Sustainable Features of the Urban Structure in Hot and Aired Zone of Iran

Shaping city textures and providing a proper environment for living was one of the greatest achievements of vernacular architecture in Iran. Climate is one of the effective elements in city morphology in hot and arid climates. In this climate, vernacular cities are built with a condense texture and the houses are attached to each other to the extent that boundaries among them were difficult to identify. The aims of this study are to give an overview of Sustainable features of the urban structure and will focus on different sustainable systems which were used in Yazd city and presented to have the solutions of human comfort and save natural energies. In an overview, the compact form of city, wind towers, orientation of buildings to sun and wind, arrangement of the summer and winter spaces, using local materials and clean energies as the environmental potentials, the narrow and covered passageways, the underground spaces, deep courtyards, thick walls, using the water and plants, reusing the materials are some considerable solutions in urban and architectural design of this region for having the sustainable city. The urban form of the Yazd city has to take shape to provide a comfortable living environment. Thus the urban form of this region has these main characteristics: urban compactness enclosed urban spaces and narrow streets, adjoined buildings, orientation and configuration of the urban fabric and skyline of the city with domes and wind catchers.