Shape of Sustainable Houses in Iran: A Climatic Analysis

Abstract

Increasing mass production and mass consumption have put extra pressure on the mother earth’s environment and resources. Therefore, environmental concerns have become an important issue in the past few decades.  The population of Iran has been more than double in the past thirty years which has caused a rapid urbanization and a booming building industry. By looking at traditional houses in different climate regions of Iran, it becomes clear that these houses are different in different climatic regions. But contemporary houses are built almost the same in different regions. The first research question in this paper is how does the shape of traditional houses in Iran has been affected by the climate in different regions? The second question is what lessons can be learned from the traditional houses in Iran for the shape of contemporary houses?
The qualitative research method is chosen to answer these questions and to understand and explain the character and essence of this phenomenon. In this  study, three research method of historical, case study and ethnography study which are all part of qualitative research method are chosen to verify the findings. The conclusion of this research is that for human comfort, the form of traditional houses depended on the climate of each region of Iran. Contemporary houses depend on modern technology. But traditional climatic concerns can be updated and utilized for the shape of contemporary houses.