Recent Advances in Energy, Environment and Development

Sustainable Architecture Analyses of Stepped Village, Case study:

Masouleh, Iran

1
MARYAM IMANI EMADI, 2MARYAM GHASEMI, 3SINA OSIVAND, 4 FARSHID ROUDI
Department of Architecture
Eastern Mediterranean University
Famagusta, North Cyprus via Mersin10, Turkey
1
Banafshe_emadi@yahoo.com, 2Ghasemimaryam1984@gmail.com, 3Sinasolarses@gmail.com,
4
Roudifarshid@yahoo.com

Abstract: -Traditional buildings of rural areas in Iran have been designed in total coordination with the
surrounding climate so that they normally remain warm in winters and cool in summers; and provide their
dwellers with comfort without any environmental impact. Contentment and avoiding work in vain as a part of
Iranian architectural principles is an interpretation of avant-garde traditional architecture that equals sustainable
architecture at present, and could be a lesson to create new sustainable environments.
Masouleh stepped village, located in temperate and humid region of Iran on southern part of Caspian Sea,
shows the creative architectural patterns of Iranian urbanism utilizing the local materials and sunshine, the open
form of the buildings with large windows for natural ventilation, triple function of the roofs: roof, yard, and
public access route; with climate steep passages. Thus, it is considered an everlasting successful sample of
aspects of urbanism and socio-cultural architecture, which will be discussed in details.

Key-Words: - traditional architecture, sustainability, Masouleh, pattern, construction

1 Introduction 2.1 Sustainability Characteristics

Masouleh Village is located in a mountainous
and wild area of Guilan province on the southern
part of Caspian Sea. Masouleh is located in a steep
mountain range. In addition to the south-north
slopes, two grooves (east-west slopes) are set. The
height is 1050 meters of open waters, and the height
distinction of the highest and the lowest part of the
village is 100 meters. There are 700 houses in the
village and they almost date 9 centuries. Masouleh
people are mostly engaged in trade and livestock.
2 Masouleh Climate
Masouleh is influenced by two climates: 1-humid &
temperate and 2-cold and dry climates; with very
cold winters and temperate summers.
Regarding architecture and Village Building
in Masouleh Stepped Village
2.1.1 Morphology and the Rural Texture
The texture of Masouleh village is step-like; thus, it
possesses the best architectural morphology with the
extrovert form in coordination with humid-
temperate climate to provide comfort and natural
ventilation. Therefore, the buildings are built open
in two or four directions, and as high as possible
above the ground. The form of the building in
Masouleh is influenced by the very high rate of rain
and humidity, and is set to deal with these two
elements [1].

