Vernacular Architecture of Iran

ARCHITECTURE OF IRAN
.
 Iranian architecture can be considered
through the age-old history of the land.
 It goes back to the late 6th and early 5th

millennia BC Iranian architecture has
been a comprehensive embodiment of
Iranian psychology and characteristics in
different historical periods.
In studying Iranian architecture four distinct,
protracted, but continuous periods are
distinguished, as follows:
-
 Iranian prehistoric architecture till the
formation of the first national government by
the Medes. Before 700BC.
 Persian architecture from the Medes period
till the end of Sassanians. 700BC - 600AC.
 Islamic period architecture till the end of
Safavi period. Until 600A - 1500AC
 Contemporary and present-day Persian
architecture
VERNACULAR ARCHITECTURE IN IRAN:
 Climate has a major effect on the performance of the

building and its energy consumption. Reducing energy
consumption, using natural resources and providing
comfortable, healthier and sustainable living spaces are
the aims of a Vernacular building design.
 Vernacular architecture, a termed entitled to the

architectures which dedicate great importance to the
environment, is one of the characteristics of the
sustainable design in which environmental
sustainability is more important.
ARCHITECTURE OF HOT AND DRY CLIMATE
IN IRAN:
Climate categorization in Iran:
Iran is divided into four major climates:
 hot arid
 hot humid
 mild humid and cold
Considering that the average raining in Iran is a lot
lower than other parts of the world and as a result
weather in most parts of the country is hot and dry.
To study the Vernacular Architecture we will

analyze the architecture sustainability in hot and dry
climates particularly Kashan.
Hot and dry climate characteristics in Kashan:
 hot and dry weather in summer, cold and dry in

winter.
 low raining
 very low weather wetness
 Very low plant cover
 too much day and night temperature difference
 winds with dust in desserts.
 condensed city texture
CLIMATE IN KASHAN
 The climate in Kashan during summer is

characterized by fierce heat, which tends to be
unbearable towards the end of the summer
season.
 During winter, it is cold and sometimes.
 It is rainy in November and December.
 Detailed information on temperatures and

rather high solar radiation levels in Kashan are
given in Table1.
Morphology and texture of Kashan city:
 In these regions the urban texture is condensed

and compressed to each other.
 Houses have merged or combined walls and the
border between them cannot be identified.
 The structure of the city is planned in such a way
that cities are open in the direction of desirable
winds and close in the direction of undesirable
wind and sand storm.
 One of the reasons for applying narrow lanes,
which have high walls and arch’s roof, is to
create the shadow on the surrounding houses
and also to control the wind speed of the plateau
 In this climate, vernacular
cities are built with a condense
texture and the houses are
attached to each other to the
extent that boundaries among
them were difficult to identify.
Because of the compression of : morphology (Ghobadian, 1996)
buildings, the outer surfaces
of the buildings have been
reduced to the minimum;
hence causing the houses to
save enough energy for long
time usages.
 The main streets in the town Narrow and irregular street in compact
face the direction of the texture of Kashan (Ghobadian, 1996)
prevailing wind.
If the streets were not narrow more sand would have
been blown into the streets from the desert and
ferocious winds would have penetrated into the city
districts. Meanwhile the compact nature of the
buildings prevents very high temperatures to develop
by exposure to the sun.
Narrow and walled alleys make
movement within the building
blocks easier.
The tall walls inclosing the

valleys create shadows that
protect people from the harsh
heat in the summer and the
twistedness of the valleys slows Narrow and walled alleys
down the dessert winds. (Ghobadian, 1996)
 The walls and the ceiling are usually built thick to
protect the inside from the outer heat.
 The city structure is designed in a way that the airways
open in comforting wind and close during sandstorms.
STRUCTURAL FEATURES IN HOT AND DRY

