An Overview of Traditional Heating, Ventilation, and Illumination Technologies In Historic Baths and Their Contemporary Inspirations

Passive heating, lighting, and ventilation techniques in historic buildings and their sustainability in conjunction with new designs are essential to maintaining a greener, ecological environment. This article describes a framework for identifying and disclosing the passive survival strategies and resulting solutions applied to historic baths in Anatolia. The aim is to first increase knowledge and awareness of ancient systems and to discuss and examine their contemporary inspirations and considerations of existing and new construction technologies. A total of four baths from the Roman, Byzantine, Principalities and Ottoman periods in Anatolia were selected. Their original heating, lighting, and ventilation systems were determined largely through on-site observations, literature review, and archival sources. The results indicate that in today’s modern residential, industrial or commercial buildings, reflections of these ancient technologies and traditional concepts can be observed as the main source of inspiration. They can be seen either in the form of light pipes, underfloor heating systems, or a double-skin façade. The old technologies and solutions of historic baths are mostly sustainable and ecological. Looking back at these historic technologies can inspire further ecological design developments and symbiotic implementation possibilities in new building designs.