Abstract
Jeddah City is a hot, arid zone and is characterized by high air temperatures and humidity. New architecture shall be undertaken by attempting to achieve the paradigm of natural ventilation and initiatives should be aimed at minimizing the harmful effects of a harsh environment on city inhabitants (Mohamed and Fekry, 2018). This paper focuses on finding reasons behind the negligence of wind catcher use, in contemporary residential buildings, in the city of Jeddah- it employs both semi-structured interviews and questionnaires with residents and professionals, to illustrate their opinions. Results show a relative lack of awareness among residents regarding passive strategies overall and wind catchers, in particular. Results also show, however, tangible potential among professionals to adapt passive strategies and tools. Most importantly, this paper attempts to illustrate how the survey's results are contrary to conventional belief: that high levels of humidity, temperature, dust and safety issues are primary reasons for the negligence of natural ventilation strategies in Jeddah.