Yasaman Yazdi - M.A of architecture. Islamic Azad University, Science and Research Branch ,No 19, Arash St., Zafar St., Tehran,

Over the past recent years, a desire for Sustainability of human settlements and tackling against the environmental threats has become a matter of global concern. Sustainability in architecture may by characterize in many different ways. We would expect such architecture to be efficient, that is, capable of providing comfort at lowest carbon emission. Iranian traditional architects had obtained admirable approaches and techniques to create climate-responsive designs or buildings which were constructed with designs and materials that make use of the surrounding climate and its natural effects in order to keep occupants comfortable. The theme of this article is the green dimension of urban and architecture design in Yazd as an oasis in the middle of deserts in the center of Iran where people were able to adapt to very hard climate condition through millenniums. Native architecture in the desert is the consequence of experience-based knowledge acquired through trial and error over time and often handed down through the generations in a long process of construction, the local climate representation, materials, sensibilities, and style of life. Traditions of vernacular architecture have many lessons for seeking sustainable forms. There is much to commend the common-sense approach to energy conservation and environmental protection practiced, however unknowingly, by many builders in the past. What this paper attempts to do is to study about what constitutes the concept of sustainability in architectural productions today and therefore starts out from a critical historical overview of approaches and practices for sustainability in the precedent architectural practices in Iran. Mentioned climatic impacts are much stronger in Iran because with the country's struggling economy and varying climate zones, and in this paper, techniques of climatic design in ancient architecture of central region of Iran are introduced and analyzed. The method of this research is case study which analyzes urban patterns of Yazd, a notable example of vernacular architecture in Iran.

sustainable architecture, vernacular architecture, climate design, Yazd