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8182019 Traditional Iranian Courtyards as Microclimate Modifiers by Considering Orientation Dimensions And Proportions

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Available online at wwwsciencedirectcom

RESEARCH ARTICLE

Traditional Iranian courtyards as microclimatemodi1047297ers by considering orientationdimensions and proportions

Farzaneh So1047298aeian Mehdi Shokouhianb

Seyed Majid Mo1047297di Shemiranic

aSchool of Architecture Tsinghua University Beijing 100084 ChinabDepartment of Civil Engineering Morgan State University Baltimore MD 21251 United States cSchool of Architecture University of Science and Technology Tehran Iran

Received 24 October 2015 received in revised form 14 February 2016 accepted 21 February 2016

KEYWORDSSustainable design

Traditional IraniancourtyardMicroclimate modi-1047297erHotndashdry climateBWks mesoclimatePhysicalndashenvironmen-tal design model

Abstract

The effect of courtyards as microclimate modi1047297ers on the sustainability of traditional houses in

a region with BWks mesoclimate in Iran was explored The principle behind traditional Iraniancourtyards was investigated to identify the most in1047298uential physicalndashenvironmental character-

istics that can effectively improve energy ef 1047297ciency in contemporary residential buildings A

1047297eld study was performed to analyze various physical elements of six valuable traditional

courtyard houses located in a region with BWks mesoclimate in Iran These elements included

the orientation extension rotation angle dimensions and proportions of enclosed and open

spaces as well as physical bodies (opaque walls) transparent surfaces (openings) and natural

elements (water and soil) Results showed that most of the studied Iranian courtyards were

particularly designed to enable orientation dimension and proportion to act as microclimate

modi1047297ers All survey-based data were summarized and integrated to propose a physicalndash

environmental design model for courtyards as a useful energy-ef 1047297cient strategy for contem-

porary sustainable housing in a region with BWks mesoclimate The proposed model can be

generalized to all design cases located in areas with similar climatic conditions

amp 2016 The Authors Production and hosting by Elsevier BV This is an open access article under

the CC BY-NC-ND license (httpcreativecommonsorglicensesby-nc-nd40 )

1 Introduction

Sustainable design is the philosophy of designing physicalobjects building environments and services to comply with

httpdxdoiorg101016jfoar2016020022095-2635amp 2016 The Authors Production and hosting by Elsevier BV This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license(httpcreativecommonsorglicensesby-nc-nd40)

nCorresponding author Tel +86 14438876781

E-mail address farzanehso1047298aeigmailcom (F So1047298aei)

Peer review under responsibility of Southeast University

Frontiers of Architectural Research (]]]]) ] ]]]ndash]]]

Please cite this article as So1047298aei F et al Traditional Iranian courtyards as microclimate modi1047297ers by considering orientationdimensions and proportions Frontiers of Architectural Research (2016) httpdxdoiorg101016jfoar201602002



the principles of social economic and ecological sustain-ability Sustainable designs require nonrenewable resourceshave minimal impact to the environment and connectpeople with the natural environment (McLennan 2004)Most modern buildings are designed without adequateattention to environmental impacts The history of archi-tecture exhibits a positive correlation between the environ-ment and traditional buildings which have been designed

with careful attention to climatic requirements and socio-cultural contexts Traditional courtyard houses in the hotand dry region of Iran can also be considered successfulclimate-representative architecture that responds to manypersistent environmental challenges These houses userenewable solar and wind energies for passive heating andcooling to provide thermal comfort for their occupantsTraditional courtyard houses apply design principles such ascompact urban fabrics regular forms optimal climaticorientations dome-shaped roofs high thermal capacitymaterials courtyards as microclimate modi1047297ers and windcatchers as natural cooling systems (Figure 1)

The courtyard is one of the most important elements of

traditional courtyard houses The lexical root of the wordldquocourtyardrdquo was the word ldquoCurtisrdquo with the Caucasianroot ldquoGherdhrdquo which means ldquofencing offrdquo The term was

derived from medieval documents Thus a courtyard is aclosed area in a house or other structures that is a vastuncovered space surrounded by rooms on some sides(Mahdavinejad et al 2013)

Central courtyards have cooler air temperature primarilyin the area above the courtyard and during mornings Acourtyard operates as follows The air in the courtyardbecomes warmer as the day progresses toward nighttime

Cool air is stored in the courtyard in laminar layers and 1047298owsinto the rooms surrounding the courtyard Then thetemperature in the courtyard slowly increases in the morn-ing allowing the courtyard to remain cool until solarradiation falls directly onto it Warm wind passes over thehouse during the day This wind does not enter the court-yard and merely creates eddies inside it unless baf 1047298es areinstalled to de1047298ect air1047298ow This phenomenon can beexplained by the thermal properties of air and the materialused in constructing the courtyard The thermal capacity of the air is extremely low and thus the temperature of thecourtyard is too close to the temperature of its surroundingsurfaces At night the walls and 1047298oor of the courtyard are

cooled down by long waves of outgoing radiation There-fore the surface of the 1047298oor and walls of the courtyard willremain cool until the following morning Hence most parts

Figure 1 Environmental sustainability of traditional courtyard houses in the hot and dry climate of Iran (a) compact urban layout

of the structure of the Chupanan Desert town Isfahan (b) traditional courtyards as microclimate modi1047297ers Kashan (c) narrow

enclosed alleys provide shade during summers Yazd (d) traditional wind catchers as natural cooling systems Yazd and (e) roof

dome windows provide natural light Kashan (So1047298aee 2004)

F So1047298aei et al2




of the walls and 1047298oor of the courtyard (but not the airdeposited in the courtyard) remain cool that is if they arenot too large and are effectively shaded Otherwise anonprotected courtyard can increase heat stress in andaround the building (So1047298aee 2006)

The average size of courtyards is generally determinedaccording to latitude although the size of the land isin1047298uential to a certain extent Courtyards are suf 1047297ciently

narrow to maintain a shaded area during summer and yetsuf 1047297ciently wide to receive solar radiation during winter(Bonine 1980 Givoni 1976 Donham 1960) Previousstudies have found that the level of thermal comfort in acourtyard is determined by microclimatic factors particu-larly solar radiation and wind The effects of these para-meters have been evaluated by considering the orientationand geometric properties of a courtyard as the mostin1047298uential design parameters to provide appropriate ther-mal comfort (Meir et al 1995 Meir 2000 Reynolds 2002Almhafdy et al 2013)

This study focuses on traditional Iranian courtyards in aregion with BWks mesoclimate to utilize the bene1047297cial

function of courtyards as microclimate modi1047297ers in design-ing contemporary houses The environmental concept of traditional Iranian courtyards was analyzed The orienta-tion dimensions and proportions of courtyards were givenparticular attention to propose a comprehensive physicalndashenvironmental model for designing contemporary low-energy housing

2 Research background

Numerous studies on courtyard houses have been conductedin different countries (Wilbaux et al 2000 Knapp et al2006 Rabbat 2010) However only a few works have

studied traditional courtyard houses in Iran which has oneof the oldest civilizations in the world dating back to 3000BCE (Edwards et al 2005)

Some studies on the methods used to resolve thermalissues in the function of courtyards as microclimate modi-1047297ers have been conducted Muhaisen and Gadi (2006)demonstrated that deep and long courtyards would reduceenergy consumption because of the shading effect of theircon1047297guration Hence a shallow courtyard is more suitablefor a cold climate because its con1047297guration will increasesolar gain and decrease heating loads during winterAldawoud (2008) asserted that integrating a courtyard couldbe energy ef 1047297cient in all types of climate particularly in

hotndasharid and hot

ndashhumid climatesSome scholars have focused on the importance of design

variant factors and highlighted that the thermal conditioninside courtyards is highly dependent on the amount of solarradiation and wind The effects of these parameters havebeen evaluated based on the orientation and geometricproperties of a courtyard (Meir 2000 Reynolds 2002Rajapaksha et al 2003 Tablada et al 2005) Al-Masri andAbu-Hijleh (2012) deduced that the orientation footprintsize and height of the walls that surround a courtyard couldsigni1047297cantly affect thermal conditions inside a courtyard andits surrounding spaces Meir et al (1995) assessed semi-enclosed courtyards oriented toward the west and south in

Negev Desert Israel during four representative days inspring summer winter and autumn The results showedthat an appropriate orientation of semi-enclosed courtyardscould improve the thermal conditions of surrounding spacesHeidari (2010) proposed a design guideline for courtyards inthe desert climate of Yazd City based on the air movementand thermal comfort results of case studies He concludedthat humidity in the studied courtyards could be improved

through landscaping and a pond could signi1047297cantly affectthermal comfort The depth-to-width ratio of a courtyard isan important factor of air1047298ow pattern

