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Leek, with 53,102 acres and nineteen townships, was the largest of Staffordshire's medieval parishes, and one for which an earlier origin- has been suggested. Set in the foothills of the Pennines it formed part of the Leek and Macclesfield Forest where, in the early thirteenth century, Ranulph, Earl of Chester, established both the market town of Leek and the Cistercian abbey of Dieulacres. Altitude, high rainfall and a short growing season made it a pastoral area with a settlement pattern of small hamlets and isolated farms. It was an `open' parish with huge areas of waste, and population growth between 1563 and 1666 was well above the national average. The absence of wealth is reflected in the survival rate of early houses. Only five pre-date 1500, and sixteenth century remains are small and generally fragmentary. In the seventeenth century national growth worked in favour of the pastoral farmer. Leek's cattle market became one of the most important in the county, and a newfound prosperity manifested itself in the rural areas in good quality stone housing. The houses of the gentry and yeoman farmers survive in considerable numbers from this period, and form a major element in this study. The houses of the poor have been more elusive. Pastoral farming was increasingly supplemented by industry. Iron smelting had been present from the Middle Ages, but faded away in the eighteenth century. The making of buttons and silk goods were established in the seventeenth century, and the eighteenth century saw a modest expansion of urban wealth, and a new generation of houses built for dyers, button-men, `mohair' merchants and lawyers. The button industry dwindled in the face of competition from Birmingham, but the silk industry survived to become industrialized in the nineteenth century, when the market town was engulfed in a sea of mill buildings and workers housing.

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The thesis addresses the contributions of urban geometry under hot-arid summer condition in the Riyadh City, Saudi Arabia, toward both; the development of comfortable microclimate conditions in outdoor spaces at pedestrian level, and energy consumption from urban dwellers. The urban geometry is described in this thesis by three variables, including building height to street width aspect ratios (H/w), sky view factor (SVF) at pedestrian level, and the solar orientations of the canyons. These three variables are used in this study to investigate their influence on the microclimate conditions and the associated outdoor thermal comfort and energy consumption from urban dwellers. The work intends to shed light on the existing geometries of different urban locations in Riyadh City and the associated thermal conditions, as well as the thermal perceptions and preferences of outdoor users. Therefore, integrated empirical studies that are composed of three original surveys are carried out, including a study of land surface temperature of Riyadh City, outdoor thermal comfort survey, and in situ microclimate measurements in different urban locations at neighbourhood scale and within urban canyons. Following that, microclimate and energy modelling are carried out on a number of hypothetical urban geometries that proposed according to the current buildings and planning regulations in the Riyadh City, i.e. building materials, opening ratios on building facades, buildings and streets layouts and minimum width of local streets. Yet, since the study measures the impact of scenarios modifications of urban geometry on the issues under investigation, thus, additional buildings heights and different setback aspect ratios have been added. The proposed hypothetical urban geometries investigated include various street aspect ratio (H/st.) equal to 0.5, 1, 1.5 and 2, and setback aspect ratio (H/sb.) equal to 0, 2, 4 and 8. The proposed urban settings that resulted from the combination of the various streets and setbacks aspect ratios are modelled on four different orientations, including EW, NS, NE-SW and NW-SE, and a total of 64 different urban geometries were evaluated.

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This thesis tests Amos Rapoport’s theory of ‘vernacular design as a model system’ through research by design, in order to develop and refine a model for contemporary design. The vernacular buildings in Wales are used as a foundation for the exploration. The research aim is to develop and demonstrate a design method by which buildings may be distinctive to place. A further aim is to develop a model that may be transferable to other geographical contexts. The research builds on Rapoport’s approach of ‘learning through analysis’ rather than literally reproducing the past, through abstracting and adapting principles from tradition for contemporary design. A model for design is developed and tested through a series of sequential and linked designs, based on traditional housing typologies relevant to current affordable housing need in Wales and elsewhere in the UK. Supported by literature, contextual and precedent studies they are used to inform, interrogate and refine the model. The primary objective of these investigations is to examine the applicability and appropriateness of a model for use by architects and designers. The research demonstrates that the vernacular as a model for design as proposed by Rapoport in its redefined form can offer an effective tool to guide design. It reveals that some aspects of the framework are strong such as siting, form, materials and construction, whereas others were found to be much weaker, such as cultural and experiential aspects of tradition. These elements are harder to uncover and are concerned with the subjective as opposed to the objective. The research establishes that these elements of the model are critical to the development of a design process that promotes connection to place.

This thesis investigates the so-called 'Dutch' houses of east Kent constructed between 1550 and 1750. The buildings represent a localised, east Kentish reflection of a broader Netherlandish architectural tradition visible elsewhere in England and globally where the 'Dutch' had a notable presence. East Kent was chosen, as previous research focuses predominantly on gable shapes and attributes the buildings to fashion or 'strangers' from the Low Countries. Moreover, existing contextualisation overlooks local circumstances and architectural developments across England and Europe. Hence this study explores why the buildings look like they do, are where they are and are regarded as 'Dutch'. Hundreds of 'Dutch buildings' have been analysed using a questionnaire, classification and typology, and the results contribute to knowledge in several important ways. Firstly, the buildings' external appearance and 'Dutchness' are now more clearly intelligible. Above all, the 'Dutch houses' are unique constructions rather than copies of structures in the Low Countries. Their hybrid, relatively homogeneous, Anglo-Netherlandish appearance reflects Flemish and Dutch stylistic inspiration, and incorporates numerous features perceived to be Netherlandish. Secondly, archival research enables an informed judgement on strangers' involvement in constructing the 'Dutch houses'. Since most examples have no documented Netherlandish links and are concentrated in clusters irrespective of where Netherlanders lived, direct input by the strangers is less likely than the local propensity towards 'Dutchness' and wider Anglo-Netherlandish cultural climate. Thirdly, such broader contextualisation has identified additional factors encouraging the development of the 'Dutch houses' including the proximity of east Kent to London and the continent, its above average wealth and the indirect effects of the strangers' presence. Fourthly, a subjective visual approach to assessing the buildings has been pioneered, which has reinterpreted and redefined their 'Dutchness'. Finally, investigations into timings and locations have resulted in a novel developmental timeline for Netherlandish influence on east Kentish buildings.