Introduction to Traditional Domestic and Functional Architecture in Iran

In addition to the monumental buildings we visited, we also saw a number of buildings which were in one way or another useful to the citizens of the city in their daily lives. The designs of these buildings are often quite ancient but none we saw was much older than the 17th century. Some of these buildings would have been made from unglazed bricks and covered with a combination of mud and straw. If they were not kept in good repair, the weather, both rain and heat, would over time destroy them. This photo shows the town of Meybod, on the road from Yazd to Esfahan, looking out from the citadel in the middle of town.

Because lumber was not readily available in the desert, domes were often used in building houses, public structures, and even chicken coops. Domes are well suited to a desert climate because the airflow in a domed room is far superior to that in a rectangular one. Particularly important in a chicken coop. I love the bumpy domes in the foreground above.

 These arches in the old town of Yazd, in need of constant repair I'm sure, were too beautiful not to capture.

Ice House in Meybod

A great example of imaginative architecture is the ice house, a very useful structure for dry hot desert towns. The one we saw was located in Meybod, on the road from Yazd to Esfahan, and possibly dates from the Safavid Dynasty, 17th century.

During the winter, ice would be collected from rivers or pools and brought to the ice house, whose walls were often four feet thick. The pieces would be placed in layers in the underground bowl-shaped area. The layers would be interspersed with hay or other forms of insulation.


The dome, to the left, had a very small opening so as to keep the sun and the heat out. The ice stored in this manner could last through the summer.

Wind Towers or Badgirs in Yazd on the Edge of the Desert

Wind towers or badgirs still grace some of the homes in Yazd in the old part of the city. Traditionally, they would be located over a pool of water so that as the wind came down it would pass across the pool, cooling it, vaporizing some of the water and carrying the cool moisture to the room and to the house. The introduction of air conditioning has diminished the use of wind towers, I’m sorry to say.

They were also often built along with cisterns which would store water delivered to the city via qanats, an extensive system of wells and underground tunnels which brought water from the mountains to desert towns and cities. The wind towers would help to keep the water cool.

The wind tower of Bagh-e Dowlat Abad, a palace and garden built by Karim Khan Zand in 1750, is one of the tallest in town. You can see the outside of the dome, shown below, just in front of the wind tower to the left.













 

The dome located inside the house is just beautiful.

Caravansersai

As I mentioned in a previous post, caravanserai dot the countryside, either in ruins, in some partial state of repair, or completely rehabilitated as a guest house or hotel for travelers. Many are from the Safavid Dynasty, 17th century, as Shah Abbas set out to build 999 of them along the Silk Road(s) to encourage traders to bring their wares through Iran.

As you can see from the plan to the left, there was only one entrance to the courtyard. Shops and storerooms faced the courtyard and the corridors and arcades on the inside were used as housing for travelers.

Public Laundry Museum in Zanjan

This public laundry was built by the mayor of the town in 1926 as a nice place for the women of Zanjan to do their laundry and enjoy each other’s company. The beautiful brick arches and barrel vaults are a far cry from our sterile and utilitarian laundromats here.

We saw three museums which featured wax models to illustrate the use of the particular places: a kitchen museum associated with the White Palace in Tehran, this public laundry, and the Public Bath Museum in Esfahan below.