SAEEDEH HOSEINYZADEH - Faculty of Architecture, Department of Art & Media, Payame Noor University, I.R. of IRAN

In Iran , heritage plays a significant role in achieving sustainable development. To a significant extent, Iranian architecture has been based on climate, geography, available materials, and cultural beliefs.Therefore, traditional Iranian masons and builders had to devise various techniques to enhance architectural sustainability through the use of natural materials. Not providing human comfort based on nature and existence of desert is one of the defects of new houses in Yazd. Regarding the high rate of energy consumption in this country for supplying of required cases of residential buildings, if it is possible to supply this type of energy from among limitless energy sources such as solar energy it is possible to have a considerable economy in fossil fuels. Moreover, one of the good deeds of traditional houses of Yazd is to provide comfort of the residents by best usage of natural energies.The analysis and study of how to exploit the nature in these houses is not only effective but also it is essential to establish equilibrium between the internal and external nature of desert residents and finding appropriate pattern for programming and designing in this region. This paper describes the principals and methods of vernacular architectural designs in Yazd. also this suggests that, to benefit of both modern principles of sustainable urban design and learning from architectural heritage and urban design, Physical environment of the desert cities can be guided toward greater conformity with their natural settings . The purpose of this article is to evaluate the effect of climatic on construction and the local architecture in hot-arid regions, with a special focus on Yazd City.

Renewable energy; Sustainability; Traditional architecture; Hot-arid region; Iran; Yazd