Abstract

In every country, heritage plays a significant role in achieving sustainable development. Iran is a vast country with different climatic zones, and, in the past, traditional builders have presented several logical climatic solutions in order to enhance human comfort. In fact, this emphasis has been one of the most important and fundamental features of Iranian architecture. To a significant extent, Iranian architecture has been based on climate, geography, available materials, and cultural beliefs. Therefore, traditional Iranian masons and builders had to devise various techniques to enhance architectural sustainability through the use of natural materials, and they had to do so in the absence of modern technologies. This paper describes the principals and methods of vernacular architectural designs in Yazd, Iran, which is located in a dry and hot area that is one of the unique geographical and cultural regions of Iran. Design and technological considerations, such as sustainable performance of natural materials, optimum usage of available materials, and the use of wind and solar power, were studied in order to provide effective eco-architectural designs for this region. The goal of this paper is to provide the architectural criteria, issues, and insights that had to be addressed in order to provide acceptable levels of human comfort in this arid area. The architectural principals that were developed and used in this extreme climate zone will be beneficial to other architects in the design of architectural structures that provide human comfort in adverse climatic conditions.

Introduction

Iran is a high plateau that is located at latitudes in the range of 25-۴۰ in an arid zone in the northern hemisphere of the Earth. The dry deserts of northern Africa and Saudi Arabia extend from the Atlantic Ocean in western Africa across Iran and finally end in Afghanistan and Turkmenistan. After extensive studies, Iranian environmental professors have proposed four climatic categories from an architectural perspective:

• ۱٫ Hot-dry climate (central plateau of Iran)

• ۲٫ Mountainous cold climate (mountainous parts of western Iran)

• ۳٫ Humid and moderate climate (southern borders of the Caspian Sea)