The Impact of Vernacular Architecture and Biomimicry on Strengthening Tourism Destination Identity: The Case of Kashan

Vernacular architecture in Iran, particularly in the city of Kashan, represents an intelligent interaction between culture, climate, and traditional knowledge, and plays a critical role in shaping tourism destination identity. In recent years, biomimicry has emerged as an innovative approach in sustainable design, drawing inspiration from natural systems and processes. This study adopts a qualitative, multi-source research design—integrating documentary analysis, field observations, and semi-structured interviews—to examine the integration of Kashan’s vernacular architecture with biomimicry principles and its impact on tourism destination identity. The findings reveal that key elements of Kashan’s vernacular architecture align with biomimicry principles across three levels: form, process, and system. This alignment not only enhances environmental performance but also strengthens the perceptual dimensions of destination identity, including sustainable identity, place identity, and innovative identity. The results further indicate that biomimetic design strategies can contribute to significant reductions in energy consumption and carbon emissions, although the extent of these benefits is context-dependent. Ultimately, this study proposes a conceptual framework that bridges the gap between ecological performance and tourist perception, offering a novel pathway for the development of sustainable tourism destinations.

کلیدواژه ها:

Vernacular Architecture ، Biomimicry ، Destination Identity ، Sustainable Tourism ، Kashan