Fig.1: Arial photo and topography Fig.2: Step-like view of Masouleh Village Iran

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Masouleh village texture – as a garden village- has
made a sort of coexistence between the natural
landscape and the architecture of the human-made
environment which is one the important principles
of environmental architecture. Masouleh texture
does not perch in the lower part of the valley due to
two reasons: 1. Heavy cold at night and its
domination in the lower part of the valley. 2. The
danger of the flood.
Furthermore, the northern part of the mountain is
very cold since it is located in the shade and hence,
it causes the dwellers face lack of comfort. Besides,
due to strong winds and lack of barrier control; top
of the mountain is an inappropriate place for the
village. As a result, the middle of the foothill has
been chosen to establish Masouleh since it is in
consistent with the natural slopes, and is likely to
receive optimal solar radiation [2].
Fig.4: Density increase in harmony with slope
Fig.5: Wind intensity and solar altitude angle diagram
2.2.2 Accesses:
The passage ways of Masouleh are designed with
proper slope and step-like in two ways: First one is
longitudinal and parallel routes with few steps;
second one is transverse routes with rather large
number of steps which provides circulation between
upper part and also down part of this village. One of
the most important characteristics of Masouleh is
that the roofs of the houses are used as access
routes. It is like each building is a yard for its upper
building, and these yards have their social uses like
walking and holding ceremonies, but the houses are
usually two-floored-buildings [3].
2.2.3 Form of the buildings
Building forms are designed extrovert and extended
high from the ground in order to prevent moisture,
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and are in concordance with the humid-and-
temperate climate; together with outer balconies and
large windows which cause the combination of
outer and inner space of the building.
Fig.6: Balconies & Neighbourhoods in Masouleh houses
2.2.4 Architectural Spaces Characteristics
in Masouleh
Masouleh consists of 350 houses, and their key
feature is their sustainable neighborhoods. This
adjacency is predicted in a way that all the houses
are connected like a chain along with the
topography line.
Fig.7: A sample facade and plan of a two-floored-
Building
Each house has between one to 4 floors, and more
than 70% are built two-floored. The ground floor is
normally non-residential and is used either as a
warehouse or a barn. The entrance is also in this
floor, and the upper floors include are residential.
This architecture includes uniform inner spaces as:
1) main room, 2) winter room: a room in the back of
the house whose only source of light was an orifice
called "Ivan", 3) summer part or counter, 4)
entrance, 5) staircase, 6) warehouse, and 7)
restroom; which is in coordination with the climatic,
topographic, and social conditions. Sunshine, instant
leading of rain water flow, appropriate and accurate
adjacency with the sides, and way of
communication were among the most important
criteria for house design.
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2.2.5 Materials
The materials used in different parts of the building
are varied and combination of stone, adobe, and
wood; which are all local. The building is static on a
solid piece of rock. Local architects never break
solid rocks into pieces, because of their moisture
problems. Hence, they use them to construct two or
three floored-buildings on the natural slope to both
show the architecture integration with natural
topography of the environment, and create a
magnificent view [4]. They also use a type of gray
soil as an insulation material against the heat and
moisture which walking improves its insulator
feature; and inhabitants' use of the roofs as the
traffic route helps the houses with insulating.
Fig.8: Roof function as a public passageway
Fig.9: Use of local materials (stone, adobe, wood) in
building the houses
2.2.6 Openings
In order to have a better relationship with the nature,
the windows in Masouleh are categorized as "single-
parted", "bi-parted", and "tri-parted". There is
usually a smaller window on the top of each
window called "top-part", on which you can see
beautiful handcrafts like: simple geometric designs.
Some beautiful windows called "Orsi" are
sometimes used.
Fig.10: "top-part" view on the top of the window
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Masouleh houses have doors with different sizes.
The width of one-leg doors is normally between 0.7
to 1.7 and the height of 1.7 meters. The larger two-
leg doors are used for cattle.
Fig.11: Orsi window in Masouleh village
Fig.12: Arched doors in Masouleh Village
3 Spaces
3.1 Residential Spaces
As discussed, shortage of constructible land in
Masouleh cause the houses to be built in the
minimum area but extended in the floors, so most of
the houses are two-floored and a few are triple-
floored. Masouleh has four main neighborhoods.
Aside from the main neighborhoods, there are six
other neighborhoods in the village. House
construction parts are extrovert. Not only are these
parts considered as one of the rustic structure
element, but as a route to the other parts. The natural
environment of the village causes the houses to have
their entrances in different spots; sometimes a house
could have three entrances [5].
3.1.1 Residential Houses Components in
Masouleh
a) Main entrance of the house: Those houses in
a complex are usually in the main route; but those
on the by-way, have their entrances on the side. In
some cases, for the houses in the center, there exist
towers to connect with the upper alley. There is a
room named "Borjkeh" next to the tower, and it is
just a connector space.
b) Corridor: Corridor is a space to interrelate the
rooms. In two or three floored-buildings, the
corridor will be on the ground floor; there are spaces
like barn, warehouse, restroom, and staircase next to
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the corridor. There may also be some rooms to This space is normally on the south part of the
inhabit near the corridor. Staircase is either along house.
the corridor or perpendicular to it. There is a
window to prevent the cold weather to enter the first
floor in winters.
c) Staircase: The staircase is made out of wood,
and is steep. It sometimes leads to the room, but
mostly to a space called "Chogham".
d) Chogham: It is the space to interrelate
different spaces. If the entrance opens in the first
floor, the first space is called "Chogham" which has
various types: it is sometimes extended like a
corridor; and sometimes, it is a small or spacious
room. Regarding the functions, "Chogham" could
locate in different spots, and it is normally in
connection with a space called "someh".
e) Someh: Someh is room for winters. It is usually
built behind the rooms or the saloon. This space
possesses 4meters by 2 meters dimension. This Fig.14: Elevation (top), Section (bottom)
room is restricted by other rooms, so the only source
of light is the skylight window.

4 Constructing Systems
The structure of the walls is with the rubble stones
up to the first floor, then with the bricks of 8*30*30
centimeters, and the attic is again with rubble stone.
Meanwhile, there are put woods in every one meter
in order to spread the pressure force from the roof to
the bottom [6].

Fig.13 (left): Ground floor plan: 1) Corridor, 2) Store

Fig.17 (right): First floor plan: 3) Chogham, 4) Someh,
5)Toilet, 6)Rookeke 7)Talara 8)Talarpish

f) Room: In some houses all the chores to be done

in Someh, Chogham, and warehouse are done here.
In some houses, there are different spaces according
to the functions, but what is of utmost attention in
typology of Masouleh buildings is their division into
two parts: "Berie keh" (Buildings which only have
windows as their façade) and "Talarakeh"
(Buildings which have Saloon and front saloon as
their façade)
Fig.15: Different materials in Masouleh buildings
g) Saloon: Saloon is the living room for ordinary
houses which has a semi-open space in front. This After being done with the walls which are
semi-open space which is the signature of Masouleh perpendicular to the route, the main and Load
extrovert houses is usually used for temporary bearing beams-parallel to the route are set. The main
gatherings and knitting in the temperate summers. pillars with the thickness of 40 centimeter will not
This space is usually open to two or three directions, be placed in the façade due to high number of the
and there are pillars on the front which sometimes openings because the wall is not strong enough. The
possesses a part or sometimes the whole façade. other load-bearing beams are used in a parallel form

