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| Vernacular structures of the Iranian plateau |
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 Not very long ago, a huge legacy of fascinating and often beautiful vernacular buildings survived on the Iranian plateau. The term of vernacular structure which refers to the buildings constructed by the people living in a locality, is also called architecture without architect.Many occurred chiefly in the villages, but others had their grander counterparts in the towns. Some are either unique to Iran or may be prototypes of buildings elsewhere. The common factors creating the vernacular architecture in Iranian plateau are climate and accessible constructional materials. The prevailing climate in the region is harshly hot or cold. Most of the time, it is also extremely dry with desert soil covering the major part of lands. Generally, rainfall is not enough and earthquakes have always been potential threats. Mud and brick are major materials used for constructing various structures, because the earth can be found everywhere quite easily and inexpensively. Ceilings are mostly built in the form of cupolas and vaults, walls are usually thick and windows have to be made in small sizes. The reasons should be sought in the common factors mentioned and explained before. Currently, most of them are crumbled and their rapid disappearance derives from a variety of good reasons. As you know, a building constructed of stone in a temperate climate, may survive many years as a ruin. But these Iranian buildings are chiefly built of unbaked mud-brick. Any mud-brick building quickly deteriorates without constant maintenance; this inevitably cases once a building is no longer useful. Moreover, the fierce climate of the plateau accelerates this process. In addition to the general features of architecture in the Iranian plateau, there are some special structures built that need to be referred here:  Pigeon towers The purpose of building such towers had merely been collecting pigeons’ excrement to be used as fertilizer or as an ingredient for producing gunpowder. The main issue was to build as many pigeon nests inside as possible with the least materials. The architecture of these seemingly simple structures was not void of art and calculations although economic consideration should have been taken.  IcehousesIcehouses were built for reserving snow and ice for summer use. Supplying ice in the plateau had been very hard. Warm season was long and cold season short. Drinkable water was not enough. Snow-covered mountains were not available everywhere. The difference in altitude made it even harder to carry snow down to low areas. A ditch, a wall and a thick storage structure were the intelligent solution to supply and reserve ice for later use. There were some technical and cultural aspects involved as well, like any other structures, which are quite interesting.  Water reservoirs To efficiently collect and reserve water has never been any possible task to do unless a great amount of experience has been gained throughout centuries. Supplying water by kariz (qanat), man-made subterranean aqueduct system, has been common in ancient Iran. Water supplied in this way must be kept in an appropriate structure, a water reservoir. Water reservoir is a deep circular insulated pit covered by a dome and accessed by a stairway leading down to its entrance. A barrel-vaulted ceiling covered this stairway. Water could be kept cool and clean with the help of some local techniques.  wind catchers Wind catcher (Wind tower) is one of the most famous and spectacular elements in pure Iranian architecture. It is a chimney-like structure usually erected in couples from the bottom of houses or water reservoirs up to an elevation a little higher than its roof. They work like a ventilation system bringing the temperature of inside houses or water reservoirs around 20 C lower than outside.   Socialize this Subscribe to our RSS feed to stay in touch and receive all of TT updates right in your feed reader
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