Journal of Civil Engineering and Urbanism  
Volume 8, Issue 3: 33-38; May 25, 2018  
ISSN-2252-0430  
The Effect of Iranian Traditional Architectural Forms on  
Reducing Energy Consumption; Comparison of Two Types of  
Buildings in Hot-Dry and Cold Climates (Case study: Afsharian  
House and Ganjei Zadeh House)  
Sanaz Mehdizadeh Dalir and Mohsen Mokhtari Kashavar  
Master of Architecture Student at UCNA University of Tabriz, Iran  
Corresponding author’s Email: sanaz.m1986@yahoo.com  
ABSTRACT: In different parts of Iran, the traditional form of buildings are significantly subordinate to  
the climate of the region in which they are located. How much traditional Iranian housing forms have  
been effective in thermal behavior is an issue that is discussed in this paper. The research method in this  
paper is analytic-deductive analysis, which is done by modeling and analysis of the case study of two  
climates and comparing them in different situations with appropriate soft wears. The results of energy  
simulations and their comparison with each other indicate that the form and geometry chosen by the  
Iranian architect for each climate show a very good behavior to meet the climatic conditions. And if  
these two forms of housing are displaced together, this efficiency decreases. As a result, the housing  
form of each climate is an optimal response to the same climate. Traditional architects have been aware  
of the impact of geometry and forms on the thermal performance of buildings, and they have been able  
to respond appropriately to environmental conditions by using different geometric proportions and  
forms.  
Keywords: Iran's Traditional Housing, Thermal-Climate Behavior, Energy Efficient, Energy  
Consumption  
INTRODUCTION  
Environmental controlling features such as a mechanism  
to open and close doors, windows, and blinds increase the  
range of acceptable temperature of comfort in buildings  
(Darby and White, 2005). Therefore, thermal comfort in a  
building is gained through the physical elements as well  
as through the adaptive behaviors of the occupants (Roaf  
Iran experiences four types of climate conditions  
namely, moderate and humid, cold, hot-dry and hot-  
humid climates in various regions of the country. As a  
result, there is a diversity of vernacular architecture that  
could be found in different parts of the country. In  
general, Iranian traditional houses are classified into two  
recognizable types: the introverted type (with internal  
courtyard) and the extroverted type (without central  
courtyard) (Mokhtarshahi Sani, 2013). The courtyard type  
is widely used in the central part of Iran with hot and dry  
climatic condition (Heidari, 2010). However, this unique  
architectural feature can be found in other regions with  
modifications in terms of form and configuration  
(Amadouni, 1995). In the traditional architecture of Iran,  
Shelter is a basic necessity for human beings to protect  
themselves from the extremes of climate. Climate  
influences the building forms. It partly explains why built  
forms vary according to the region (Moradchelleh and  
Rashid, 2011). Other important influencing factors are the  
culture of people, their religion, the availability of  
materials and construction technology. One factor may be  
more dominant relatively to another, depending on the  
context and people's preferences (Rapoport, 1969).  
Making an effort to understand how built environment is  
shaped. Due to the interaction between people and their  
surroundings has been a fascination for many researchers.  
People usually react to the alterations and changes caused  
by the environmental elements through behavioral  
adaptation, physiological and psychological adaptation to  
meet comfort requirements (De Dear and Brager, 1998).  
To gain desirable environment, people have a tendency to  
adjust their clothing change and relocate their activities to  
gain the desired comfort level (Roaf et al., 2009).  
To cite this paper: Mehdizadeh Dalir S and Mokhtari Kashavar M (2018). The Effect of Iranian Traditional Architectural Forms on Reducing Energy Consumption;  
Comparison of Two Types of Buildings in Hot-Dry and Cold Climates (Case study: Afsharian House and Ganjei Zadeh House). J. Civil Eng. Urban., 8 (3): 33-38.  
