@article{article_1717477, title={Greening Strategies for Improving Existing Residential Buildings’ Performance in Bahrain’s Tropical Desert Climate}, journal={A+Arch Design International Journal of Architecture and Design}, volume={11}, pages={19–33}, year={2025}, author={Mestarehi, Motaz and Allani, Najla}, keywords={Building performance, Energy efficiency, Greening Strategies, Sustainable Building, Retrofitting}, abstract={Bahrain’s tropical desert climate significantly challenges existing buildings’ energy efficiency and indoor comfort. The residential sector in Bahrain consumes up to 48% of national energy production. Cooling accounts for up to 80% of domestic energy use. Moreover, existing buildings require envelope renovation, and one of the least intrusive methods is greening strategies. The study’s main objective is to assess the impact of retrofitting greening strategies on energy consumption and specify its optimum configuration. Simulations through DesignBuilder were conducted to model a typical housing unit in Bahrain. Results indicated that greening provides effective protection from solar radiation and reduces solar heat gains through building envelopes. Furthermore, the configuration of the green roof combined with the South and West green walls offered the best results in limiting indoor cooling energy demand. Findings suggest that retrofitting existing residential units could significantly reduce cooling loads and, therefore, reduce energy consumption.}, number={1}, publisher={Istanbul Aydin University}