Design-Builder accurately recreated the attributes of the full-size wigwam. Results and Discussion: It was found that comfort can be achieved to modern standards in this native shelter; as temperature, relative humidity, and rainfall exposure can all be controlled to acceptable levels. Indoor air quality is always at an acceptable level when a fire isn’t active. When an open fire is introduced, the particulates and VOC released into the interior of the wigwam are at dangerous levels. A woodstove with flue pipe allowed for comfort to be maintained at healthier air quality levels but did not reach acceptable levels for particulate matter.

The Haida plank house is one of the most important models built by the native American Indians. Built on the southwest coast of Canada, it adapts the tradition of the ancient pit houses to the requirements of the humid and cold climate characteristic of the Haida Gwaii Islands. This construction is composed by two main pieces: the central pit covered by a wooden envelope. Both protect its dwellers and their hearths. The ventilation system is based on two solutions: the gaps between the wall planks and a smoke hole that can be opened or closed in the roof at will. The aim of the present research is to analyze the way these two elements arrange the indoor airflow in order to ensure the comfortability of the house. Four cases have been proposed, according to four different dimensions for the gaps: 1, 2, 3 and 4 cm. Each case has been doubled in order to determine how the state of the smoke hole affected the corresponding results. This way, it has been concluded that if the gaps’ width becomes higher than 4 cm, the airflow velocity comfort level would be exceeded. It is been possible to observe how the state of the smoke hole influences the way the air moves around the dwelling.