See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/261870613

Traditional Components of Iranian Vernacular Architecture in Contemporary

Projects

Article · June 2012

CITATIONS READS

0 429

1 author:

Alireza Behnejad
University of Surrey
11 PUBLICATIONS   8 CITATIONS   

SEE PROFILE

Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects:

space structures View project

All content following this page was uploaded by Alireza Behnejad on 24 July 2015.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

Folk Architecture – Vernacular Architecture
An International Conference, Hungary, 2012

TRADITIONAL COMPONENTS OF IRANIAN

VERNACULAR ARCHITECTURE IN
CONTEMPORARY PROJECTS

SEYED ALIREZA BEHNEJAD, ARMIN MOTTAGHI RAD AND

HOSSEIN JAMILI

Name: Seyed Alireza Behnejad, Architect, Civil Engineer (b. Tehran, Tehran, Iran, 1972).
Address: Civil Engineering, University of Surrey, Guildford, Surrey, GU2 7XH, United Kingdom.
E-mail: sb00344@surrey.ac.uk or a.behnejad@gmail.com; Home-page: www.archi-vision.com
Fields of interest: Architectural technology, Structural systems, Spatial structures, Geometry, Regularity.
Publications:
- (2010) Symmetry in traditional Persian poetry, In: Lugosi, G. and Nagy, D. eds., 8th Interdisciplinary
Symmetry Festival -Congress of ISIS Symmetry, [Conference organized by ISIS-Symmetry, Gmund, Austria,
August 23-28, 2010], 16-19 (co-author: Maryam Zahedi).

Name: Armin Mottaghi Rad, Architect (b. Mashhad, Khorasan, Iran, 1973).
Address: 9, 4th Hejrat Street, Mashhad, Khorasan, Iran.
E-mail: mottaghi@archi-vision.com
Fields of interest: Geometry, Texture in architecture, Architectural technology, Structural systems, Spatial
structures, Teaching of architecture and structural systems.
Awards: 3th place at design competition of the First Engineering Festival, Tehran, 1996; First place in design
competition of the Gate of Mazandaran Oil Refinery, 2010; 5th place at design competition of residential
complex at Mashhad town, 1996.

Name: Hossein Jamili, Architect (b. Mashhad, Khorasan, Iran, 1972).

Address: 13 Niloo Street, Vanak Square, Tehran, Iran.
E-mail: jamili@archi-vision.com
Fields of interest: Architectural technology, Spatial structures, Geometry, Regularity, Computational Design.
Awards: 1st place at design competition of the First Engineering Festival, Tehran, 1996.
Publications:
- (2011) Lattice Spatial Strutures and Iranian Architecture, In: Nethercut, D. and Pellegrino, S. eds., IABSE-
IASS Symposium (Taller, Longer, Lighter), [Conference organized by IABSE-IASS, London, UK, September
20-23, 2011], 516 p (co-authors: Katayoon Taghizadeh, Matin Bastanfard).

Abstract: Iran has a rich history in architecture from at least 5000 BCE. The paper tries
to investigate the dominant components of Iranian vernacular architecture in different
aspects. This gives a flavour of such architecture by presenting the examples from
various periods (Achaemenid, Sasanian and Islamic period) and cities (mostly in central
Iran). Specifically, the dominant components related to building materials, structural
forms, mechanical elements and architectural ornaments will be introduced. Then, a few
contemporary buildings, which applied some of these components, will be informed.
Due to the research limitations, the components of nomadic architecture will not be
covered in the paper.

1 TRADITIONAL COMPONENTS
Archaeological studies show a rich history of Iran in architecture from at least 5000 BCE
to the present. Pope (1971) argues that Iranian architecture has peaked during both the
Achaemenid dynasty (549-325 BC) and the Sasanian dynasty (224-624 AD) based on
the ruins of their structures. The Persepolis for instance, was a massive ceremonial
palace complex near the city Shiraz, mainly built by stone and wood in the Achaemenid
era. Arg-e Bam (Bam citadel), the largest mud brick building in the world located in
Bam, central Iran, is another example built at the same period, listed by UNESCO as a
part of the World Heritage Site, Fig. 1. This citadel including private and public
buildings was built before 500 BC and has been occupied for more than 23 centuries till
about 1850 AD. Using mud brick as the main building material in conjunction with
quick dry gypsum mortar was popular during Sasanian era. Figure 2 shows the Ayvān-e
Kesrā (the Palace of Ḵosrow), the most famous Sasanian monuments built by such a
material in the ancient city of Ctesiphon, Iraq, in the mid-3rd century (Keall, 1987).
According to Graber (1987), „the ayvān is a single large vaulted hall walled on three
sides and opening directly to the outside on the fourth‟. Ayvān-e Kesrā by 37 m high, 26
m span and 50 m long was the largest barrel vault ever constructed in the country.
Structural form of brick masonry buildings is significantly important due to the high
compressive strength of the materials (i.e. brick and mortar) and their weakness in
tension.

