Energy Efficient Architectural Design Strategies in Hot‐Dry Area of Iran: Kashan

Climate had a major effect on the performance of the traditional building architecture and its energy consumption in hot dry area of Iran. Lack of water and energy sources in these areas forced people to build their houses with some strategies based on minimum energy consumption. Heating and cooling usually use largest portion of energy in buildings. Therefore, builders tried to use natural climatic strategies for coping with harsh conditions. These strategies include: layout orientation, distance between buildings, building orientation & form, climatic elements such as Eyvan (porches), wind catchers, central courtyard, and so on.

This paper first aims to introduce these strategies and then, to categorize these characteristics at three levels:
a) macro scale,
b) medium scale and,
c) micro scale.

In addition, the mentioned strategies will be explained in their level of performance and the relevant elements in other levels. Furthermore, the paper aims to put forward basic principles and changes in their usage that may be of benefit in sustainable housing designs in the future. In this study, the cited design strategies will be examined and modern and traditional houses will be evaluated in terms of design criteria - such as, selection of the area, distance between buildings, orientation, building envelope and building form. In this paper, a simplified evaluation and comparison of a traditional house with a contemporary house will be given.