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near the wall to help with the pressure distribution.
In the cases which the width of the room becomes
larger, two load-bearing beams with 20-30
centimeters gap will be set, and finally the furring
will be done [7].
Fig.16: Perspective &Schematic design of terrace
skeleton
Fig.17: The use of wooden beams (left), Fig.23: How to
hank categorization in the walls (right)
The total environment is based on these people's
culture and beliefs, so it is the reason why religious
parts come to the sight more than the other parts.
Bazaar is in multi floors without roof, and it helps
access to the different neighborhoods of the village.
Fig.18: Masouleh Bazaar
6 Case Studies
6.1 Pedram House
Pedram House has an entrance door on west, and is
along with the corridor which is also the warehouse.
The corridor leads to the Chogham, restroom,
"Pilekeh", and "Talarakeh". Usually in "Pilekeh"
things like sleeping, eating, winter gatherings, and
cooking, are done. "Talarakeh" is the summer room,
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and is connected with "Pilekeh" through a small
window. The interesting point here is the use of the
empty space between the steep roof and the empty
space above the room as a warehouse. In its total
extension, the only room of the ground floor turned
out to be a hall in which you can find the restroom.
You will find the big room (Pilekeh) as you enter.
On the back of this room, there are a number of
niches, two doors and a window, and a small Someh
in 2.40*2.50 meters. A fire inside the wall, niche,
and all the necessary equipments used in the winter
are put. This house does not have a Chogham.
Fig.19 Ground floor plan (left), First floor plan (right)
Fig.20: Elevation (left), Section (right)
6.2 Talavati House (Kardan)
This building is approximately 138 square meters,
two-floored, without any interrelation, and with
separate entrances in two levels.
Fig.21: Ground floor plan (left), First floor plan (right)
Except the balcony's walls which are white, the
other walls of the façade are yellow as soil. The
ground floor has just one room, and the second floor
has four rooms and a corridor. The rooms are
connected, and two of them have access to the
balcony. All the rooms possess niches, and the doors
and windows are made out of wood. The unique
feature of the building, which exclusively exists in
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this building, is its balcony which is in the shape of
a triangle.
Fig.22: Section (left), Elevation (right)
6.3 Golabtin Kamran House (Habib Maleki)
This building is approximately 240 square meters in
two floors which are both the same regarding the
size. Since the ground floor consists of two separate
and independent parts, two entrance doors are seen.
The access to the first floor is possible through the
sole internal staircase of each part. Unlike the
ground floor, all the rooms have niches and they are
all connected. Except two staircases space, there are
seven rooms on the first floor.
Fig.23: Ground floor plan (left), first floor plan (right)
Fig.24: Section (left) & Elevation (right)
7 Conclusion
According to the following reasons, Masouleh
village holds Stable Rustic Structure Architectural
Design:
a) Establishment of the rustic structure in the
middle of the foothill, and in coordination with the
climatic condition of the area.
b) This village is toward the south and south-east
in coordination with the natural slope to receive as
much sunshine as possible in the cold and snowy
winters of Masouleh.
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c) The step-like structure, high density and
extension of the houses in heights according to the
natural slopes.
d) Establishing northern & southern
communication routes according to the natural.
Topography, and the use of local materials, like:
woods, adobe, and natural stones, in the
construction of the village.
e) Winter and summer living design for different
seasons.
f) There is no air, sound, and other destructive
environmental pollution.
g) Use of natural resources like natural wells in
order to provide the villagers with their need of
water.
h) Designing the roofs with gentle slopes to
prevent rain water flow and its moisture.
i) Having heating insulators for cold seasons, and
humidity insulator to prevent the rain influence.
j) Use of natural mountainous grooves as swage
channels.
Though Iranian ancient architecture had been
always relied on creativity and sustainable
characteristics, it is far away from its origin with
being influenced by western modern industrial
world. According to numerous discussable
examples, Iranian ancient architecture had been
always loyal to sustainable principles. Therefore,
this village with its stable characteristics could be a
lesson for future extension of this village and other
similar villages involving the needs of today's life.
References:
[1] Givoni, B., Man Climate and Architecture,
Applied Science Publisher Ltd, Second Edition,
Amsterdam, 1976.
[2] Memarian, G., Introduction to Iranian
Architecture, Iran University of Science and
Technology Publications, 2001.
[3] Zomorshidi, H., Iran Architecture-
Understanding of Iranian Masonry
Construction Materials, Azadeh Publications,
2006.
[4] Tavassoli, M, Architecture in the Hot Arid
Zone, Tehran University Publication, , 1974.
[5] Memarian, Fathy, H., Natural Energy and
Vernacular Architecture, The university of
Chicago Press , Chicago, 1986.
[6] Givoni, B., Man Climate and Architecture,
Applied Science Publisher Ltd, Second Edition,
Amsterdam, 1976.
[7] Memarian, Gh, Iranian Residential
Architecture, The University Publication, 1992.
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