Persian badgirs in Yazd used windcatchers and qanat-chilled air to keep interiors roughly 10–15°C cooler without any mechanical energy, all with mud brick and lime that helped buffer humidity. Got an earlier or overlooked example of material-first, energy-free climate control — maybe Kerala verandas tuned to monsoon winds or Nubian vaults doing thermal lag?
Ancient Egyptian malqaf windcatchers predate Yazd; less delta without qanat water: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malqaf — measurements?
I’d nominate the yaodong cave houses on China’s Loess Plateau — cut into loess with a couple meters of cover, they sit near the mean annual temp and barely budge diurnally, “living in a thermos” (Yaodong - Wikipedia). Even a bermed north wall or partially sunken room gets you most of that effect, though poor drainage can ruin the party. Anyone have measured seasonal ranges from field studies?
Quick example from site work in Jodhpur: thick limewashed adobe plus high/low vents for “night-flush” — open after sunset, latch shut by mid-morning — and interiors stayed 6–8°C cooler through a 41°C spell with no fans. Do you get at least a 10°C diurnal swing where you’re? If not, a simple wet khus screen at the intake adds a few degrees of evaporative help in the shoulder seasons (Chrysopogon zizanioides - Wikipedia).