Purpose The purpose of this paper is to make a comprehensive research on serenders including observation, determination and documentation of the architectural details of serender. Moreover, computer simulation-based performance evaluation is also planned to be applied in order to make a contribution to architectural, social, cultural and historical sustainability of serender. Design/methodology/approach The study employs strategies based on qualitative research techniques and methods. In order to clarify the architectural details of serender structures, literature review and a case study analysis are conducted. Findings Within the scope of this paper, the early findings of this ongoing research, which are about the architectural details, are presented regarding the regional characteristics as borders. This part of the study presents the determination of all the original architectural details of serender. Originality/value Serenders in Rize, Turkey, have original, architectural, cultural and historical values. However, they have not been preferred to be built and used in recent years. Therefore, the original architectural style, details and construction techniques have started to fade away. These facts highlight the importance of their documentation and preservation in terms of traditional architecture, material and craftsmanship. This study aims to provide comprehensive documents about their architectural characteristics.

The study aims to analyse hygrothermal performance of traditional timber-framed houses in order to discuss building skins' energy efficiency. There are numerous types of traditional timber-framed houses in Anatolia depending on social, cultural and regional features. Within the scope of this paper, the traditional architectural features of Safranbolu County of Turkey is selected as the case study. Safranbolu is placed in the Western Black Sea region, where specific examples of traditional timber-framed constructions with adobe infill are housed. As a significant example, "hımış" is a hybrid construction of stone masonry walls on ground level, and infilled timber-frame walls in upper levels. The construction of hımış is organized by rectangular studs of pinewood, and infill material of adobe. Wooden diagonals, which cope with the dynamic loads, especially earthquake, support the system and provide long-term durability for these buildings. In this study, hımış construction wall type with adobe infill is selected. The selected example is simulated by Delphine 6.0 for the evaluation of hygrothermal performance. Considering energy efficiency, hygrothermal performance is investigated by heat transfer and moisture control in order to raise awareness of traditional timber-framed capacities. The main purpose to focus on hygrothermal performance analysis is to integrate indigenous knowledge into contemporary architecture regarding social, economic and cultural characteristics in a sustainable manner. The expected outcome of this study is the determination of the selected type of traditional timber-framed buildings' hygrothermal performance.

The aim of this research is to evaluate the hygrothermal performances of traditional timber-framed houses' exterior walls in Turkey to create a base case scenario of hygrothermal behavior as a datum for conservation and restoration projects. There is a unique range of traditional timber-framed houses in Turkey varied according to geographical, social, economic, and cultural characteristics. They are hybrid constructions whereby an infilled timber-framed system is erected on the masonry walls. They are compositions of rectangular studs of wood and infill materials such as adobe, stone, and brick. Most constructed examples may be classified in groups of four depending on infill materials as follows: (1) timber-framed adobe infill, (2) timber-framed brick infill, (3) timber-framed stone infill, and (4) unfilled timber-framed. Within the scope of the research, one example from each type is selected for hygrothermal performance assessments by applying the simulation program DELPHIN 6.1.1. This research is concentrated on the evaluation of hygrothermal performances of the selected types over 4 years (January 01, 2010-January 01, 2014) by investigating the temperature, relative humidity, U-value, and moisture mass model graphics of the cross-section of the wall samples. 2010 was one of the rainiest years and 2013 was one of the less rainy years in the selected locations for the last 10 years. The findings of this paper indicate that when factors such as construction details, materials, and climatic conditions are varied, there may be humidity-based problems in the selected examples. In that case, intersection points of materials, layers, and their relationships should be re-evaluated to improve the hygrothermal performances of the selected walls for conservation and restoration projects.