page_title: Windcatcher
section_title: Qatar
hierarchical_section_title: Windcatcher / Regional use / Middle East and Asia / Qatar
caption_attribution_description: English: Qatar University.Campus
context_page_description: A windcatcher is a traditional architectural element used to create natural ventilation and passive cooling in buildings. Windcatchers come in various designs: unidirectional, bidirectional, and multidirectional. Windcatchers are widely used in North Africa and in the West Asian countries around the Persian Gulf, and have been for the past three thousand years.
  Neglected by modern architects in the latter half of the 20th century, the early 21st century saw them used again, to increase ventilation and cut power demand for air-conditioning. Generally, the cost of construction for a windcatcher-ventilated building is less than that of a similar building with conventional heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems. The maintenance costs are also lower. Unlike powered air-conditioning and fans, windcatchers are silent and continue to function when the electrical grid power fails.
  Windcatchers rely on local weather and microclimate conditions, and not all techniques will work everywhere; local factors must be taken into account in design.
caption: The University of Qatar in Doha has unusual windcatchers.[2]
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