YAZD CITY IRAN

1. YAZD CITY
IRAN

2. N
• COUNTRY: IRAN
• 270km from southeast of Esfahan
• Capital of yazd province
• 15th largest city of Iran
• Recorded as world heritage site by UNESCO
• Population: 5.3 Lakhs
LOCATION:
Yazd city

3. • Climate: Hot & Arid Climate
• Wind Flow: Summers: Southwest - Northeast
• Winters: Northeast – Southwest
• Hot, dry climate characterized by long, hot, dry
summers and short, cool winters.
• Winters are cold with snowfall

4. AVG MAX TEMPERATURE: 24.5 °C
AVG MIN TEMPERATURE: 12.2 °C
AVG PRECIPITATION: 10.8MM
MAX AND MIN TEMPERATURE
PRECIPITATION

5. VERNACULAR ARCHITECTURE
BLEND OF ART AND DESERT
• Main feature of the traditional Iranian house is the adaptation to the
harsh climate of the central parts of the country.
• Climatic problems are severe sunlight and temperature in the summer
fluctuations of temperature; low humidity; limited water supplies; and
dusty, sandy winds.
• In hot and arid climate parts of Iran, traditional architectural designs
found solutions to these problems.
GENERAL PRINCIPLES IN DESIGN OF TRADITIONAL BUILDINGS
IN IRAN:
1. Harmony with requirements of people
(mardomvary)
2. Self-efficiency (khod-basandegy)
3. Module unit (peymoon)
4. Inward-looking (daroon-garaei)
5. Avoiding un-necessities (parhiz as bihoudegy)
6. Structural rigidity (niaresh)

6. • The old and beautiful four-seasons houses of yazd are built in the direction of qibla and from the
northeast to the southwest in order to use of the spaces better.
• In this way, the summer spaces and winter rooms are very efficiently located around the central
courtyard. This means that in the summer, a very cool and pleasant part of the house is suitable for
summer (summer houses) and in the winter, the other part is very pleasantly warm and suitable for
winter (winter house).
• Another feature of the old houses in yazd is that the summer part is formed on the eastern side of
the houses to receive the least amount of sun light.
• In this part, you can see the high vault and arranged rows of small porches. In addition to the above
spaces, there are places like a vestibule, a traditional kitchen, a warehouse, a well room, baths, etc.
on the eastern side of some houses.

7. • Being located in the southern and south-eastern
direction
• High-capacity materials encountering the extreme
heat
• Bright and white view
• Arch and domed roofs
• Buildings are both underground and over-ground
• Compact plan
• In yazd climate plays the most important role in
designing houses.
• As it maintained before, the city is placed in the
central iranian desert.
• So it’s obvious that the city has scorching hot and
dry summers and very cold winters.
• The maximum temperature is 45.
• The lowest is –16.
• Designing of houses in this area is based on the
climatic factors

8. COMPONENTS OF OLD ARCHITECTURE IN YAZD
• The old houses in yazd are very large and magnificent.
• Therefore, they have many components and parts including a doorway (the tiled arch over the door), a
living room (the place of gathering of family members), a wind tower, a korsi room (the small room
which is always warm), a sardab (cold underground).
• In the architecture of the traditional houses in yazd, privacy is considered as one of the most
important principles.
• In this regard, the houses were perfectly built introverted by creating a female door-knockers (ring –
shape with low-pitched sound) and a man (hammer shape with high-pitched ring) on the doors,
keryas (entrance to the house), vestibules, corridors, tall walls and organizing various spaces around
the courtyard.
Inner Yard of Old House of Yazd

9. THE ROLE OF COURTYARD IN TRADITIONAL HOUSES IN YAZD
• The courtyard in the houses is a complete indication of being introverted.
• Located under direct radiation of the sunshine in the buildings.
• Three types of central, narenjestan and exterior courtyard.
• The courtyard in a house is a completely different and independent environment with an outer space,
• Plays the role of communication between spaces.
• Include some a small garden and a pond. This small garden, with its beautiful trees and flowers and a
long pond, has made a lush green space for warm summer days in yazd.
• In fact, the courtyard among the yazd families is like a second sitting room, especially in pleasant
desert nights when the warmth of the air reduces relatively.