33  
using many natural and constructed elements, including  
topography, elevation, water, land cover, and surrounding  
environments formation and architecture design  
techniques to protect residents from the adverse effects of  
climate on comfort has led to the formation of Iranian  
housing. For this reason, the housing of each climate is  
highly consistent and adaptable to the native conditions in  
which it is located (Saljoughinejad and Rashidi  
Many studies have been conducted in the field of  
traditional Iranian housing, among which the studies of  
Professor Pirnia in the form of reference books are taught  
in Iran's universities. The basics mentioned in this article  
are mainly derived from these books, including the book  
of Persian architectural methods by Gholam Hossein  
Memarian in 2002. In the book of Residential  
Architecture of Iran, Memarian also addresses the  
typology of the introverted and extraterrestrial form of  
traditional Iranian housing, which has occurred through  
the formulation of housing for each region. Mohammad  
Tavassoli, in a book entitled Building a City and  
Architecture in the Dry Climate in 2012, explores the  
climate impact on the formation of housing and even  
urbanization in that climate. Other books on building  
elements of Iranian traditional architecture for ventilation  
and climate in the dry climate have been compiled  
including the publication of the book of natural cooling in  
traditional buildings of Iran, by Mehdi Bahadirinejad.  
from the equator, has vast desert plains in the central area  
It has very hot summers and cold winters.  
On the other hand, in the cold and dry climate of the  
Alborz and Zagros mountains in the western and  
northwest regions, it creates cold winters for the  
inhabitants of this region. Traditional Iranian houses have  
always been one of the most important sections of Iranian  
architecture and have great popularity among its  
inhabitants .Because most of the time spent in the lives of  
the people and all of the activities that can take place in  
the open and semi-open spaces are formed in it (Asefi and  
Imani, 2017) Housing as the most fundamental  
architectural building in Iran has a significant contribution  
to determining fuel and energy consumption. On the other  
hand, traditional Iranian architecture has used designing  
techniques in traditional houses to answer those issues  
Each climate is proportional to its climate zone, and  
it is considering measures to build housing in that region  
that is responsive to the same climate. Building form is  
one of the most important strategies for optimizing fuel  
consumption. In the following, introducing and describing  
the traditional form of Iranian housing in two hot and cold  
regions and cities of Iran, we examine and analyze this  
claim  
Types of houses  
Buildings are divided into several categories  
according to the location of spaces in different parts of the  
yard:  
1. With spaces on one side of the yard  
2. With spaces on both sides of the yard and facing  
each other  
3. With spaces on the courtyard side, L-shaped  
4. With spaces on the three sides of the yard. U  
shape  
MATERIAL AND METHOD  
At first, a brief explanation of the theoretical foundations  
includes the concepts and key elements of the climate of  
traditional Iranian buildings will be explained. Then a  
variety of dominant buildings in different climates of Iran  
are introduced. And then the buildings of Ganje zadeh in  
the city of Tabriz as the dominant form of the building in  
a cold climate and the Afsharian building in Shiraz is  
introduced as the dominant form in warm and dry climate.  
Then these two buildings are examined for thermal  
performance. Energy simulations have been done using  
Honeybee that is a weather and energy analysis tool for  
grasshopper 3D package and connects grasshopper to  
Energy Plus simulation engine. Simulations are done in  
two parts. Simulations are performed for each month of  
the year. Each building once was modeled in its own  
climate and once again in a different climate and the  
results are compared.  
5. With spaces around the yard:  
In this species, the organization of spaces with  
regard to domestic migration has taken place in different  
seasons. In this way parts facing sun has used during the  
winter, and parts that placed back to sun used in summers  
Theoretical bases considering climate change around  
the world and increasing fossil fuel consumption, it is  
important to control and manage optimal fuel  
consumption. Although Iran is a land of four seasons with  
a lot of climate variations However, Iran is located in a  
semi-arid climatic zone relative to its latitude and distance  
Figure 1. The shape of the spaces in different parts of the  
yard  
To cite this paper: Mehdizadeh Dalir S and Mokhtari Kashavar M (2018). The Effect of Iranian Traditional Architectural Forms on Reducing Energy Consumption; Comparison of  
Two Types of Buildings in Hot-Dry and Cold Climates (Case study: Afsharian House and Ganjei Zadeh House). J. Civil Eng. Urban., 8 (3): 33-38. www.ojceu.ir  
34  
Gangei zadeh House of Tabriz  
The GanjeiZadeh House has a mix of architectural  
styles from the Qajar and Pahlavi periods. The house is  
about three thousand square meters in size, and its land is  
composed of three floors of rooms in a row without an  
interior and exterior. The use of sharp angles in the  
construction of a treasure house and a rectangular window  
without curvature in the building reveals that the building  
consists of two parts. The eastern part is constructed  
during the Qajar period, and the western part of the  
Pahlavi period has been added to the former building.  