In addition to 1047297eld survey measurements computersimulation tools are frequently used because they are fastand low-cost means to test alternatives to and scenarios of design variants (Al-Masri and Abu-Hijleh 2012 Berkovicet al 2012) Ghaffarian Hoseini et al (2015) evaluatedthe capability of unshaded courtyards to provide thermallycomfortable outdoor spaces depending on different designcon1047297gurations and scenarios such as the orientationheight and albedo of a wall enclosure as well as theuse of vegetation They utilized the software ENVI-met to

simulate the thermal performance of courtyards in thehotndashhumid climate of Kuala Lumpur Malaysia Their resultsshowed that according to design parameters such asbuilding height ratio abundant vegetation in a courtyardcould provide an acceptable level of thermal comfort inthe tropics and could be enjoyed by residents for a longduration during daytime and even at noon Their studyproved that only well-designed courtyards could present avalid option for sustainably built environments Cho andMohammadzadeh (2013) conducted a comprehensive studyon thermal comfort analyses of traditional Iranian court-yards in Kashan using the EnergyPlus simulation programTheir results proved that traditional Iranian courtyardsexhibited signi1047297cant advantages in terms of the thermal

performance of indoor spaces particularly areas adjacentto the courtyard in hot and dry climates Malekzadeh andLoveday (2008) assessed the energy performance of typicalIranian housing designs as in1047298uenced by their adjacentoutdoor space conditions They predicted the thermalconditions of adjacent courtyards based on the thermalinteraction between indoor and adjacent outdoor spacesand then assessed their effect on outdoor thermalcomfort

A comprehensive literature review illustrates that manystudies have used various methodologies to determine theeffect of courtyards on the energy consumption of buildingsHowever only a few studies have been performed on

traditional Iranian courtyard houses which were 1047297

rst con-structed as early as the 6th millennium BCE (Mahdavinejadet al 2013) Furthermore most of these studies havedescribed Iranian courtyard houses with prior attention tosociocultural characteristics and have not considered theenvironmental concept of courtyards in hot and arid cli-mates particularly in BWks mesoclimate The presentstudy investigates the physicalndashenvironmental characteris-tics of traditional Iranian courtyards as microclimate modi-1047297ers in a region with BWks mesoclimate to propose anappropriate design model for future sustainable housingwhich is mostly designed with minimal attention to envir-onmental impacts

3Traditional Iranian courtyards as microclimate modi1047297ers by considering orientation dimensions and proportions




3 Research methodology

Literature review and survey studies were performed tocollect data A comprehensive literature review was con-ducted by focusing on sustainable architecture climatic-responsive vernacular architecture subdivisions in hot andarid climate regions in Iran and traditional courtyardhouses to identify the most in1047298uential design variants of courtyards as microclimate modi1047297ers

A 1047297eld survey was conducted to locally evaluate thedesign characteristics of six valuable traditional courtyardhouses in two ancient cities in Iran namely Isfahan andKerman which are located in a region with BWks mesocli-mate Cases were selected based on three levels climatecities and courtyard houses in Iran

Four climatic zones were identi1047297ed in Iran based on theKoumlppen climate classi1047297cation as follows A hotndashhumid cli-mate B hotndasharid climate C mildndashhumid climate and D coldclimate (Kasmai 2005) This research focuses on B ie hotndasharid climate which covers nearly two-thirds of Iran This areareceives nearly no rain for at least 6 months annually and

hence is extremely dry and hot Local meteorological datafrom several stations were statistically analyzed to classifyIranian cities climatically Subsequently hotndasharid climate wassubdivided into two types namely desert climate (BW) andsteppe climate (BS) In addition BW and BS were furthersubdivided into four mesoclimates namely BWhs BWks BShsand BSks (So1047298aei et al 2015) This work focused on BWparticularly on the BWks mesoclimate of Iran (ldquoBrdquo stands forarid climate ldquoWrdquo for desert climate ldquokrdquo for cold climate andldquosrdquo for dry summer climate)

Kerman and Isfahan are the most ancient cities in the regionwith BWks mesoclimate in Iran Recent discoveries indicatethat the history of Isfahan can be traced back to the

Paleolithic period as shown by the artifacts found in thearea which date back to the Paleolithic Mesolithic NeolithicBronze and Iron Ages (Assari and Mahesh 2011) Meanwhilethe history of human settlements in Kerman dates back to the4th millennium BCE Valuable historical vestiges have beendiscovered in this area which is considered one of the ancientregions of Iran In Jiroft for example a previously unknownsettlement that dates back to around 2500 BCE has been

established by archeologists (Levi 1996)According to the study conducted by the Iran Cultural

Heritage Handcrafts and Tourism Organization (Haji-Qassemiand Karbassi 1998) the six selected cases are among the bestand valuable traditional courtyard houses in Iran These houseswere designed by famous Iranian architects who carefullyconsidered both social and environmental aspects (Figure 2)

Traditional courtyards have been analyzed based ondifferent approaches such as historical cultural spatialstructural ornamental and constructional details In thisstudy the thermal performance of courtyards was givenparticular importance

Previous studies have found that thermal comfort level in

a courtyard is determined by microclimatic factors parti-cularly solar radiation and wind The effects of these twomain parameters have been evaluated by considering theorientation dimensions and proportions of a courtyard asthe most in1047298uential design variants in providing optimalthermal comfort (Meir et al 1995 Meir 2000 Reynolds2002 Rajapaksha et al 2003 Rajapaksha 2004 Fardeheb2007 Almhafdy et al 2013 Toe and Kubota 2015)Hence in the present study a case analysis on the followingsix main criteria was conducted

1) Orientation extension and rotation angle of the courtyard2) Dimensions and proportions of enclosed spaces

Figure 2 Six traditional Iranian courtyard houses (a) Lotfalikhan House Kerman (b) Azimi House Kerman (c) Movahedi House

Kerman (d) Dehdashti House Isfahan (e) Alam House Isfahan and (f) Charmi House Isfahan





3) Dimensions and proportions of open spaces4) Dimensions and proportions of natural bodies (water

and soil)5) Dimensions and proportions of the physical bodies (opa-

que walls) of the courtyard6) Dimensions and proportions of the transparent surfaces

(openings) of the courtyard

Finally all survey-based data were classi1047297ed integratedand analyzed to propose a physicalndashenvironmental designmodel for courtyards as effective energy-saving techniquefor contemporary sustainable housing in a region with BWksmesoclimate (Figure 3)

4 Field investigation environmentalndashphysical analysis of traditional Iraniancourtyards in a region with BWks mesoclimate

Six physicalndashenvironmental design characteristics of tradi-tional Iranian courtyards in a region with BWks mesoclimate

were investigated using the 1047297eld measurement method

41 Criterion 1 orientation extension androtation angle of a courtyard

Previous studies have determined that the orientation andaspect ratio of a courtyard are two design variants criticalto the microclimatic performance of this structure(Almhafdy et al 2013) The amount of solar energyabsorbed within an urban space such as a courtyard during

a given period is determined by the penetration of short-wave radiation into space and by the albedo of the entiresystem Although the latter is considerably a function of material re1047298ectivity both factors are affected by theorientation and geometry of the courtyard (Meir 2000)

Most traditional Iranian courtyard houses in hotndasharidclimate are formed along the northndashsouth northeastndashsouth-west or northwestndashsoutheast directions which are the bestorientations to maximize the use of summer and winterliving spaces as well as service spaces at the east facade(receiving west daylight) acting as a buffer zone for heat(Pirnia 2005 Ghobadian 2006)

Despite the geographical location of different cities in hotndash

arid climate spaces are mostly located in the northern partof a courtyard which faces south to absorb maximumradiation for passive heating and daylight during cold seasons

Research Process

Literature Review Research Case Selection

Hot-Arid Climate(B Climate)

BS Climate

Movahedi House

Iranian

Cities

Research GapIdentification of the Most

Influential Design Variants of

Courtyard to act as Microclimate

Design Observation

Checklists(Analysis Criteria)

Physical-Environmental

Design Model

BW Climate

BWhs

Mesoclimate

BWks

Mesoclimate

Kerman

City

Isfahan

City

Lotfalikhan House

Azimi House

Dehdashti House

Alam House

Charmi House

Physical

Characteristics(Orientation Form Size

Dimensions Proportions

Faccedilades and Openings)

Environmental

Characteristics(Soil Water and Plants)

Field Investigation

of Cases Orientation and

Geometrical Properties

(Observation)

Library Study Field Survey Study Recommendations

Orientation

Geometry

Proportion

Figure 3 Research process





By contrast spaces in the southern part of a courtyard facenorth to gain minimum radiation and maximum suitableair1047298ow for passive cooling and natural ventilation during hotseasons This seasonal movement between summer and winterspaces is among the human responses to climate conditions(Memarian and Sadoughi 2011)

Figure 4 presents the analytical results of the MovahediHouse in Kerman according to Criterion 1 The house and

the courtyard were both oriented along the westndasheastdirection without any rotation angle because of the appro-priate local wind direction