10. • Most of the old houses in this city are facing the holy kaaba.
• This house is also situated towards the holy kaaba (south-west).
• Entrance of the house is through narrow and covered lane.
• Most of the streets in the town are facing wind direction and they are narrower than those in other
regions.
• And the covered lanes prevent the very high temperature of the sunlight.
• Facade of a house represents the social status of the owner of the house (which in this case, the
facade carries tile work and quranic verses.)
• To enter into a house, one has to sound the knockers on its door.
• There are two knockers on the door, each of which, given its sound, is meant for ladies and gents.
• The most important complex of the house is situated at the southeast portion.
• At the center of the front there is a five-door saloon with two small spaces attached to it.

11. • This saloon carries mirror work and, in fact, is a guesthouse.
• There is an independent entrance to this portion before reaching the yard.
• The guesthouse in yazd, is a sign of respecting the guest and in the rich families, given the
occupation of the owner.
• There is an independent place or yard allocated for the guests.
• At the two sides of the covered space there are two rooms whose windows open towards this space
(the rooms are facing the space).
• The northwest portion includes three orsy rooms, with shoe keeping space amongst them.
• These rooms were having orsy doors (the doors moved vertically) with colorful glasses.
• These rooms, looking like huge saloons, are meant for spending summer nights and evenings during
which all family members used to get together, sitting on beautiful carpets.
• The spaces were also used for holding parties.
• The northeast portion consists of a saloon with pillars between two rooms.
• Access to these rooms is made through the saloon.
• The saloon is having such arrangements, which make the yard look beautiful.

12. • Access to four sides of the garden is made through the yard.
• Yard forms the main part of a yazdi house.
• A huge central water pool and resistance trees such as pomegranate, grapes, pistachio and keep the
atmosphere moister and calm making the space beautiful.
• There had been two water cellars in the yard, one at the south – east and other at the north-west
portion, at a lower level compared to the level of the yard with stairs connecting them directly to the
yard.
• The south-east cellar is made of saloon-like and enter connected spaces.
• A tall wing catcher behind the opposite portion circulates air through the cellar at this portion.
• Basement was used in summers as a living place or to store foodstuff.
• The house has been designed in such a way that its wind catcher of the yard and trench of the garden
provide a peaceful and pleasure atmosphere during the hot summer of the region.

13. SUMMER PARTS OF THE HOUSE (IN THE EASTERN PART)
• Hoze khane (pond room, a room with a pond inside under the badgir)
• Underground
• Payab (cool room on the qanat passageway)
• Talar (a decorated hall for guest catering)
• Since these spaces face the north direction receive less sunray
and are shady so can provide cooler places.
• In persian they are called nesar.
• The height of summer sitting portion is often more than the
height of winter sitting portion thus the hot weather goes up
and the cooler one replaces it in the lower levels.
• Wind catchers and air vents are mostly located in the southern
part of the building.
WINTER PARTS OF THE HOUSE (IN THE WESTERN PART)
• Korsikhane (a room containing a brazier)
• Five-door room (pannjdari)
• Three-door room (sedari)
• Upstairs
• Teharni (orsi room with lattice sash windows and
doors)
• Orsi rooms are those rooms which doors open and
close vertically. So when the door is open, no one
can see the leafs of the door and it seems the room
is always open. So they call them orsi rooms
literally means open doors).

14. • The overall layout of the city in all dimensions, with its hierarchy
• Principles and consideration of climate for the comfort of private users, occupants of residences, or
public users, pedestrians, created a uniform environmentally friendly city.
• Urban planning in yazd appears inconsistent with the climatic factors and the designs fail to meet
environmentally friendly requirements.
• As mentioned previously, the urban fabric in the historic quarter is entirely different from the new
urban fabric
• In ancient times, the main focus of a design was to provide
• Comfortable, easy access for people.
• Very compact,
• Connected and continuous urban fabric
• Orientation of the city based on climatic factors
• Buildings positioned in a suitable wind direction
• Use of appropriate local materials
• Walls with high thermal capacity
• Central courtyards with pools and plants
• Organization and hierarchy of space
• Use of domed roofs
• Windcatchers to provide ventilation and a cooling system
• Connected water canals from underground level of the residence
• Compatible direction of streets based on the desirable wind
• Narrow and irregular streets
• Covered alleys (sabaats)
• Residences below alley level
PLANNING