The main core of this building is the lounge chamber,  
which is located on both sides of the entrance hall and at  
the edges of the rooms. The porch contains five spans  
covered with semi-circular arches. In the northern part of  
the living room there was also a veranda with three  
openings facing the courtyard. The northern interior  
courtyard is destroyed and the northern side of the living  
room is walled the back of both parts of the building is  
protected and decorated with stone plates, and the exterior  
and basements are brick. Materials used in the building of  
stone, brick, plaster, lime and wood Architectural plans,  
combining two planes, porches, two-way staircases and  
optimal brick application are the hallmarks of this  
building.  
Figure 3. Gangei zadeh House of Tabriz  
Afsharian house in Shiraz:  
The house of Afsharian with an area of 380 square  
meters is a combination of two species with and without  
the traditional window. The building has a central  
courtyard and on three fronts there is a room, two  
corridors and two double rooms. The type of structure is  
the barrier wall, the arched vault and the arc. Most of the  
materials used in the construction of the building include  
brick, stone, plaster mortar, wood. Also, the decorations  
used in the building include carvings, wood decoration,  
tile, brickwork, painting, mirroring, and painting. This  
house was built during the Qajar era.  
Figure 2. Gangei zadeh House of Tabriz  
To cite this paper: Mehdizadeh Dalir S and Mokhtari Kashavar M (2018). The Effect of Iranian Traditional Architectural Forms on Reducing Energy Consumption; Comparison of  
Two Types of Buildings in Hot-Dry and Cold Climates (Case study: Afsharian House and Ganjei Zadeh House). J. Civil Eng. Urban., 8 (3): 33-38. www.ojceu.ir  
35  
by 197 percent that shows, the form of the Afsharian  
house in the climate of Tabriz is not optimal for cooling  
loads. Eventually, the amount of energy consumed by  
Afsharian house increased by 24.541 percent per square  
meter. Which indicates the lack of optimality of this form  
and geometry for this climate.  
Figure 4. Afsharian house in Shiraz  
RESULTS  
Chart 1. Heating energy demand of Gangei Zadeh house  
in Tabriz  
Gangei Zadeh house in Tabriz & Shiraz climates  
Energy use of Ganjei Zadeh house in Tabriz climate  
is: 26256.652 kWh for cooling, and 27377.517 kWh for  
heating over a year, also total energy demand for thermal  
load in 28.825 kWh/M2 in a year (Charts 1-3). In the  
second part of experience the building tested in Shiraz  
climate and result is as follows: 84625.107 kWh for  
cooling, and 943.924 kWh for heating over a year, also  
total energy demand for thermal load in 41.202 kWh/M2  
in a year (Charts 4-6).  
Comparing the result shows that energy demand for  
cooling in Ganjei Zadeh house in Shiraz Climate in a year  
raised 222.3 percent and energy demand for heating is  
dropped 28.394 percent because the Shiraz has hot and  
dry weather that has no significant need for heating.  
Finally total thermal energy demand for Ganjei Zadeh  
house in Shiraz climate raised by 51.543 percent  
(kWh/m2) that shows this geometry is not optimal chose  
for Shiraz climate.  
Chart 2. Cooling energy demand of g Gangei zadeh  
house in Tabriz  
Afsharian house in Shiraz and Tabriz climates  
The total energy consumption of the entire Afsharian  
house for one year is 1869.66 kWh for heating, and for  
cooling it is 12719.817 kWh, and energy consumption per  
square meter for the whole year is 54.924 kWh hours in  
the climate of Shiraz (Charts 7-9). The energy  
consumption of Afsharian house in the Tabriz city is as  
follows: Heating during the year is 1439.337 kWh.  
Cooling during the year was 3778,732 kWh. And the  
amount of energy consumed per square meter during the  
year is 68,403 kWh (Charts 10-12).  
Chart 3. Total energy demand of Gangei zadeh house in  
Tabriz kWh/m2  
Comparison of the results shows that if the form and  
geometry of the Afsharian building used in Tabriz's  
climate, the energy consumption for heating will decrease  
by 29.897 percent. And this is due to the closure of the  
form and the central courtyard of the Afsharian building,  
which indicates that this form is optimal for cold seasons.  