Table 1 illustrates the analytical results of Criterion 1 forthe six selected cases The houses in each city weredesigned based on similar orientations and rotation anglesby considering the local environmental condition

42 Criterion 2 dimensions and proportions of enclosed spaces

The concept of the void has an important philosophical

meaning within the Islamic culture of Iran The open spaceof a courtyard surrounded by rooms as enclosed spaces isbased on the metaphysical principle of unity in Islam The voidhas a spiritual signi1047297cance and as a void the courtyard is asymbol of the presence of the divine in all things (Nasr 1987)This concept also has roots in Persian Islamic culture and insocial perceptions that re1047298ect a sense of introspection withrespect to privacy in Islamic ideology In addition to ideologi-cal social and cultural characteristics the climatic functionof the traditional central courtyard as a microclimate modi1047297er

to improve comfort conditions of the surrounding environmentis another important factor The courtyard creates a comfor-table living environment with the seasonal use of all surround-ing spaces The north and sunny side of a courtyard is usedduring winter whereas the south and shaded side is usedduring summer (So1047298aei et al 2015)

Criterion 2 involves the dimensions and proportions of enclosed spaces Figure 5 illustrates four divisions of enclosed

spaces particularly the living spaces at the northern southernwestern and eastern parts of the Mahdavi House in KermanThe open space ie the courtyard is also shown

Table 2 shows the different areas assigned to theenclosed spaces for the six selected courtyards The totalarea of the houses is indicated as Atotal Meanwhile thetotal areas of the open and closed spaces in each courtyardhouse are indicated in Table 2 as Acy and Acs respectivelyThe closed space in each case was similarly divided and therelated area of each part was calculated based on the as-built dimensions The last four columns of Table 2 show theratios between the northern southern eastern and wes-tern parts of the closed space to the total area of the closed

space The results illustrate that the majority of the closedareas among all the cases is assigned to the northern part

43 Criterion 3 dimensions and proportions of open spaces

Proportion is one of the determinant factors in architectureto perceive harmony Harmony is the discipline and regularitybetween the components of a phenomenon This item plays a

S

W E

N

S

W E

N

Figure 4 Analysis of Criterion 1 for the Movahedi House in Kerman Orientation and rotation angle of the house (a) and the

courtyard (b)

Table 1 Results of Criterion 1 courtyard orientation and rotation angle of the courtyard houses

City House Orientation Rotation (deg)

Mesoclimate BWks Kerman Lotfalikhan WestndashEast 0

Azimi WestndashEast 0

Movahedi WestndashEast 0

Isfahan Dehdashti SouthndashNorth 0

Alam SouthndashNorth 0

Charmi SouthndashNorth 0





signi1047297cant role in standardizing architecture TraditionalIranian architects also used special units of traditionalmeasurements to design traditional buildings This unitcalled ldquoPeimounrdquo in Persian is based on the system of humanbody proportions such as ldquoArashrdquo (40 cm) which is thedistance from the elbow to the end of the 1047297ngers ldquoGazrdquo(60 cm) which is equal to the length of 24 1047297ngers andldquoGovarrdquo (160 cm) which is the distance from the 1047297ngers of the right hand to those on the left hand when they arecompletely stretched Each part of a traditional building is

measured based on this module which can be divided intosmaller submodules for a detailed design to reduce thediversity of sizes as well as for the easy building andmatching of components In terms of building form tradi-tional Iranian architects use the modular geometric designmethod They use a golden rectangular design which isdrawn inside a regular hexagon with speci1047297c proportions of width and length (Pirnia 2005)

The geometry dimensions and proportions of a court-yard particularly the height-to-width ratio are among themost in1047298uential parameters to improve the thermal perfor-mance of surrounding spaces (Meir 2000 Almhafdy et al2013) Thus Criterion 3 considers the form and dimensionsof traditional courtyards with reference to the length

width and height as well as their proportions namelyheight-to-length height-to-width and length-to-widthratios The best form as well as the appropriate dimensionsand proportions of central courtyards was identi1047297ed forcourtyards that functioned as microclimate modi1047297ers forenergy-ef 1047297cient contemporary buildings Figure 6 illustratesthe dimensions and areas of the open space as well as thetotal area and the area assigned to the courtyard in theMovahedi House in Kerman

Table 3 presents a summary of the analytical results for

Criterion 3 of the six houses All the cases had rectangularcourtyards The results indicate that the maximum propor-tions of the courtyard area to the total area among all thecases are 18 and 32 respectively However the averageratio was less than 30 The length-to-width ratio of acourtyard is one of the signi1047297cant factors among courtyardgeometric properties The average results show that thelength-to-width ratio of the courtyard is nearly close Giventhat these cases are among the most appropriate courtyardhouses in this climate zone their average proportions canbe used as a design pattern for contemporary buildings Interms of other proportions the houses followed similarpatterns except for the Azimi House which had slightlydifferent proportions

cyA

csA

cyL

c y

W

North Part

South Part

W e s t P a r t

E a s t P a r t

WA

SA

EA

NA

Figure 5 Analysis of Criterion 2 for the Movahedi House in Kerman (a) areas assigned to enclosed spaces in the north south west

and east of the courtyard and (b) enclosed and open spaces

Table 2 Results of Criterion 2 geometric properties and proportions of the courtyard houses (unit m)

City House Atotal Acy Acs AN AS AE AW AN

Acs

AS

Acs

AE

Acs

AW

Acs

Mesoclimate BWks Kerman Lotfalikhan 686 166 520 148 116 143 115 28 22 28 22

Azimi 404 67 337 133 72 62 70 39 21 18 21

Movahedi 937 230 707 246 108 112 241 35 15 16 34

Average 34 20 21 26

Isfahan Dehdashti 1267 355 912 328 106 65 414 36 12 7 45

Alam 1110 347 763 253 123 210 176 33 16 28 23

Charmi 2103 500 1603 473 151 540 440 30 9 34 27

Average 33 12 23 32

Atotal Total house area Acy Area of courtyard Acs Total area of closed spaces AN Area of northern part AS Area of southern part AE Area of eastern part and AW Area of western part





44 Criterion 4 dimensions and proportions of natural bodies (water and soil)

As an ecosystem the traditional Iranian courtyard consistsof natural bodies that can be divided into two majorcategories namely water and soil Various types of waterbodies such as pools have been used in traditional centralcourtyards Pools are designed in various shapes mostlyrectangular A pool is usually located at the center of atraditional courtyard and is frequently constructed alongone of the main axes of the house (Tofan 2006) Pools aregenerally shallow to increase the solar absorption of the

water surface increase evaporation to provide more humid-ity and decrease the dryness of air and create convectivebreezes to provide the passive cooling and natural ventila-tion of each house In addition soil as a thermal mass canbe coupled with night ventilation if the stored heat will bedelivered to the space during nighttime (Santamouris andAsimakoupolos 1996) Green surfaces including low water-usage trees and native plants which are selected becauseof their adaptation to hotndasharid climate also play animportant role in balancing shaded and sunny areas duringdifferent seasons Plants can contribute to the naturalcooling of interior spaces via shading during summer todecrease radiation gain through the 1047298oor and facades of the

courtyard Moreover plants increase the absorption of radiation through the 1047298oor and bodies of the courtyard toprovide passive solar heating in indoor spaces during winter

Thus the dimensions and proportions of water and soil as

natural bodies in the traditional central courtyards of thesix houses were investigated The appropriate ratios of the

areas assigned to water soil and plants to the total area of the courtyard were determined based on the as-built

dimensions in the selected cases The appropriate propor-tion of the area assigned to water may signi1047297cantly increase

humidity in the courtyard whereas the appropriate ratio of soil and plants to the total area of the courtyard can provide

suitable shading or sunlight during different seasonsFigure 7 shows the areas assigned to the water and plants inthe Movahedi House in Kerman in which 15 m2 and 346 m2

have been assigned to water and plants respectivelyTable 4 provides a summary of the analytical results of

Criterion 4 for the six selected houses The areas assigned towater and soil were rectangular in nearly all cases Theaverage ratio of the area of water to the courtyard was 95for all six cases however the houses in Isfahan assignedlarger areas for water bodies and fountains Moreover theaverage ratio of the soil area in these courtyard housesshowed that the courtyard houses in Isfahan assigned largerareas to soil and plants compared with the houses in

c y

W

cyL

cyA cyA

totalA

Figure 6 Analysis of Criterion 3 for the Movahedi House in Kerman (a) area assigned to the courtyard and house and (b) the form

dimensions and area of the courtyard

Table 3 Results of Criterion 3 geometric properties and proportions of the courtyards (unit m)