15. • The overall orientation of the courtyard houses in most Iranian cities is north-east/south-west.
• The main winter suites or rooms are located on the north-east or north-west sides, whereas the
main summer rooms are located on the south-east or south-west sides of the house.
• In winter, the rooms receive sunlight from the north-east openings,
in summer, the rooms on the south-west side are located in the shade.
• the window openings in the courtyard houses in Yazd are deep, tall and narrow with a thick
wooden mullion.
• These tall and narrow window openings minimize the solar heat gain.
• Upper parts of the windows are designed with beautiful colorful glassworks.
MANAGING SUN
Summer and Winter rooms in Gloshan house
Winter rooms Summer rooms
Typical Windows
Beautiful Glasswork
in Daulatabad garden
OPENINGS

16. • The dome roofs and vaults are used to reduce solar gain while speeding up the heat loss of the room
through the top hole.
• In hot-arid region cities such as Yazd, a combination of flat and dome roofs is used for residences.
• Dome roofs have been used to cover large areas in buildings such as mosques, churches, shrines,
bazaars, etc.
• Due to the excellent thermal performance of dome roofs, they have been used in various buildings
and on different scales.
• The opinions of various researchers about comparing the temperature in dome roof buildings and
flat roof buildings need to be investigated.
ROOFS & VALUTS

17. • Thermal mass and reflective surfaces help reduce heat gain from the sun, but shading is even
more effective when possible.
• The houses in this region are surrounded by high shared walls, which provide shady areas for
both the neighboring courtyards and/or probably the courtyard and the narrow adjacent streets
and alleys.
• The compact neighborhoods and cityscape decrease the area exposed to solar radiation and heat
gain.
• Most of the residences in this region, especially in Arab cities, have always had shading on their
exterior opening, which prevents strangers from looking into the interior of the residences.
Self Shading in traditional courtyand in house
Traditional exterior shading
SHADING

18. • Courtyard housing are used as cultural, religious, climatic, economic and social in Iranian and
Arab cities.
• “The traditional courtyard house was a well-balanced organism where social cultural factors
integrated with architectural/environmental ones.
• In typical Iranian courtyards, since the architecture of houses is introverted and inward-looking in
the compact urban fabrics in some cities such as Yazd, the function of courtyards includes
broader criteria.”
• Central courtyard structure in both shape (geometry and element designs) and developing
methods (technology and materials) are strongly in accordance with both local and climate
considerations.
• The existence of a courtyard in hot-arid cities is an architectural response to the harsh climate of
the region (Memarian & Brown, 2006).
• A number of strategies are combined with the use of courtyards to maintain comfort for the
residence such as constructing basements, designing semi open spaces, using windcatchers,
migrating seasonally planting vegetation.
COURTYARD

19. • Placing a pool in the centre of the courtyard, planting vegetation around it and locating a
windcatcher(s) in the corner(s) of the house aid in climatic modification .
• In the afternoons, the interior spaces as well as the water surface of the pool, the plants and trees
located at the centre of the courtyard get cool by means of the windcatcher that conducts the air
to the space.
• Crofts in the courtyards are generally filled with those kinds of trees that need less water, such as
pomegranate, fig, pistachio and grape.
• These trees not only provide fruits but also reduce the air dryness and provide shade.
• Wind catchers redirect the wind into these underground rooms where the wind passes through
the water and enters the interior spaces, cooling down the building’s fabric.
PLANTING VEGETATION & PLACING A POOL

20. • Placing a pool in the ce nte r of the courtyard , planting v e g e tation around it
aid in climatic mod ification.
• In the afte rnoons, the inte rior space s the plants and tre e s locate d at the
ce nte r of the courtyard g e t cool by w ind catche r.
• Crofts in the courtyards are filled with those kinds of trees that need less
w ate r, such as pome g ranate , fig , pistachio and g rape .
• The se tre e s not only prov id e fruits but also re d uce the air d ryne ss and
prov id e shad e .
• It includ e s inte nsiv e g re e n roof, e xte nsiv e g re e n roof, and roof w ithout
v e g e tation w ith e nv ironme nt mod e l.
VEGETATION