Also, the amount of energy used for cooling is increased  
Chart 4. Heating energy demand of Gangei zadeh house  
in Shiraz climate  
To cite this paper: Mehdizadeh Dalir S and Mokhtari Kashavar M (2018). The Effect of Iranian Traditional Architectural Forms on Reducing Energy Consumption; Comparison of  
Two Types of Buildings in Hot-Dry and Cold Climates (Case study: Afsharian House and Ganjei Zadeh House). J. Civil Eng. Urban., 8 (3): 33-38. www.ojceu.ir  
36  
Chart 5. Cooling energy demand of Gangei zadeh house  
Chart 9. Total energy demand of Afsharian house in  
in Shiraz climate  
Shiraz climate, kWh/m2  
Chart 6. Total energy demand of Gangei zadeh house in  
Char 10. Heating energy demand of Afsharian house in  
Shiraz climate, kWh/m2  
Tabriz climate  
Char 7. Heating energy demand of Afsharian house in  
Char 11. Cooling energy demand of Afsharian house in  
Shiraz climate  
Tabriz climate  
Char 8. Cooling energy demand of Afsharian house in  
Chart 12. Total energy demand of Afsharian house in  
Shiraz climate  
Tabriz climate, kWh/m2  
To cite this paper: Mehdizadeh Dalir S and Mokhtari Kashavar M (2018). The Effect of Iranian Traditional Architectural Forms on Reducing Energy Consumption; Comparison of  
Two Types of Buildings in Hot-Dry and Cold Climates (Case study: Afsharian House and Ganjei Zadeh House). J. Civil Eng. Urban., 8 (3): 33-38. www.ojceu.ir  
37  
Rate of Energy Consumption in Traditional Houses  
CONCLUSION  
of Tabriz. Procedia Engineering 118: 711719.  
The results show that the Iranian architect, with the  
detailed knowledge of the appropriate forms and  
geometries of each climate, was able to respond  
appropriately to the climate conditions and optimize  
energy consumption with respect to the climate. In such a  
way that a special form that was suitable for cold climate  
was not optimized for hot climates and vice versa. as the  
results of climate simulations prove this. Although the  
Afsharian house has been able to show good results in the  
cold climate of Tabriz this is due to the central courtyard  
and the closed form of the building, but finally the total  
energy consumption has increased in total.  
Rapoport A (1969). House form and culture. Englewood  
Cliffs: Prentice-Hall.  
Residential Iranian Architecture (introverted topology)-  
(2007).  
Roaf S, Crichton D and Nicol F (2009). Adapting  
buildings and cities for climate change a 21st  
century survival guide (2nd ed.): Taylor & Francis.  
Saljoughinejad S and Rashidi Sharifabad S (2015).  
Classification of climatic strategies, used in Iranian  
vernacular residences based on spatial constituent  
elements, Building and Environment, 92: 475-493.  
DECLARATIONS  
Authors’ contributions  
All authors contributed equally to this work.  
Competing interests  
The authors declare that they have no competing  
interests.  
REFERENCES  
Amadouni Z (1995). Courtyard housing: A typological  
analysis. Master of Architecture, MCGILL,  
Montreal.  
Asefi M and Imani E (2016). Redefined the design  
patterns of desirable Iranian-Islamic contemporary  
housing with the quality assessment of traditional  
homes, Islamic Architecture Research Journal, 11:  
56-73.  
De Dear R and Brager G (1998). Developing an adaptive  
model of thermal comfort and preference. Atlanta,  
USA.  
Darby and White (2005). Thermal Comfort:  
Environmental Change Institute University of  
Oxford.  
Heidari S (2010). A deep courtyard as the best building  
form for desert climate, an introduction to effects of  
air movement (Case study: Yazd). DESERT, 15(1),  
16-26  
Memarian GH and Pirnia MK (2007). Stylistics of Iranian  
Architecture.  
Mokhtarshahi Sani R and Payam M (2013). An inquiry  
into cultural continuity and change in housing. An  
Iranian Perspective. Scientific Research, 3(3), 230-  
237.  
Moradchelleh A and Rashid H (2011). The study of form  
of building in climates of Iran. Middle-East Journal  
of Scientific research, 8(2): 306-313.  
Najafgholi Pour Kalantari N, Singeri M, Roshanfekr  
Joursharic  
S
(2015). Investigation of the  
Relationship Between the Climatic Role of Iwan and  
To cite this paper: Mehdizadeh Dalir S and Mokhtari Kashavar M (2018). The Effect of Iranian Traditional Architectural Forms on Reducing Energy Consumption; Comparison of  
Two Types of Buildings in Hot-Dry and Cold Climates (Case study: Afsharian House and Ganjei Zadeh House). J. Civil Eng. Urban., 8 (3): 33-38. www.ojceu.ir  
38