Sustainability Patterns in the Traditional Residential Fabric of Tabriz

Abstract

Sustainability does not just encompass environmental preservation but also the well being and development of societies and economies that exist within and depend on it. Sustainable architecture is one of the topics which is lately considered and brought to a focus in Iran. A short glance at the vernacular architecture of ancient Iranian several regions, suggests the recognition of environmental and climatic features of various regions, our predecessor’s perceptive solution for the more use of natural blessings and encounter environmental- climatic difficulties and abnormalities. Tabriz city with its known rich legacy of valuable traditional and urban architecture is considerable in terms of long-serving sustainability in northwestern Iran. Vernacular architecture of Tabriz which comprise worth, architecture and urbanism identity is exactly compatible with the environmental-climatic conditions and has its own specific regional identity. So, appreciation of this architecture and its vernacular strategies paves the way for applying them in the modern spaces. Although these fundamentals has been taken for granted nowadays, they are not as original as Safavid or Zand dynasties’ which value their own exclusive design like particular construction material, building and opening form, building orientation and finally alleys form paved the way for the optimum use of ventilation systems of traditional buildings in Iranian mountainous regions. Afterwards, many Qajar artistic traits were copied from the Zand examples, namely, after the decline of the Zand dynasty in 1830 and the reign of Qajar(1794-1925), an unpleasant events occurred just because of irregular imitation of western architecture, which led to the country’s infirmity, losing the different parts, occupation of aliens and vulnerability of Iranian government and independence. In order to identify the sustainable architectural elements of the region, we shall examine the following aspects at two scales: at the scale of urban fabric, at the scale of unit architecture.