City House Lcy W cy H cy Acy H cy

Lcy

H cy

W cy

Lcy

W cy

Acy

Atotal

SH cy

Mesoclimate BWks Kerman Lotfalikhan 15 11 5 165 033 045 136 24 Rectangular

Azimi 10 74 56 74 056 076 135 18 Rectangular

Movahedi 181 127 6 230 033 047 143 25 Rectangular

Average 041 056 138 22

Isfahan Dehdashti 22 165 66 363 030 040 133 29 Rectangular

Alam 214 165 74 353 035 045 130 32 Rectangular

Charmi 26 193 735 502 028 038 135 24 Rectangular

Average 031 041 133 28

Lcy Courtyard length W cy Courtyard width H cy Average height of courtyard Acy Area of courtyard SH cy Shape of courtyard





Kerman Meanwhile the Lotfalikhan House has no allottedarea for soil and plants because of the water shortage inKerman unlike in Isfahan which is close to the ZayandehrudRiver that irrigates plants in the entire city

45 Criterion 5 dimensions and proportions of

the physical bodies (opaque walls) of a courtyard

The facades of traditional central courtyards in hotndasharidregions protect indoor spaces from gaining heat and highoutdoor temperature Thus the dimensions proportions andin particular the heights of the northern southern westernand eastern elevations of a courtyard generally vary Thehigher facades of traditional Iranian central courtyards with arectangular shape and a northndashsouth extension are situatedat the northern and southern sides This characteristicprevents the direct gain of solar radiation by the higherfacades whereas the shorter facades at the western andeastern sides gain sunlight and heat directly during summerbut not during winter (So1047298aei et al 2015)

Thus the dimensions and proportions of the northernsouthern eastern and western elevated areas of thetraditional central courtyards in the six houses were inves-tigated The appropriate dimensions and proportions of thefacades particularly facade height and the ratio of the areaof each facade to the total area of facades in a courtyardwere investigated This pattern can provide the most

appropriate shading or sunlight during different seasonsbased on the similar patterns of the majority of thetraditional courtyards in this climate zone

Figure 8 shows the four facades of the Movahedi House inKerman at the northern southern eastern and westernportions The heights of the elevations in the eastern andwestern sections are higher than those in the northern andsouthern sections in the Kerman houses By contrast theIsfahan houses have higher elevations at the northern andsouthern parts because of the orientation of the housesTable 5 presents a summary of the analytical results of Criterion 5 for the six houses The data show that the northfacades have the maximum ratio of the facade area to thetotal elevated areas

Figure 7 Analysis of Criterion 4 for the Movahedi House in Kerman (a) area assigned to water in the courtyard and (b) area

assigned to soil and plants in the courtyard

Table 4 Results of Criterion 4 areas assigned to soil plants and water in the courtyards (unit m)

City House N wt SH wt Awt Awt

Acy

N sl SH sl Asl Asl

Acy

Mesoclimate BWks Kerman Lotfalikhan 1 Rectangular 13 8 0 Rectangular 0 0

Azimi 1 Rectangular 72 11 1 Rectangular 36 5

Movahedi 1 Rectangular 15 7 4 Rectangular 346 15

Average 8 7

Isfahan Dehdashti 1 Rectangular 23 6 4 Rectangular 74 21

Alam 1 Rectangular 40 12 2 Rectangular 74 21

Charmi 1 Rectangular 76 15 4 Rectangular 104 21

Average 11 21

N wt Number of area assigned to water in courtyard SH wt Shape of area assigned to water in courtyard Awt Total area assigned towater in courtyard N sl Number of area assigned to soil in courtyard SH sl Shape of area assigned to soil in courtyard Asl Total areaassigned to soil in courtyard






the transparent surfaces (openings) of a courtyard

The dimensions and proportions of openings in traditionalcourtyards are diverse in various facades to provide passiveheating or natural cooling to residents during differentseasons In the south facade of traditional central court-yards the windows are immovable Moreover the southfacade of most traditional courtyards has no top windowsbecause of the presence of sash-windows with verticalopenings Therefore indoor spaces bene1047297t from naturalventilation through these sash-windows Similar to thatin the south facade sash-windows with vertical openingsare found in the north facade Humidity and cool air inthe central courtyard can be overcome by opening the

sash-windows at nighttime because no wind catcher is

installed in this part of the houseThe north facade has rooms with three or 1047297ve doorsnamely Se-dary or Panj-dary respectively The function of these rooms is similar to providing indoor thermal comfortby reducing indoor temperature 1047298uctuations during winterMoreover a symmetrical north elevation can be observed inall the cases because of the similar sunlight conditions in allthe winter rooms The east and west facades have largemovable windows with wooden lattice frames which areappropriate for autumn and spring because of the highintensity of solar gain in these facades

The areas assigned to the openings in the north southeast and west elevations of the traditional central courtyardsas well as the ratio of the total opening area to the total area

Figure 8 Analysis of Criterion 5 for the Movahedi House in Kerman (a) dimensions and proportion of the physical bodies and the

(b) south and (c) north elevations of the courtyard

Table 5 Results of Criterion 5 dimensions and proportions of courtyard elevations (unit m)

City House ANel ASel AEel AWel H Nel H Sel H Eel H Wel ANel

ATel

ASel

ATel

AEel

ATel

AWel

ATel

Mesoclimate BWks Kerman Lotfalikhan 68 72 62 51 45 48 56 46 27 28 25 20

Azimi 52 52 41 41 52 52 55 55 28 28 22 22

Movahedi 98 98 84 84 54 54 66 66 27 27 23 23

Average 50 51 59 56 27 28 23 22

Isfahan Dehdashti 122 90 124 124 74 55 56 56 27 20 27 27

Alam 153 77 115 115 93 47 54 54 33 17 25 25

Charmi 169 108 147 147 88 56 57 57 30 19 26 26

Average 85 52 56 56 30 18 26 26

ANel Area of courtyard north elevation Asel Area of courtyard south elevation AEel Area of courtyard east elevation AWel Area of courtyard west elevation ATel Total area of elevations H Nel Courtyard height in north elevation H Sel Courtyard height in southelevation H Eel Courtyard height in east elevation H Wel Courtyard height in west elevation





of each facade were investigated for the six houses In termsof the area of openings and its proportion to correspondingfacades the pattern adopted in designing traditional Iraniancourtyard houses located in the BWks climate zone mayprovide passive heating or cooling to residents through appro-

priate shading or sunlight during different seasonsFigure 9 shows the openings of elevations in different

facades of the Movahedi House in Kerman The areasassigned to the openings in this courtyard house in the eastand west facades are greater than those in the north andsouth facades which can also be observed in all the Kermanhouses By contrast the Isfahan houses have greater open-ing areas assigned to the north and south facades Thisdiscrepancy is attributed to the different orientations of thehouses in the two cities to provide thermal comfort andappropriate shading in these houses Regardless of environ-mental aspects symmetry rhythm and harmony wereappropriately considered in designing the openings in the

case of the Movahedi House which can provide a pleasantand suitable place for living

Table 6 provides a summary of the analytical results of Criterion 6 for the six houses The maximum ratio of theaverage opening area in the Kerman houses is in the east

elevation whereas that in the Isfahan houses is in the northelevation However the effects of local conditions andesthetic features cannot be neglected in designing openingsparticularly in terms of their numbers and assigned areas inthe six houses

5 Physicalndashenvironmental analysis results of the city cases

In this section the design pattern of courtyard houses atthe city level was identi1047297ed according to the results inSection 4 These cities include Kerman and Isfahan which

Figure 9 Analysis of Criterion 6 (dimensions and proportion of openings) for the Movahedi House in Kerman

Table 6 Results of Criterion 6 areas and proportions of the openings in courtyard elevations (unit m)

City House AONel AOSel AOEel AOWel AONel

ANel

AOSel

ASel

AOEel

AEel

AOWel

AWel

Mesoclimate BWks Kerman Lotfalikhan 15 20 173 117 22 28 28 23

Azimi 12 15 10 10 23 29 24 24

Movahedi 16 20 27 23 16 20 32 27

Average 20 26 28 25

Isfahan Dehdashti 42 32 37 37 34 36 30 30

Alam 32 21 30 30 21 27 26 26

Charmi 77 30 44 44 46 28 30 30

Average 34 30 29 29

AONel Area of openings in courtyard north elevation AOsel Area of openings in courtyard south elevation AOEel Area of openings incourtyard east elevation AOWel Area of openings in courtyard west elevation





are located in a region with a BWks mesoclimate theselected courtyard houses are among the best traditionalcourtyard houses in Iran

Table 7 provides a summary of the analytical results of the six criteria presented in an appropriate model fordesigning courtyard houses in Kerman and Isfahan

The results of Criterion 1 show that traditional courtyard

houses in Kerman and Isfahan do not have similar orienta-tions because of their different latitudinal locations andlocal environmental conditions However rotation anglesare identical among all the cases

For Criterion 2 the maximum area in the enclosed spacesis assigned to the northern part with an average of 335However the total areas assigned to the eastern andwestern parts are sometimes greater than those assignedto the northern and southern parts because of the localrestrictions in some cases