21. • As electricity production is major source of co2 emissions, air conditioning and mechanical
ventilation systems consume huge proportion of a building’s energy demand;
• This negative impact can be reduced by natural ventilation and cooling systems.
• Wind – renewable moving force, provides fresh and healthy indoor thermal comfort by
windcatchers, solar chimneys, etc.
• Windcatcher is major cooling systems used in the Persian gulf region.
• Is called baadgir in iran.
• It is traditional tower-like structures projected from top of roofs of buildings with openings
toward the favorable prevailing wind to catch the warm wind,
• After catching, it cools down and transmit to interior space.
• Air flow occurs due to wind blowing or temperature difference between interior and exterior of
the building.
• When wind blows, the result is positive pressure at windward side and negative pressure at side
of the windcatcher.
• In windless conditions, it operates like a chimney or air trap according to the stack effect; hot
and less dense air rises and outflows from the windcatcher’s openings
WINDCATCHER

22. • Two types:
1. Purely functional air traps
2. Symbolic and functional air traps
• First category can be found in most typical houses in yazd, such
as ardakan and meibod.
• Second category can be found in some yazd houses and in the
houses of other cities nearby.
• Addition to its function as air trapper, it indicates the landlord’s
financial status.
• The size of some of air traps exceeds the size of a three-door
room
• It uses favorable winds in hot seasons by air trap and remove
sand from it
WINDCATCHER

23. • The structure of the wind tower consists of sun dried or baked mud brick,
• Covering of mud plaster with chopped straw in it, and reinforced with small wood beams.
• Timber beams used in order to fasten the structure to increase the shear resistance and also
support the internal partitions at different levels.
• Timber beams stick out from the tower, which can be used as a ladder for maintenance and
cleaning.
• The shape, dimension, height, decoration and elaboration of the wind towers vary.
• They relate to space they serve; station, class and wealth of the house .
• Some ornamental features of it are made with adobe and with plaster decoration or brick works
at the top.
• These features are not based on any climate condition or functionality but the cultural reflection
WINDCATCHER - STRUCTURE

24. • Godalbagche generally build in public buildings
• A type of courtyard with high walls helps to keep courtyard cool
• It also facilitates access to the subterranean canals that are used to water the plants and
gardens in the yard.
• The depth of the yard at sunken garden is more than normal to have access to ghanat water or
water canal
• Passing under the surface of the yard also used to water garden and broom the courtyard.
• The floor of the yard was paved with square bricks which was cooled by water.
• Having access to flowing water that was passing under the surface of some parts of the house in
desert cities was one of the main reasons for constructing godal baghche.
• In some cities like naeen having advanced network of ghanats was really important.
• Water at sunkeen garden filled the central pond and flow out of the house toward other houses
GODALBAGCHE

25. • Light colors are used for the façade of buildings because they absorb less heat.
• Smooth and glossy surfaces are also used to reflect light.
• Current practice is to use plaster, raw clay, and hay to coat the walls.
• Jali work for letting air flow
• Plantation in façade jali with carved walls
• With arched and vaulted door and opening
• Domed internal spaces for seeking vast volume
• Also circular ventilation openings
FACADE

26. • The common material for constructing the huge wall in hot & dry regions are mud, mud brick,
stone, brick, mortar, lime and wood.
• These materials have thermal resistance, high heat capacity and they absorb the sun radiation by
their external surfaces.
• The pores of the material, are filled with air, change them to a material similar to thermal
insulator.
• They used all the earth excavated housing construction as building material.
• In winter the absorbed temperature serve as an insulation which protect the inside air from
being effected by the chilly desert climate.
• During summer the absorbed temperature, mud and un backed bricks strongly resist the
incessant sun rays.
MATERIAL

27. BADGIR(WIND TOWER)
• Can be seen in hot, hot-dry and hot-humid climates.
• Wind towers are like chimneys in the sky line.
• Vertical shafts with vents on top to guide the wind to the interior
spaces.
• Walls with thickness of one meter make the heat transferring difficult.
• Heat from outside cannot easily transfer to the interior space of the building
• The heat of the interior cannot transfer easily to the outside at the cold time of nights and
provides enough comfort for the users (salehipoor & azami, 2005).Constructing these thick walls
by materials with high heat capacity provides enough comfort for residents.
WALLS

