Compatible Ecological Strategies Used in the Design of Traditional Houses in Iran's Hot and Dry Climate Case Study: The Boroujerdis House in Kashan

Today, due to the lack of proper structural models for increasing productivity as well as residents’ comfort through optimal deployment of climatic factors in building, many climatically inappropriate and at times conflicting models are being used in construction. The present research aims to look for architectural tips regarding the use of hot-and-dry climatic factors used in the ecological design of the Boroujerdis House in Kashan. In the meantime, the study searches for certain design strategies which take into account natural energy resources. For this reason, a descriptive-analytic approach was adopted by deploying planimetric tables/descriptions in order to present the climatic characteristics as well as ecological design of the Boroujerdis House. This study was conducted during one season in the three sections of the house, i.e., the Summer Residence, the Winter Residence, and the Myansara (middle area). The ecological design solutions and their application in the Boroujerdis House in Kashan outline strategies for environmentally friendly architectural design. The obtained results showed that climatic factors such as topography, seasonal orientation of the residence, adjusting sunlight, etc.can be employed in designing building forms,spatial organization, landscape and plants, construction materials, technical installations, and the like. The ecology of the region should be considered for the construction of proper structures in the creation of sustainablebuilding environments, and also, in addition to these old solutions, solar, water and wind resources which are renewable should be considered more for the construction of new houses in Kashan with its dry climate.

Keywords: ecological design, physical environment, structural environment, hot and dry climate, the Boroujerdis House, design strategy.