The results of Criterion 3 illustrates that high level of thermal comfort is achieved by rectangular courtyards witha length-to-width ratio ranging from 133 to 138 Theproportions of length and width to the average height of a

courtyard are also provided in this section More accurateresults will be obtained when the proportion of eachelevation are considered separately because of the differ-ences in the heights of facades around the courtyard

The areas assigned to water soil and plants inside thecourtyard are discussed under Criterion 4 The averageareas assigned to water in the Kerman and Isfahan are 8and 11 respectively whereas 7 and 21 of the courtyard

area is assigned to plants in the Kerman and Isfahan housesrespectively This discrepancy is caused by the water short-age in Kerman whereas Isfahan is close to the ZayandehrudRiver which irrigates plants in the entire city

The dimensions and proportions of physical bodies whichare considered in Criterion 5 show that the total areaassigned to the south and north elevations are nearly closeto the total area of the east and west elevations becausedifferent heights are considered in the elevations

Results of the analysis for Criterion 6 for the two citiesindicate that the maximum areas of openings are assignedto the east and north elevations for the Kerman and Isfahanhouses respectively

6 Proposed design model for courtyards inthe BWks mesoclimate zone

Finally a design model is presented in this section for courtyardhouses in the BWks mesoclimate zone based on the sizesdimensions and proportions of traditional Iranian courtyardhouses through the six physicalndashenvironmental criteria

The average results show that the majority of the areashould be assigned to the southern part of the enclosedspace of the courtyard houses with a ratio of 34 Howeverthe total areas of the northern and southern sections areidentical with the eastern and western sections

(Figure 10a)The southndashnorth or westndasheast direction without a rotation

angle can be considered the appropriate orientation for court-yards However the local geographic and environmental con-ditions as well as the latitudinal location cannot be neglected

A model based on the proportions of length width andheight was proposed based on the analytical results of thesix criteria Linear 1047297tting was adopted and the best linematched with scatters was determined The results of this1047297tting process and the regression R values are provided inFigure 11 Three linear equations were proposed to designcourtyards based on geometric proportions The best rela-tionship between the length and width of a courtyard was

obtained based on the following equationW cy frac14 076Lcy 041 eth1THORN

According to the average results reported in Section 5approximately 24 of courtyard can be assigned to naturalelements particularly 10 for water and 14 for plant Thisratio can provide appropriate thermal comfort in a court-yard and its surrounding areas as the observation results andprevious studies have demonstrated (Figure 10b)

The total areas of the facades in the northern southerneastern and western sections of the courtyard can beconsidered to be nearly identical but the heights of thesurrounding bodies should be designed differently Theheights of the facades in the northern and southern sections

Table 7 Summary of the results for the analyses of the

six criteria for Kerman and Isfahan

Criterion Parameter Kerman Isfahan

No 1 AN

Acs

34 33

AS

Acs

20 12

AE Acs 21 23 AW

Acs

26 32

No 2 Orientation WndashE SndashN

Rotation 01 01

No 3 H cy

Lcy

041 031

H cy

W cy

056 041

Lcy

W cy

138 133

Acy

Atotal

22 28

No 4 Awt

Acy

8 11

Asl

Acy

7 21

No 5 ANel

ATel

27 30

ASel

ATel

28 18

AEel

ATel

23 26

AWel

ATel

22 26

No 6 AONel

ANel

20 34

AOSel ASel

26 30 AOEel

AEel

28 29

AOWel

AWel

25 29





should be higher than the east and west elevations Mean-while the courtyard extension can be in the southndashnorthdirection

Openings in elevations can be designed based on the ratioof the area of the total openings to its correspondingelevation by 20ndash34 This ratio can be considered similar indifferent elevations However a relationship exists betweenthis ratio and courtyard size that can alter the amount of thisproportion

7 Conclusion

The BWks mesoclimate zone was identi1047297ed in the hotndasharidclimate region of Iran based on the Koumlppen climaticclassi1047297cation Six physicalndashenvironmental analytical criteriafor traditional courtyards as microclimate modi1047297ers werede1047297ned and used to examine six remarkable traditionalIranian courtyard houses in Kerman and Isfahan ancientcities located in the BWks mesoclimate zone The sizesdimensions and proportions of the physical and naturalelements of traditional courtyards were identi1047297ed andlogical relationships among these elements were deter-mined Recommendations were outlined for designing court-yards as effective microclimate modi1047297ers by considering theorientation and geometric properties of their physical and

natural elements Design equations were proposed as func-tions of the proportions and dimensions (length width andheight) of the courtyards The design model and recom-mendations can be used to design contemporary sustainablebuildings in the BWks mesoclimate zone The results can begeneralized to other climate zones by performing futuresimilar investigations

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to express their gratitude to the Iran

Cultural Heritage Handcrafts and Tourism Organization aswell as to the Islamic Azad University Science and ResearchBranch in Iran for their support

References

Aldawoud A 2008 Thermal performance of courtyard buildingsEnergy Build 40 (5) 906ndash910

Al-Masri N Abu-Hijleh B 2012 Courtyard housing in midrisebuildings An environmental assessment in hot-arid climateRenew Sustain Energy Rev 16 (4) 1892ndash1898

Almhafdy A Ibrahim N Ahmad SS Yahya J 2013 Courtyarddesign variants and microclimate performance Procedia-SocBehav Sci 101 170ndash180

Water

95

Plant

14

Yard

765

South

34

North

16

West

22

East

28

Figure 10 Proposed area for assigning enclosed spaces and natural bodies (a) north south east and west sides of an enclosed

space and (b) area of water and plants as natural bodies

45 50 55 60 65 70 75 808

12

16

20

24

28

cyH cyHcyL

c y L

c y

W c y

W

cy cyL 486H 12cy cyW 385H 105

cy cyW 076L 041

R 0827 R 0855 R 0995

450 525 600 675 750 8256

9

12

15

18

21

9 12 15 18 21 24 27

6

9

12

15

18

21= = =

= minus = =minus minus

Figure 11 Proportions of length width and height of the central courtyards (a) length vs height (b) width vs height and

(c) width vs length





Assari A Mahesh TM 2011 Demographic comparative in heri-tage texture of Isfahan city J Geogr Reg Plan Acad J 4 (8)463ndash470

Berkovic S Yezioro A Bitan A 2012 Study of thermal comfortin courtyards in a hot arid climate Sol Energy 86 (5)1173ndash1186

Bonine ME 1980 Aridity and Structure Desert Housing NewYork

Cho S Mohammadzadeh N 2013 Thermal comfort analysis of atraditional Iranian courtyard for the design of sustainableresidential buildings In Proceedings of 13th Conference of International Building Performance Simulation AssociationChambeacutery France

Donham D 1960 The courtyard house as a temperature regulatorNew Sci 8 663ndash666

Edwards B Sibley M Hakmi M Land P 2005 CourtyardHousing Past Present and Future Taylor and Francis

Fardeheb F 2007 Passive cooling ability of a courtyard house in ahot and arid climate a real case study In Proceedings of ISESWorld Congress vol IndashV pp 2516ndash2520

Ghaffarian Hoseini A Berardi U Ghaffarian Hoseini A 2015Thermal performance characteristics of unshaded courtyards inhot and humid climates Build Environ 87 (2015) 154ndash168

Ghobadian VA 2006 Survey on the Climatic Design of the IranianTraditional Buildings (in Persian) Tehran University Iran

Givoni B 1976 Man Climate and Architecture Applied SciencePublisher Ltd Amsterdam

Haji-Qassemi K Karbassi C 1998 Ganjnameh Cyclopedia of Iranian Islamic Architecture (Volume 4 Mansions of Esfahan)Shahid Beheshti University Cultural Heritage Organization

Heidari Sh 2010 A deep courtyard as the best building form fordesert climate an introduction to effects of air movement (Casestudy Yazd) Desert 15 19ndash26

Kasmai M 2005 Climate and Architecture (in Persian) KhakPublication Iran 117ndash127

Knapp RG Spence J Chester Ong A 2006 Chinese HousesThe Architectural Heritage of a Nation Tuttle PublishingSingapore

Levi AHT 1996 In Ring Trudy (Ed) Kerman in InternationalDictionary of Historic Places vol 4 Fitzroy Dearborn Chicago(p 413)

Mahdavinejad M Moradchelleh A Dehghani S Mirhosseini SM 2013 The adoption of central courtyard as a traditionalarchetype in contemporary architecture of Iran World Appl SciJ 21 (6) 802ndash811

Malekzadeh D Loveday L 2008 Towards the integrated thermalsimulation of indoor and outdoor building spaces In Proceed-ings of Conference Air Conditioning and the Low Carbon CoolingChallenge Cumberland Lodge Windsor UK London pp 27ndash29

McLennan JF 2004 The Philosophy of Sustainable Design TheFuture of Architecture Ecotone Publishing

