Seyed Mohamad Ali Sedighi - PhD researcher at TU Delft, Faculty of Architecture - The Netherlands

The demand for the creation of higher density housing, and the quality of built form in high-density built environments is crucial to the developing world, especially in the countries where housing construction has a long cultural tradition. This concept in Iran offers an important principle concerning the relationship between urban density and urban form where high density does not necessarily mean building high-rise blocks. This paper aims at studying and exploring the relationships between the traditional Persian courtyard housing and contemporary large-scale housing in Iran for the creation of high-density built environments. It also intends to find out the potential for affordable and sustainable development of housing, referring to the efficient use of urban land and considering the socio-cultural aspects in the design of large-scale housing. In short, this paper will investigate the relationships between housing density, built form and cultural identity

building density, built form, cultural identity, courtyard house, privacy, outdoor spaces