Brick arches, barrel vaults and domes were widely constructed in the country for
different purposes in the Islamic period as well as before. Jameh Mosque in Isfahan for

Figure 1: Arg-e Bam (Bam citedal), the largest Figure 2: Ayvān-e Kesrā (Keal, 1987), the
mud brick building in the world, Bam. largest Sasanian brick monument, Ctesiphon.
example, is one of the oldest mosques still standing, probably based on a fire-temple,
Fig. 3. The mosque has four ayvāns and a main dome, all constructed in bricks and
mortar. The mosque is the result of continual construction, reconstruction, additions and
renovations on the site from around 771 to the end of the 20th century. Although the
average lifetime of a residential building is usually much less than a public building,
there are still a number of noteworthy old houses around the country. House of Ameri
Family, a masonry building constructed in the mid-19th century in Kashan is one of
them, Fig. 4. The house has seven yards, two ayvāns and two separate bathrooms for
men and women, constructed in an area of more than 9000 square meter, having the
tallest wind-catcher in the city, which will be mentioned later. All examples from
different cities represent the role of mud and backed brick as the main building material
and various curve shapes as the dominant structural form in Iranian vernacular
architecture.

Figure 3: Jameh Mosque, a backed brick Figure 4: The House of Ameri Family,
building, based on a fire temple, Isfahan. constructed in the mid-19th century, Kashan.

The climate differs along the country from arid or semiarid to subtropical, while in most
of the areas, summers are warm to hot with almost continuous sunshine. Therefore
increasing the thermal capacity of the skin of the building and creating airflow during the
day was a basic necessity, in order to attain a „comfort zone‟. Using massive brick
masonry skins (i.e. walls and roof) and innovation of the Bādgīr (wind-catcher) was
intelligent response to these necessities. According to Roaf (1988), „bādgīr, literally
“wind-catcher”, is a traditional structure used for passive air-conditioning of buildings‟,
Fig. 5. The figure shows the bādgīr of Bāḡ-e Dawlatābād (Dawlatābād garden) and a

Figure 5: Bādgīr (wind-catcher) of Bāḡ-e Figure 6: Bādgīrs (wind-catchers) of Broujardis

Dawlatābād (A‟zami, 2005, p. 1024), Yazd. House in different directions, Kashan.
sketch of its functionality, the tallest bādgīr in the world by 33.35 m high above the roof
in Yazd. Broujerdis House in Kashan, having a set of bādgīrs in different directions on
top of the dome, is another example, Fig. 6. Additionally, the tallest bādgīr in Kashan is
in the House of Ameri Family, Fig. 4. However, now construction of bādgīrs has it seems
to have completely halted, due to more effective electrical systems. But its structural
form is still well-known and is an iconic element in Iranian contemporary projects.

The role of the geometric patterns in Iranian architecture improved drastically in Islamic
period due to the prohibition of representing the living beings for decoration. Tile
mosaic for instance, as a geometrical ornament was widely used for decoration of
mosques and theology schools, Fig. 7. The figure shows the ceiling of the dome of
Sheikh Lotf Allah Mosque in Isfahan. Moreover, brickwork, mirror work and stucco are
some other media using geometric patterns. In particular, most ayvāns and domes were
decorated with moqarnas in this period, Fig. 8. According to Dold-Samplonius (2004) „A
muqarnas is a three-dimensional architectural decoration composed of niche-like
elements arranged in tiers‟. The moqarnas in the Gowhar-šād Mosque in Mashhad, built
in early 15th century (Golombek, 2002), is shown in Fig. 8.

Figure 7: The tile mosaic on the sealing of the Figure 8: The moqarnas in the Gowhar-šād
dome of Sheikh Lotf Allah Mosque, Isfahan. Mosque built in 1418, Mashhad.

The geometric patterns have still high importance in Iranian vernacular architecture and
is using in different aspects from landscaping to structural forms and architectural
ornaments. Examples of such architectural contemporary projects will be presented in
part 2 of this paper.