Meir IA 2000 Courtyard microclimate a hot arid region casestudy Paper Presented at the Proceedings of the 17th PLEA

International Conference Cambridge

Meir IA Pearlmutter D Etzion Y 1995 On the microclimaticbehavior of two semi-enclosed attached courtyards in a hot dryregion Build Environ 30 (4) 563ndash572

Memarian G Sadoughi A 2011 Application of access graphs andhome culture examining factors relative to climate and privacyin Iranian houses Sci Res Essays 6 (30) 6350ndash6363

Muhaisen AS Gadi MB 2006 Effect of courtyard proportions onsolar heat gain and energy requirement in the temperate

climate of Rome Build Environ 41 245ndash253Nasr SH 1987 Islamic Art and Spirituality State University of

New York Press New YorkPirnia MK 2005 Introduction to Islamic Architecture in Iran 10

Soroosh Danesh IranRabbat NO 2010 The Courtyard House From Cultural Reference

to Universal Relevance Ashgate Published in Association withthe Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture MassachusettsInstitute of Technology USA

Rajapaksha I Nagai H Okumiya M 2003 A ventilated court-yard as a passive cooling strategy in the warm humid tropicsRenew Energy 28 (11) 1755ndash1778

Rajapaksha U 2004 An Exploration of Courtyards for PassiveClimate Control in Non-domestic Buildings in Moderate Climates(Doctoral dissertation) The School of Geography Planning and

Architecture the University of Queensland AustraliaReynolds J 2002 Courtyards Aesthetic Social and Thermal

Delight WileySantamouris M Asimakoupolos D 1996 Passive Cooling of

Buildings James amp James (Science Publishers) UKSo1047298aee F 2004 Sustainability of climatic-sensitive elements in

the Iranian traditional architecture of hotndasharid regions (inPersian) In Proceedings of the 3rd International Conferenceon Fuel Conservation in Building Tehran Iran pp 133ndash154

So1047298aee F 2006 Environmental effect of courtyard in sustainablearchitecture of Iran (hot-arid regions) case study courtyardhouses in Yazd Kashan amp Semnan In Proceedings of theInternational Conference of Arab Regional Solar Energy Bahrainpp 343ndash354

So1047298aei F Shokouhian M Mo1047297di SM 2015 Investigation of

Iranian traditional courtyard as passive cooling strategy (a 1047297eldstudy on BS climate) Int J Sustain Built Environ httpdxdoiorg101016jijsbe201512001

Tablada A Blocken B Carmeliet J De Troyer F Verschure H2005 The in1047298uence of courtyard geometry on air 1047298ow andthermal comfort CFD and thermal comfort simulations InProceedings of the PLEA 2005 22nd Conference on Passive andLow Energy Architecture Beirut Lebanon

Toe DHC Kubota T 2015 Comparative assessment of verna-cular passive cooling techniques for improving indoor thermalcomfort of modern terraced houses in hot-humid climate of Malaysia Sol Energy 114 229ndash258

Tofan S 2006 Recognition of waterrsquos role in Iranrsquo traditionalcourtyard houses Gard View 6 75ndash77

Wilbaux Q Lebrun M McElhearn K 2000 Marrakesh The

Secret of Courtyard Houses Art Creation Realisation France


Please cite this article as So1047298aei F et al Traditional Iranian courtyards as microclimate modi1047297ers by considering orientation



the principles of social economic and ecological sustain-ability Sustainable designs require nonrenewable resourceshave minimal impact to the environment and connectpeople with the natural environment (McLennan 2004)Most modern buildings are designed without adequateattention to environmental impacts The history of archi-tecture exhibits a positive correlation between the environ-ment and traditional buildings which have been designed

with careful attention to climatic requirements and socio-cultural contexts Traditional courtyard houses in the hotand dry region of Iran can also be considered successfulclimate-representative architecture that responds to manypersistent environmental challenges These houses userenewable solar and wind energies for passive heating andcooling to provide thermal comfort for their occupantsTraditional courtyard houses apply design principles such ascompact urban fabrics regular forms optimal climaticorientations dome-shaped roofs high thermal capacitymaterials courtyards as microclimate modi1047297ers and windcatchers as natural cooling systems (Figure 1)

The courtyard is one of the most important elements of

traditional courtyard houses The lexical root of the wordldquocourtyardrdquo was the word ldquoCurtisrdquo with the Caucasianroot ldquoGherdhrdquo which means ldquofencing offrdquo The term was

derived from medieval documents Thus a courtyard is aclosed area in a house or other structures that is a vastuncovered space surrounded by rooms on some sides(Mahdavinejad et al 2013)

Central courtyards have cooler air temperature primarilyin the area above the courtyard and during mornings Acourtyard operates as follows The air in the courtyardbecomes warmer as the day progresses toward nighttime

Cool air is stored in the courtyard in laminar layers and 1047298owsinto the rooms surrounding the courtyard Then thetemperature in the courtyard slowly increases in the morn-ing allowing the courtyard to remain cool until solarradiation falls directly onto it Warm wind passes over thehouse during the day This wind does not enter the court-yard and merely creates eddies inside it unless baf 1047298es areinstalled to de1047298ect air1047298ow This phenomenon can beexplained by the thermal properties of air and the materialused in constructing the courtyard The thermal capacity of the air is extremely low and thus the temperature of thecourtyard is too close to the temperature of its surroundingsurfaces At night the walls and 1047298oor of the courtyard are

cooled down by long waves of outgoing radiation There-fore the surface of the 1047298oor and walls of the courtyard willremain cool until the following morning Hence most parts

Figure 1 Environmental sustainability of traditional courtyard houses in the hot and dry climate of Iran (a) compact urban layout

of the structure of the Chupanan Desert town Isfahan (b) traditional courtyards as microclimate modi1047297ers Kashan (c) narrow

enclosed alleys provide shade during summers Yazd (d) traditional wind catchers as natural cooling systems Yazd and (e) roof

dome windows provide natural light Kashan (So1047298aee 2004)






























































Research Process



BS Climate

Movahedi House

Iranian

Cities




Design Observation



Design Model

BW Climate

BWhs

Mesoclimate

BWks

Mesoclimate

Kerman

City

Isfahan

City

Lotfalikhan House

Azimi House

Dehdashti House

Alam House

Charmi House

Physical




Environmental


Field Investigation



(Observation)


Orientation

Geometry

Proportion




















S

W E

N

S

W E

N


courtyard (b)



















cyA

csA

cyL

c y

W

North Part

South Part

W e s t P a r t

E a s t P a r t

WA

SA

EA

NA





Acs

AS

Acs

AE

Acs

AW

Acs


Azimi 404 67 337 133 72 62 70 39 21 18 21

Movahedi 937 230 707 246 108 112 241 35 15 16 34

Average 34 20 21 26


Alam 1110 347 763 253 123 210 176 33 16 28 23

Charmi 2103 500 1603 473 151 540 440 30 9 34 27

Average 33 12 23 32


















c y

W

cyL

cyA cyA

totalA





Lcy

H cy

W cy

Lcy

W cy

Acy

Atotal

SH cy




Average 041 056 138 22




Average 031 041 133 28

















Acy

N sl SH sl Asl Asl

Acy




Average 8 7




Average 11 21
















ATel

ASel

ATel

AEel

ATel

AWel

ATel


Azimi 52 52 41 41 52 52 55 55 28 28 22 22

Movahedi 98 98 84 84 54 54 66 66 27 27 23 23

Average 50 51 59 56 27 28 23 22


Alam 153 77 115 115 93 47 54 54 33 17 25 25

Charmi 169 108 147 147 88 56 57 57 30 19 26 26

Average 85 52 56 56 30 18 26 26

















ANel

AOSel

ASel

AOEel

AEel

AOWel

AWel


Azimi 12 15 10 10 23 29 24 24

Movahedi 16 20 27 23 16 20 32 27

Average 20 26 28 25


Alam 32 21 30 30 21 27 26 26

Charmi 77 30 44 44 46 28 30 30

Average 34 30 29 29





























No 1 AN

Acs

34 33

AS

Acs

20 12

AE Acs 21 23 AW

Acs

26 32


Rotation 01 01

No 3 H cy

Lcy

041 031

H cy

W cy

056 041

Lcy

W cy

138 133

Acy

Atotal

22 28

No 4 Awt

Acy

8 11

Asl

Acy

7 21

No 5 ANel

ATel

27 30

ASel

ATel

28 18

AEel

ATel

23 26

AWel

ATel

22 26

No 6 AONel

ANel

20 34

AOSel ASel

26 30 AOEel

AEel

28 29

AOWel

AWel

25 29







7 Conclusion



Acknowledgments



References




Water

95

Plant

14

Yard

765

South

34

North

16

West

22

East

28



45 50 55 60 65 70 75 808

12

16

20

24

28

cyH cyHcyL

c y L

c y

W c y

W


cy cyW 076L 041

R 0827 R 0855 R 0995

450 525 600 675 750 8256

9

12

15

18

21

9 12 15 18 21 24 27

6

9

12

15

18

21= = =



(c) width vs length











































































































Research Process



BS Climate

Movahedi House

Iranian

Cities




Design Observation



Design Model

BW Climate

BWhs

Mesoclimate

BWks

Mesoclimate

Kerman

City

Isfahan

City

Lotfalikhan House

Azimi House

Dehdashti House

Alam House

Charmi House

Physical




Environmental


Field Investigation



(Observation)


