Iran Press/ Iran News: UNESCO listed Yazd as a World Heritage Site in 2017, describing the city as a “living testimony to intelligent use of limited available resources in the desert for survival.”
The city of Yazd is one of the best examples of the historical and brick texture of the world, located in the center of Iran.
According to AFP, The wind catchers called badgirs in Persian, are just one of the engineering marvels inhabitants have developed in this ancient city in central Iran — where temperatures reach well over 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) in the summer.
And, unlike energy-guzzling air-conditioners, they’re cost and carbon-free.
“For centuries, before we had electricity, they made it possible to cool dwellings,” said Abdolmajid Shakeri, the provincial deputy of Iran’s cultural heritage and tourism ministry.
The oldest of the city’s 700 wind catchers dates back to the 14th century, but the architectural feature is believed to date back as far as 2,500 years, when the Persian Empire ruled over much of the Middle East.
‘Simplicity’
The bioclimatic architecture, which provides thermal comfort for the people of Yazd, has attracted interest elsewhere on a heating planet.
“Badgirs demonstrate that simplicity can be an essential attribute to sustainability,” said Paris-based architect Roland Dehghan Kamaraji, who has studied Iran’s wind catchers.
Old but effective
Another sustainable architectural feature of Yazd is its underground aqueducts called qanats, which transport water from underground wells, aquifers, or the mountains.
“These underground aqueducts have great utility,” said Zohreh Montazer, an expert on the water system. “They constitute a source of water supply and make it possible to cool the dwellings and to preserve food at an ideal temperature.”
Iran is estimated to have around 33,000 operational qanats today, a significant drop from the 50,000 in use in the mid-20th century.
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