28. • Because it has convex surface each part of it always
remains in shade during the morning and afternoon.
• Hot air that gathers under a curved roof above the living
area of the room. Curved roof is more effective with an
air vent.
• Operation of an air vent depends on, when air flows over
a cylindrical or spherical object, the velocity at the apex
decreases.
• If there is a hole at the apex of a domed or arched roof
the difference in pressure makes the hot air under the
roof flow out through the vent.
ROOF
• External walls do not have many windows and there is enough
number of windows which are facing to the yard.
• Ventilation passing is done by these windows as same as wind
catcher which also helps to the internal ventilation
WINDOWS

29. • Sheltered space out of the main space of the house
• Designed in square, rectangular, octagon and other forms.
• Space between the alley and the house's yard, and was the
common entrance for different houses.
• Used vestibule for speaking and spending time with each
other, helped them have their private lives
• In hot and dry regions to decrease the heat exchange of
building with the outside air.
• Provide low expense and natural cooling.
• When the excavation is done in the center of the courtyard,
space below the alley's surface and the building's surface is
called sunken garden (godal baghche or baghchal or padiav).
Sometimes godal baghche is one story below the surface of
the courtyard.
• Occupies a considerable part of the courtyard so the
courtyard was divided into two surfaces.
VESTIBULE (HASHTI)
SUNKEN GARDEN

30. • Thermal exchange between inside and outside of it decreases.
• Located in the southern part of the house or under the summer
sitting part of it.
• Can also be located under the ground and in underground semi open
space which has a ceiling about one meter higher than the surface
of the courtyard.
• Vent holes conduct cool air blowing from north into the cellar and
produces good ventilation and cooling in hot summers
• Traditionalwater reservoir in persian antiquity.
• To withstand the pressure the storage tank that reserves water,
was built under the ground.
• Depth of 10 to 20 27 meters under the ground and covered by a
domed-like roof.
• Water is collected from ghanats.
• Water is accumulated during the winter, is kept cool in the reservoir
and used during the hot summer days
BASEMENT (SARDAB)
WATER RESERVOIR (AB ANBAR)

31. SABAT
• Sabat is the linked arches between two walls of an alley or the roofed lane.
• Designed in order to keep human safe in desert from direct radiation of sunlight in shade for
some moments and makes the hot temperature of the city more tolerable.
• Linked arches have been multifunctional structures
• Create shade and prevent sunlight falling directly on pedestrians and make air to be cooled.
• Any pedestrian under it is positioned in shade and light repeatedly.
• These structures also protect pedestrians from the cold wind in winter and make the weather
warmer.

32. • Ghanat or kariz is a passive system that was used.
• Canal that is dug under the ground which connects mother–
well to the other wells.
• Water flows in this canal.
• A mother–well was dug in a place far from the city where
they could reach the water table maybe 100 meters under
the ground. Other wells were dug to direct water toward the
city with minimum possible gradient.
• By using the slope of the earth they could bring water to the
surface near the city
• Traditional natural refrigerator that means storage of ice.
• Often used to make and store ice, and sometimes to store
food.
• Made of a pond, a tall wall that was called hesar and a dome.
• The wall was constructed in such a way that during all hours
of the day there was shade on the pond and it prevented the
water to be warmed.
• Structure was a buried big space (up to 5000) which had thick
walls of at least 2 meters at the base, made with a special
mortar called sarooj, composed of sand, clay, egg white, lime,
hair of goat and ash in specific proportions and which was
resistant to the transfer of heat.
QANAT
YAKHCHAL (YAKHDAN)

33. • Located on the north side of the province and in the middle of the central desert of iran.
• Winters are cold with low precipitation and the summers are hot and dry.
• 62.9 mm and the average temperature is 20.2 degrees.
• Lack of water is one of the most serious limitations in the city.
ARDAKAN
YAZD
LOCATION

34. Spatial Organisation
+7.4
+3.8
0.0
- 0.5
Adjacent rooms
N/S soffeh
Central courtyard
South iwan
Garden yard
Windcathcher
• Most important spaces of investigated houses include:
• Entrance corridor, pishgah (entrance hall), main iwan, soffeh (in
front of iwan), the space behind the iwan (tanabi or soffeh), the
courtyard,garden,the western & eastern rooms.
• It is rectangular and in north-south axis with 10°- 12° of deviation on
east.
• Oriented in north south axis
• As the lands has south to north slope, qanats flow from south to
north and in farmlands direction
• Soffeh behind the iwan facing the garden benefits in natural
ventilation due to the extensive vegetation in the garden
• Rooms in the western and eastern parts of the soffeh overlooking
the garden with natural lighting.

