Preserving the Past, Designing the Future: Unveiling Climate-Resilient Design in Persian Vernacular Architecture for Modern Sustainability

Contemporary Iran preserves a rich tapestry of Persian vernacular architecture. Climate change makes this long tradition pertinent as a source of climate-resilient design, but in fact, its relevance was always in view because its origins are pragmatic and its principles a direct response to the actual conditions people experienced within their everyday. Persian vernacular architecture’s historic context and cultural underpinnings include the strategies used by traditional master builders to adapt buildings to the region’s varied climates. Their holistic approach combined resilience with cultural identity to set neighborhood patterns, building layout and orientation, and the use of locally sourced materials. As an illustration of their relevance, consider that the rotary wind catchers used in the Bluewater Mall in Kent, UK, trace back, despite an overlay of new technologies, to the Iranian badgir found in Kashan’s traditional Agha Bozorgh school and mosque type. The underlying principle is the same in both. The chapter reviews the climate-resilient design principles found in Persian vernacular architecture and city-making, and their lessons for cities with similar conditions as they try to reduce the energy used in construction, improve overall building performance, and deliver settings at higher densities that meet current needs and foster a sense of belonging and place. It draws on the author’s extensive research on Kashan, a traditional city located in central Iran, with an emphasis on the inherent resilience and potential for adaptive reuse of its historic buildings and fabric. Engaged in architectural and planning practice in Iran, including the redevelopment of Tehran and other cities, the author has actively considered how these traditions can be applied sustainably to meet current needs.