Orientation

Geometry

Proportion




















S

W E

N

S

W E

N


courtyard (b)



















cyA

csA

cyL

c y

W

North Part

South Part

W e s t P a r t

E a s t P a r t

WA

SA

EA

NA





Acs

AS

Acs

AE

Acs

AW

Acs


Azimi 404 67 337 133 72 62 70 39 21 18 21

Movahedi 937 230 707 246 108 112 241 35 15 16 34

Average 34 20 21 26


Alam 1110 347 763 253 123 210 176 33 16 28 23

Charmi 2103 500 1603 473 151 540 440 30 9 34 27

Average 33 12 23 32


















c y

W

cyL

cyA cyA

totalA





Lcy

H cy

W cy

Lcy

W cy

Acy

Atotal

SH cy




Average 041 056 138 22




Average 031 041 133 28

















Acy

N sl SH sl Asl Asl

Acy




Average 8 7




Average 11 21
















ATel

ASel

ATel

AEel

ATel

AWel

ATel


Azimi 52 52 41 41 52 52 55 55 28 28 22 22

Movahedi 98 98 84 84 54 54 66 66 27 27 23 23

Average 50 51 59 56 27 28 23 22


Alam 153 77 115 115 93 47 54 54 33 17 25 25

Charmi 169 108 147 147 88 56 57 57 30 19 26 26

Average 85 52 56 56 30 18 26 26

















ANel

AOSel

ASel

AOEel

AEel

AOWel

AWel


Azimi 12 15 10 10 23 29 24 24

Movahedi 16 20 27 23 16 20 32 27

Average 20 26 28 25


Alam 32 21 30 30 21 27 26 26

Charmi 77 30 44 44 46 28 30 30

Average 34 30 29 29





























No 1 AN

Acs

34 33

AS

Acs

20 12

AE Acs 21 23 AW

Acs

26 32


Rotation 01 01

No 3 H cy

Lcy

041 031

H cy

W cy

056 041

Lcy

W cy

138 133

Acy

Atotal

22 28

No 4 Awt

Acy

8 11

Asl

Acy

7 21

No 5 ANel

ATel

27 30

ASel

ATel

28 18

AEel

ATel

23 26

AWel

ATel

22 26

No 6 AONel

ANel

20 34

AOSel ASel

26 30 AOEel

AEel

28 29

AOWel

AWel

25 29







7 Conclusion



Acknowledgments



References




Water

95

Plant

14

Yard

765

South

34

North

16

West

22

East

28



45 50 55 60 65 70 75 808

12

16

20

24

28

cyH cyHcyL

c y L

c y

W c y

W


cy cyW 076L 041

R 0827 R 0855 R 0995

450 525 600 675 750 8256

9

12

15

18

21

9 12 15 18 21 24 27

6

9

12

15

18

21= = =



(c) width vs length
































































S

W E

N

S

W E

N


courtyard (b)



