35. Architectural features
I
W
A
N
S
O
F
F
E
H
E
N
T
R
Y
• MAIN IWAN
• Muzaffarid iwan is the oldest iwan in iranian traditional houses
remaining stable until now.
• Taller than iwans of the upcoming eras and it forms a long vertical
rectangle.
• The height of the iwan is between 7 to 9 meters in the investigated
houses, which is 2.2 to 2.8 larger than the span.
• The width is the same as the central courtyard and the depth is almost
the same as the length of latter.
• The long narrow iwan on the top of the small courtyard acts as natural
ventilation and transfers the wind into the courtyard.
• On the opposite side of the main iwan, there is a small soffeh
accessing to which is possible through the door located on the espar
of the soffeh.
• Behind this soffeh, there is a long room perpendicular to the
courtyard.

36. SPACE BEHIND MAIN IWAN
• The space behind the main iwan is
often a tanabi or a soffeh
overlooking a garden on the north
or south of the land.
• In some cases, there is no space
behind the main iwan.
• The entrance doorway to this area
is located on the espar of the
iwan.
PISHGAH
• The pishgah is often simple
without much decoration.
• After it, there is a corridor making
it available to access service
areas, stables, and staircase
leading to the roof.
• With 90° turn the corridor
connects the pishgah to the
central courtyard.
• One can enter courtyard from
east & west side
Architectural features

37. ROOMS ADJACENT TO IWAN
• In the east and the west side of the main iwan, there are two rooms, the accessibility to which is
possible through the doorways located symmetrically on two side walls of the iwan.
• Rooms are connected to the courtyard through iwan and space lighting is provided by the doorway
openings.
• In houses where behind the main iwan is a soffeh overlooking the garden, lighting of the rooms
adjacent to the iwan is provided by the rooms adjacent to this soffeh.
• On top of these rooms, there are 2 more rooms on the first floor, which are at the same height as
the iwan.
• These rooms have a structural role and act as flying buttresses. They are mainly used as the food
or goods depot and can only be accessed through the stairs in the entrance corridor.
• The west and the east spaces of iwan,are of only 2 storey
GARDEN YARD
• The central courtyard acts as the heart of the traditional dwelling and connects all spaces including
closed, open, and semi-open to each other.
• The whole spaces of the building can be accessed by a 20-centimeter stair upper the central
courtyard.
• The main concept behind designing the central courtyard house was to generate an inward-looking
plan with plain external walls, which were designed to discourage strangers from looking inside
the house as well as to protect the house from the harsh climate of the region.
• In all these houses, the garden has palm trees with non-original ponds.
• This yard is located along the iwan, the courtyard and the soffehs and has emphasized the north-
south axis of houses in ardakan.
Architectural features

38. CONSTRUCTION & ORNAMENTATION
• Openings of wood and walls with load-bearing & vault structural
systems
• Arched ceilings, in a variety of shapes & rarely decorated with the
patterns
• Decorative strip frames under the arch's springing line,
• The use of kalil(low-height iranian arch) arches, and decorative
taghnama(false arch) for vaults.
• Mud wall sculptures and mud muqarnas (form of ornamented vault)
and shamseh (symbolic representation of the sun running in circles or
polygons).
• Mud decorations have special delicacy and elegance, so they are just
used in rare cases.
• Ornamentation possible with low cost and accessible tools were
mostly used
Railing type Iranian pattern Wooden beam in ceiling Lattice work in windows

39. GRIHA RATINGS
SECTION CRITERION NAME POINTS
Sustainable Site
Planning
Green Infrastucture 5
Low Impact Design 5
Design To Mitigate UHIE 2
Energy Efficiency
Energy Optimization 12
Renewable Energy Utilization 5
Occupant Comfort
Visual Comfort 4
Thermal And Acoustic Comfort 2
Maintaining Good IAQ 6
Water Management Rainwater Management 5
Sustainable Building
Materials
Utilization Of Alternative Materials in Building 5
Socio-Economic
Strategies
Positive Social Impact 3
TOTAL POINTS 54/105
YAZD CITY, IRAN