CLIMATES:
ORIENTATION:
 Most of the hot and dry areas of the world are

located at equatorial latitudes right where the
strongest sun light in the summer can be absorbed
from eastside and westside of the building and in
the winter the most amount of sun light can be
observed on northern and southern walls.
 Southern wall of the central yard is in fact
considered the northern wall of the yard since
the central yard and some of the rooms around
it and its southern wall possess the most
amounts of shadows during the year .
 The rooms behind the southern walls are cold in

winter but in summer because of being in the
shadow, they are cool and comfortable.(North
side of the yard where winter’s mild sunlight
lays on is the winter sitting area because it gets
more heat and the south side of the yard which
is covered by shadow is the summer sitting area
since it is cooler)
Plan and section A-A of Borujerdiha house in hot and dry region(Ghobadian, 2006)
 For example Boroujerdiha house is basically divided in

to two quarters, where one part is on the north, and the
other part is summer living quarter on the south. In
addition this house has the ground floor and a
basement. The basement is usually used during the
summer, especially in the afternoons. Since, basement
is cooler compared to the ground floor.
 Furthermore, the construction of the building is with
load-bearing walls, vaults, and domes. These kinds of
materials are adobe and brick, which can be easily
reused for new constructions.
 The external surfaces of the buildings are made by
bricks and the interior surface is rendered with
plaster.
 The walls have thickness about 60cm. Therefore, they
can act as a thermal mass for minimizing the
fluctuation of temperature between day and night.
 The main purpose of orientation in hot and dry
climates is to maximizes the summer breeze and
reduce the daily temperature inside the building and
also to maximize the sun light in winter. Northern-
southern orientation is preferred.
CENTRAL YARD:
 This method has been very

effective in creating comfort
in traditional houses which
was determined by the
climate.
 They are narrow enough to
maintain a shaded area Central yard (Farshchi, 2010)
during the heat of the day in
summer, but wide enough to receive solar
radiation in winter.
CENTRAL YARD:
Pond and the garden are considered as the major
parts of the courtyard and their length axis are
usually in vertical position from each other.
Rooms are located along the main axis of the
house and the pond is in front of these rooms
which create a direct visual connection among
the people in these rooms .
The yards are roofed from every side, like a pit
settles the cold weather of the night and uses it
during the hot day.
ROOFS
 Mostly roofs of the introvert houses with a central

yard are flat and have a sheltering wall taller than
vision level which fences the entire roof.
 These sheltering walls are not only for privacy and

security when sleeping or sitting on the roof but
they also protect the body of the building from
direct sun light during the day.
ROOFS
Roofs (Memari, 1996).
 In dessert areas dome shaped roofs were built on

mosques and water reservoirs.
 These roofs beside structural benefits, causes the
sun light to adjust during the day by the different
curved surfaces.
 At night they rebroadcast the radiation and help
cool the night.
Wind catchers:
 Wind catcher is located on

the roof and is used to
cool, heat and ventilate the
structure.
 In some houses it passes
through to the basement.
 The pond in the yard and
plants in the garden help
circulate temperate air in
the house .
 Wind-Catchers are built in the direction of the
most Strong and pleasurable winds.
 Traditional wind -catchers have various types

they are in 1, 2, 4, 6, 8 sides or sometimes they
are circles which direct the wind through its
way.
 It is used to dislocated, move and cools

spontaneously the internal air of buildings by
employing wind blow and varied air
temperature.

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ARCHITECTURE OF IRAN

 It goes back to the late 6th and early 5th

 Climate has a major effect on the performance of the

 Vernacular architecture, a termed entitled to the

To study the Vernacular Architecture we will

 hot and dry weather in summer, cold and dry in

 The climate in Kashan during summer is

 During winter, it is cold and sometimes.

 It is rainy in November and December.

 Detailed information on temperatures and

 In these regions the urban texture is condensed

The tall walls inclosing the

STRUCTURAL FEATURES IN HOT AND DRY

 Most of the hot and dry areas of the world are

 The rooms behind the southern walls are cold in

 For example Boroujerdiha house is basically divided in

 This method has been very

 Mostly roofs of the introvert houses with a central

 These sheltering walls are not only for privacy and

Roofs (Memari, 1996).

 In dessert areas dome shaped roofs were built on

 Wind catcher is located on

 Traditional wind -catchers have various types

 It is used to dislocated, move and cools

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