cyA

csA

cyL

c y

W

North Part

South Part

W e s t P a r t

E a s t P a r t

WA

SA

EA

NA





Acs

AS

Acs

AE

Acs

AW

Acs


Azimi 404 67 337 133 72 62 70 39 21 18 21

Movahedi 937 230 707 246 108 112 241 35 15 16 34

Average 34 20 21 26


Alam 1110 347 763 253 123 210 176 33 16 28 23

Charmi 2103 500 1603 473 151 540 440 30 9 34 27

Average 33 12 23 32


















c y

W

cyL

cyA cyA

totalA





Lcy

H cy

W cy

Lcy

W cy

Acy

Atotal

SH cy




Average 041 056 138 22




Average 031 041 133 28

















Acy

N sl SH sl Asl Asl

Acy




Average 8 7




Average 11 21
















ATel

ASel

ATel

AEel

ATel

AWel

ATel


Azimi 52 52 41 41 52 52 55 55 28 28 22 22

Movahedi 98 98 84 84 54 54 66 66 27 27 23 23

Average 50 51 59 56 27 28 23 22


Alam 153 77 115 115 93 47 54 54 33 17 25 25

Charmi 169 108 147 147 88 56 57 57 30 19 26 26

Average 85 52 56 56 30 18 26 26

















ANel

AOSel

ASel

AOEel

AEel

AOWel

AWel


Azimi 12 15 10 10 23 29 24 24

Movahedi 16 20 27 23 16 20 32 27

Average 20 26 28 25


Alam 32 21 30 30 21 27 26 26

Charmi 77 30 44 44 46 28 30 30

Average 34 30 29 29





























No 1 AN

Acs

34 33

AS

Acs

20 12

AE Acs 21 23 AW

Acs

26 32


Rotation 01 01

No 3 H cy

Lcy

041 031

H cy

W cy

056 041

Lcy

W cy

138 133

Acy

Atotal

22 28

No 4 Awt

Acy

8 11

Asl

Acy

7 21

No 5 ANel

ATel

27 30

ASel

ATel

28 18

AEel

ATel

23 26

AWel

ATel

22 26

No 6 AONel

ANel

20 34

AOSel ASel

26 30 AOEel

AEel

28 29

AOWel

AWel

25 29







7 Conclusion



Acknowledgments



References




Water

95

Plant

14

Yard

765

South

34

North

16

West

22

East

28



45 50 55 60 65 70 75 808

12

16

20

24

28

cyH cyHcyL

c y L

c y

W c y

W


cy cyW 076L 041

R 0827 R 0855 R 0995

450 525 600 675 750 8256

9

12

15

18

21

9 12 15 18 21 24 27

6

9

12

15

18

21= = =



(c) width vs length
























































cyA

csA

cyL

c y

W

North Part

South Part

W e s t P a r t

E a s t P a r t

WA

SA

EA

NA





Acs

AS

Acs

AE

Acs

AW

Acs


Azimi 404 67 337 133 72 62 70 39 21 18 21

Movahedi 937 230 707 246 108 112 241 35 15 16 34

Average 34 20 21 26


Alam 1110 347 763 253 123 210 176 33 16 28 23

Charmi 2103 500 1603 473 151 540 440 30 9 34 27

Average 33 12 23 32


















c y

W

cyL

cyA cyA

totalA





Lcy

H cy

W cy

Lcy

W cy

Acy

Atotal

SH cy




Average 041 056 138 22




Average 031 041 133 28

















Acy

N sl SH sl Asl Asl

Acy




Average 8 7




Average 11 21
















ATel

ASel

ATel

AEel

ATel

AWel

ATel


Azimi 52 52 41 41 52 52 55 55 28 28 22 22

Movahedi 98 98 84 84 54 54 66 66 27 27 23 23

Average 50 51 59 56 27 28 23 22


Alam 153 77 115 115 93 47 54 54 33 17 25 25

Charmi 169 108 147 147 88 56 57 57 30 19 26 26

Average 85 52 56 56 30 18 26 26

















ANel

AOSel

ASel

AOEel

AEel

AOWel

AWel


Azimi 12 15 10 10 23 29 24 24

Movahedi 16 20 27 23 16 20 32 27

Average 20 26 28 25


Alam 32 21 30 30 21 27 26 26

Charmi 77 30 44 44 46 28 30 30

Average 34 30 29 29





























No 1 AN

Acs

34 33

AS

Acs

20 12

AE Acs 21 23 AW

Acs

26 32


Rotation 01 01

No 3 H cy

Lcy

041 031

H cy

W cy

056 041

Lcy

W cy

138 133

Acy

Atotal

22 28

No 4 Awt

Acy

8 11

Asl

Acy

7 21

No 5 ANel

ATel

27 30

ASel

ATel

28 18

AEel

ATel

23 26

AWel

ATel

22 26

No 6 AONel

ANel

20 34

AOSel ASel

26 30 AOEel

AEel

28 29

AOWel

AWel

25 29







7 Conclusion



Acknowledgments



References




Water

95

Plant

14

Yard

765

South

34

North

16

West

22

East

28



45 50 55 60 65 70 75 808

12

16

20

24

28

cyH cyHcyL

c y L

c y

W c y

W


cy cyW 076L 041

R 0827 R 0855 R 0995

450 525 600 675 750 8256

9

12

15

18

21

9 12 15 18 21 24 27

6

9

12

15

18

21= = =



(c) width vs length






























































c y

W

cyL

cyA cyA

totalA





Lcy

H cy

W cy

Lcy

W cy

Acy

Atotal

SH cy




Average 041 056 138 22




Average 031 041 133 28

















Acy

N sl SH sl Asl Asl

Acy




Average 8 7




Average 11 21
















ATel

ASel

ATel

AEel

ATel

AWel

ATel


Azimi 52 52 41 41 52 52 55 55 28 28 22 22

Movahedi 98 98 84 84 54 54 66 66 27 27 23 23

Average 50 51 59 56 27 28 23 22


Alam 153 77 115 115 93 47 54 54 33 17 25 25

Charmi 169 108 147 147 88 56 57 57 30 19 26 26

Average 85 52 56 56 30 18 26 26

















ANel

AOSel

ASel

AOEel

AEel

AOWel

AWel


Azimi 12 15 10 10 23 29 24 24

Movahedi 16 20 27 23 16 20 32 27

Average 20 26 28 25


Alam 32 21 30 30 21 27 26 26

Charmi 77 30 44 44 46 28 30 30

Average 34 30 29 29





























No 1 AN

Acs

34 33

AS

Acs

20 12

AE Acs 21 23 AW

Acs

26 32


Rotation 01 01

No 3 H cy

Lcy

041 031

H cy

W cy

056 041

Lcy

W cy

138 133

Acy

Atotal

22 28

No 4 Awt

Acy

8 11

Asl

Acy

7 21

No 5 ANel

ATel

27 30

ASel

ATel

28 18

AEel

ATel

23 26

AWel

ATel

22 26

No 6 AONel

ANel

20 34

AOSel ASel

26 30 AOEel

AEel

28 29

AOWel

AWel

25 29







7 Conclusion



Acknowledgments



References




Water

95

Plant

14

Yard

765

South

34

North

16

West

22

East

28



45 50 55 60 65 70 75 808

12

16

20

24

28

cyH cyHcyL

c y L

c y

W c y

W


cy cyW 076L 041

R 0827 R 0855 R 0995

450 525 600 675 750 8256

9

12

15

18

21

9 12 15 18 21 24 27

6

9

12

15

18

21= = =



(c) width vs length





























































Acy

N sl SH sl Asl Asl

Acy




Average 8 7




Average 11 21
















ATel

ASel

ATel

AEel

ATel

AWel

ATel


Azimi 52 52 41 41 52 52 55 55 28 28 22 22

Movahedi 98 98 84 84 54 54 66 66 27 27 23 23

Average 50 51 59 56 27 28 23 22


Alam 153 77 115 115 93 47 54 54 33 17 25 25

Charmi 169 108 147 147 88 56 57 57 30 19 26 26

Average 85 52 56 56 30 18 26 26

















ANel

AOSel

ASel

AOEel

AEel

AOWel

AWel


Azimi 12 15 10 10 23 29 24 24

Movahedi 16 20 27 23 16 20 32 27

Average 20 26 28 25


Alam 32 21 30 30 21 27 26 26

Charmi 77 30 44 44 46 28 30 30

Average 34 30 29 29





























No 1 AN

Acs

34 33

AS

Acs

20 12

AE Acs 21 23 AW

Acs

26 32


Rotation 01 01

No 3 H cy

Lcy

041 031

H cy

W cy

056 041

Lcy

W cy

138 133

Acy

Atotal

22 28

No 4 Awt

Acy

8 11

Asl

Acy

7 21

No 5 ANel

ATel

27 30

ASel

ATel

28 18

AEel

ATel

23 26

AWel

ATel

22 26

No 6 AONel

ANel

20 34

AOSel ASel

26 30 AOEel

AEel

28 29

AOWel

AWel

25 29







7 Conclusion



Acknowledgments



References




Water

95

Plant

14

Yard

765

South

34

North

16

West

22

East

28



45 50 55 60 65 70 75 808

12

16

20

24

28

cyH cyHcyL

c y L

c y

W c y

W


cy cyW 076L 041

R 0827 R 0855 R 0995

450 525 600 675 750 8256

9

12

15

18

21

9 12 15 18 21 24 27

6

9

12

15

18

21= = =



(c) width vs length




























































ATel

ASel

ATel

AEel

ATel

AWel

ATel


Azimi 52 52 41 41 52 52 55 55 28 28 22 22

Movahedi 98 98 84 84 54 54 66 66 27 27 23 23

Average 50 51 59 56 27 28 23 22


Alam 153 77 115 115 93 47 54 54 33 17 25 25

Charmi 169 108 147 147 88 56 57 57 30 19 26 26

Average 85 52 56 56 30 18 26 26

















ANel

AOSel

ASel

AOEel

AEel

AOWel

AWel


Azimi 12 15 10 10 23 29 24 24

Movahedi 16 20 27 23 16 20 32 27

Average 20 26 28 25


Alam 32 21 30 30 21 27 26 26

Charmi 77 30 44 44 46 28 30 30

Average 34 30 29 29





























No 1 AN

Acs

34 33

AS

Acs

20 12

AE Acs 21 23 AW

Acs

26 32


Rotation 01 01

No 3 H cy

Lcy

041 031

H cy

W cy

056 041

Lcy

W cy

138 133

Acy

Atotal

22 28

No 4 Awt

Acy

8 11

Asl

Acy

7 21

No 5 ANel

ATel

27 30

ASel

ATel

28 18

AEel

ATel

23 26

AWel

ATel

22 26

No 6 AONel

ANel

20 34

AOSel ASel

26 30 AOEel

AEel

28 29

AOWel

AWel

25 29







7 Conclusion



Acknowledgments



References




Water

95

Plant

14

Yard

765

South

34

North

16

West

22

East

28



45 50 55 60 65 70 75 808

12

16

20

24

28

cyH cyHcyL

c y L

c y

W c y

W


cy cyW 076L 041

R 0827 R 0855 R 0995

450 525 600 675 750 8256

9

12

15

18

21

9 12 15 18 21 24 27

6

9

12

15

18

21= = =



(c) width vs length





























































ANel

AOSel

ASel

AOEel

AEel

AOWel

AWel


Azimi 12 15 10 10 23 29 24 24

Movahedi 16 20 27 23 16 20 32 27

Average 20 26 28 25


Alam 32 21 30 30 21 27 26 26

Charmi 77 30 44 44 46 28 30 30

Average 34 30 29 29





























No 1 AN

Acs

34 33

AS

Acs

20 12

AE Acs 21 23 AW

Acs

26 32


Rotation 01 01

No 3 H cy

Lcy

041 031

H cy

W cy

056 041

Lcy

W cy

138 133

Acy

Atotal

22 28

No 4 Awt

Acy

8 11

Asl

Acy

7 21

No 5 ANel

ATel

27 30

ASel

ATel

28 18

AEel

ATel

23 26

AWel

ATel

22 26

No 6 AONel

ANel

20 34

AOSel ASel

26 30 AOEel

AEel

28 29

AOWel

AWel

25 29







7 Conclusion



Acknowledgments



References




Water

95

Plant

14

Yard

765

South

34

North

16

West

22

East

28



45 50 55 60 65 70 75 808

12

16

20

24

28

cyH cyHcyL

c y L

c y

W c y

W


cy cyW 076L 041

R 0827 R 0855 R 0995

450 525 600 675 750 8256

9

12

15

18

21

9 12 15 18 21 24 27

6

9

12

15

18

21= = =



(c) width vs length









































































No 1 AN

Acs

34 33

AS

Acs

20 12

AE Acs 21 23 AW

Acs

26 32


Rotation 01 01

No 3 H cy

Lcy

041 031

H cy

W cy

056 041

Lcy

W cy

138 133

Acy

Atotal

22 28

No 4 Awt

Acy

8 11

Asl

Acy

7 21

No 5 ANel

ATel

27 30

ASel

ATel

28 18

AEel

ATel

23 26

AWel

ATel

22 26

No 6 AONel

ANel

20 34

AOSel ASel

26 30 AOEel

AEel

28 29

AOWel

AWel

25 29







7 Conclusion



Acknowledgments



References




Water

95

Plant

14

Yard

765

South

34

North

16

West

22

East

28



45 50 55 60 65 70 75 808

12

16

20

24

28

cyH cyHcyL

c y L

c y

W c y

W


cy cyW 076L 041

R 0827 R 0855 R 0995

450 525 600 675 750 8256

9

12

15

18

21

9 12 15 18 21 24 27

6

9

12

15

18

21= = =



(c) width vs length




















































7 Conclusion



Acknowledgments



References




Water

95

Plant

14

Yard

765

South

34

North

16

West

22

East

28



45 50 55 60 65 70 75 808

12

16

20

24

28

cyH cyHcyL

c y L

c y

W c y

W


cy cyW 076L 041

R 0827 R 0855 R 0995

450 525 600 675 750 8256

9

12

15

18

21

9 12 15 18 21 24 27

6

9

12

15

18

21= = =



(c) width vs length
















































traditional iranian courtyards as microclimate modifiers by considering orientation, dimensions, and...

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