2 CONTEMPORARY ARCHITECTURE
Many Iranian architects and engineers have tried to design and build the structures using
traditional components, but due to the limitation of this research, a few ideas and
projects will be introduced in sequence. In terms of using earth as the main building
material, Nader Khalili started to research on vernacular architecture in 1960‟s in Iran,
and thereafter he founded the California Institute of Earth Art and Architecture, „Cal-
Earth‟, in 1986 in the USA. His basic idea was to fill long plastic tubes with earth and
then build dome shape buildings from these earthbags judiciously braced with metal
wires, Fig 9. The figure shows a set of buildings built in the manner of using earthbags.
Kamran Diba is another architect, interested in using vernacular traditional components
in his projects. Shushtar New Town was designed by Diba and constructed in 1977, near
the city Shushtar, one of the oldest fortress cities back to Sasanian era. The design
concept of the project was based on taking the forms relatively to the climatic
constraints, using available local technology and respecting to the country‟s customs and
culture. Diba won The Aga Khan Award for Architecture in 1986 (akdn.org) for this
project. Additionally, he designed the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art in 1969,
with interconnected galleries, which gradually progress downwards. The skylights of the
galleries, the only part of the structure above the ground level, designed based on the
structural form of bādgīrs, Fig. 10.

Figure 9: Dome shape buildings built by plastic Figure 10: Skylights of the Tehran Museum of
tubes filled with earth, designed by Khalili. Contemporary Art based on the form of bādgīrs.

The National Museum of Iran was designed by André Godard, the French architect in
1930‟s, drawing inspiration from the Ayvān-e Kesrā (Ctesiphon), Fig. 11. Moreover,
Red bricks were chosen for the three story building, to recall Sasanian architecture (Sadr,
Tavoos). Figure 12 shows Tehran City Theatre, having Y shape columns and Iranian
geometric patterns on its wall, designed in 1967. The capitals and tile mosaics created a
modern moqarnas in this building.

Figure 11: The National Museum of Iran by Figure 12: Tehran City Theatre, designed with Y
Godard to recall Sasanian architecture, Tehran. shape columns and geometric patterns in 1960's.

Geometrical pattern was used in the landscape design as well as design of the buildings.
Azadi Tower for instance, designed by Hossein Amanat in 1966 as a modern
monumental gate of Tehran, has a marvelous geometric landscape, Fig. 13. Amanat won
a competition to design the monument, which combines elements of Sassanian and
Islamic architecture. The landscape of the tower in an area of some 50,000 m², has a
honeycomb pattern. Additionally, the fully symmetric tower lies on the museum and
 other buried galleries. Milad Tower, the sixth tallest telecommunication tower in the
world (435 m), is the new Iranian monument in the capital city Tehran, Fig. 14. The
lamella pattern on top of the tower emphasizes on the role of geometric patterns in
contemporary Iranian architecture and the transparent dome is a reminiscent structural
form.

Figure 13: Azadi Tower, monumental gate of Figure 14: Milad Tower, the sixth tallest
Tehran, designed by Hossein Amanat in 1966. telecommunication tower in the world.

3 CONCLUSION

The brick as a main building material and curve shape structures (e.g. barrel vaults and
domes) as the structural form are the characteristics of Iranian vernacular architecture.
Moreover, geometrical ornaments were widely used for decoration of the buildings
especially after Islam. It is remarkable that Iranian architects still take these components
into consideration and utilize them in contemporary projects.

References

A'zami, A. (2005) Badgir in traditional Iranian architecture, In: Santamouris, M., ed., 1st International
Conference Passive and Low Energy Cooling for the Built Environment, [Conference organized by the
Heliotopos Conferences, Santorini, Greece, May 19-21, 2005], Vol. II, Santorini: Heliotopos
Conferences, 1021-1026.
Dold-Samplonius, Y., Harmsen, S. (2004) Muqarnas, Construction and Reconstruction, In: Williams, K. and
Delgado Cepeda, F., eds., Nexus V, Fucecchio (Florence): Kim Williams Books, 69-77.
Golombek, L. (2002) Gowhar-šād Mosque, In: Yarshater, E. general ed., Iranica, Vol. XI, Fasc. 2, New York:
Encyclopædia Iranica Foundation, 181-184.
Grabar, O. (1987) Ayāvn, In: Yarshater, E. general ed., Iranica, Vol. III, Fasc. 2, New York: Encyclopædia
Iranica Foundation, 153-155.
Keall, E. J. (1987) Ayāvn-e Kesrā, In: Yarshater, E. general ed., Iranica, Vol. III, Fasc. 2, New York:
Encyclopædia Iranica Foundation, 155-159.
Pope, A. U. (1971) Introducing Persian Architecture, London: Oxford University Press, 119 pp.
Roaf, S. (1988) Bādgīr, In: Yarshater, E. general ed., Iranica, Vol. III, Fasc. 4, New York: Encyclopædia
Iranica Foundation, 368-370.
Aga Khan Award for Architecture (2012) http://www.akdn.org, Retrieved on May 20, 2012.
Cal-Earth (2012) http://calearth.org, Retrieved on May 20, 2012.
Tavoos (2012) http://www.tavoosonline.com, Retrieved on May 20, 2012.

View publication stats