Passive Cooling Technologies in Architecture: From Vernacularity to Modern Approaches Part 2 Dissertation 2026 Lea Khalil Beirut Arab University - Debbieh campus | Lebanon This dissertation explores the potential of vernacular architecture’s passive cooling strategies to inform contemporary architectural practice in the context of rising temperatures, increasing energy demand, and climate change. Thermal comfort in many traditional settlements was achieved by design in response to the climate rather than by mechanical systems. These principles are often ignored or fragmented in modern buildings.The research considered passive cooling as an integrated design framework rather than a collection of isolated techniques. Six key parameters were identified through analytical study of vernacular precedents, contemporary literature, and four international case studies: shading and orientation, airflow and ventilation paths, thermal mass and material logic, landscape and evaporative elements, roof and upper-surface strategies, and cultural and architectural integration.The results show that the passive cooling is most efficient when these parameters function together as a system. Successful projects were not only about technological solutions but also about the integration of environmental performance with spatial quality, cultural identity and user comfort. The research revealed close connections between vernacular environmental wisdom and contemporary architectural innovation, and how traditional principles can be reinterpreted through modern materials, technologies and design approaches.The purpose of the dissertation is to develop a comparative framework for the evaluation of passive cooling strategies, which can offer architects and researchers a practical tool to understand, assess and apply climate-responsive design in contemporary buildings, particularly in the Mediterranean and hot-climate regions. Tutor(s) Maged Youssef