The settlement was dubbed a “dwelling testimony to clever use of restricted assets” by UNESCO. In Yazd, the desert capital of Iran, tall, chimney-like towers rise from centuries-old adobe dwellings, bringing a refreshing wind to the inhabitants of one of the world’s hottest towns. The wind catchers, or badgirs, as they are called in Persian, are just one of the many technical wonders that the people of this ancient city in central Iran have created. Here, summer temperatures often rise beyond 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit).
Furthermore, they are inexpensive and carbon-free, in contrast to energy-hungry air conditioners.
“They made it feasible to chill dwellings for hundreds of years, before we had electrical energy,” said Abdolmajid Shakeri, the regional deputy of Iran’s ministry of tourism and cultural preservation. The 700 wind catchers in the town date back to the 14th century, although its architectural significance is said to have begun 2,500 years ago, with the Persian Empire’s dominance over most of the Middle East.
“The badgirs played a crucial role in the prosperity of the metropolis,” said Shakeri of the desert city that served as a caravan stop along the ancient Silk Road. “People lived comfortably because of them,” he said, explaining how the wind catchers allow hot air to escape via enormous vertical gaps while drawing fresh air into structures.
Majid Oloumi, who lives at the top of Dowlatabad Garden and is home to one of the world’s highest wind catchers, standing at 33 meters (100 feet) in height, called the cooling method “completely clear as it makes use of neither electrical energy nor polluting supplies.” In 2017, UNESCO designated Yazd as a World Heritage Site, characterizing the town as a “living testament to the ingenious utilization of limited accessible resources within the desert for subsistence.”.
“Simplicity”
The bioclimatic structure that provides Yazd residents with thermal comfort has drawn attention from other places on a globe that is warming up. “Badgirs demonstrate that sustainability may benefit from simplicity,” said Roland Dehghan Kamaraji, an architect in Paris who has researched wind catchers in Iran.
“It reinforces the myth that sustainable solutions must be sophisticated or high-tech, which is widely held.” According to him, structures in the sustainable city group Masdar metropolis in the United Arab Emirates are “designed to utilize the pure air flow for cooling, like badgirs.” Air flow inspired by “termite mounds, an approach just like that of badgirs, has also been built on top of Eastgate Centre, a retail and office complex in Harare, Zimbabwe.
However, the unique architectural traditions of Yazd have essentially been abandoned in their homeland. Oloumi said, “Unfortunately, our ancestral heritage has been forgotten,” especially after air conditioners became popular. Yazd’s dilapidated city is a maze of narrow alleys and covered passageways. Its ancient buildings constructed of adobe, mud brick, and clay provide protection from the intense heat.
But the modern cement structures and multi-lane highways contrast sharply with the old houses.
“Houses nowadays are built like those in other countries, and cement-based construction isn’t appropriate for Yazd’s climate,” he said. According to Kamaraji, budgetary limitations and trendy construction techniques that “largely favor the usage of power and fossil gasoline-intensive supplies” are to blame for the decline of bioclimatic structure.
Antiquated but effective
Yazd’s network of subterranean aqueducts, or qanats, that convey water from underground wells, aquifers, or the mountains is another example of its sustainable architectural purpose. “These subterranean aqueducts are quite useful,” water system expert Zohreh Montazer said. “They serve as a source of water and enable the cooling of homes and the preservation of food at optimal temperatures.” Iran’s current operating qanat count is believed to be about 33,000, a significant decrease from the 50,000 that were in service in the middle of the 20th century.
According to UNESCO, excessive use has caused some subsurface water sources to dry up, which has contributed to the reduction of qanats. Recently, Iranian officials have worked to restore Zarch’s qanat, which is said to be the oldest and longest, dating back around 3,000 years. The water community, which spans more than 70 kilometers and descends to a depth of around 30 meters, serves as a constant reminder to Yazd’s citizens of the difficulties that lie ahead. When fossil fuels run out, Montazer said, “We should go back to those tactics.”
(This article, which is derived from a syndicated source, has not been edited by NDTV staff, except for the title.)