@2024 Afarand., IRAN

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ISSN: 2538-4384    Geographical Researches 2020;35(2):129-140

Background
"Sustainable development approach" as a new approach in architecture was raised by the huge increase in the cities' construction and their expansion as well as the population growth. This approach aimed to be more harmonized with nature and reduce the damage to the environment and energy resources.
Previous Studies
Nowadays, cities are of great importance in the "international sustainability instructions", and sustainability is the first priority of urban planning [Mcfarlane & Silver, 2017]. A set of methods and instructions were needed to reach environmental sustainability called sustainable design, sustainability in architecture, and green architecture [Hall & Pfeiffer, 2000]. It is exactly what Iran's dwellers used to benefit from by using the special techniques to optimize the use of energy resources and natural resources, particularly solar and wind energy. It is getting destroyed by ignorance [Mahdavinejad & Javanroodi, 2011]. According to the previous studies, Iranian indigenous architecture meets all sustainability parameters [Hekmatnia & Ansari, 2012]. Air conditioners have been essential in Iran's indigenous architecture, especially in arid regions (so as to make the place cool and ventilated) and in humid regions (so as to circulate the air and remove the moisture). Windcatcher is one of the most outstanding features of the regions with an arid and dry climate. A windcatcher is an element to ventilate and pass the air [Morahemi et al., 2017].
Aim(s)
This study aimed to recognize and classify various types of wind catchers in Semnan as a feature of the indigenous architecture consistent with sustainable development patterns.
Research type
This is an empirical study in terms of the purpose and descriptive-analytical in terms of methodology. Both qualitative and quantitative methods are used to analyze data.
Research society, place and time
This research is carried out from 2018 to 2019. All registered houses older than 100 years in Semnan province were visited.
Sampling method and number
Thirty-seven state-owned buildings that were in safe condition were chosen as the samples.
Used devices&materials
Taking notes, drawing the plan, satellite maps (Google Earth), and photography are the devices used to collect the needed data.
Findings by Text
According to the findings, there was a wind catcher in almost all houses, even in rural areas. The wind catchers' typology According to the studies done and the information classification, Semnan wind catchers can be divided into five types. These types are different in terms of the wind catchers' position, position in the plan, plan type, cross-sectional area, and facades. A) Typology according to the wind catchers' position According to this criterion, wind catchers can be classified into three main types. However, there are just two of them in Semnan. 1) One-way wind catchers: those that suck the air from one side. There was no one-way wind catcher in Semnan houses. 2) Two-way wind catchers: such wind catchers suck water from two sides, and their windshield faces north in Semnan. Shariat Panahi house is a two-way windcatcher. 10.8% of the 37 studied wind catchers in Semnan are two-way (Figure 3 a). 3) Four-way wind catchers: almost 89.2% of the houses' wind catchers are four-way. Tadayon and Kalanta houses' wind catchers are four-way (Figure 3 b &p) B) Typology according to the position of the windcatcher in the plan The wind catchers' position in different houses is not the same. Then, this element has various influences as one of the primary components of the Iranian indigenous architecture. In general, the wind catchers are located in the house's summery part and the southern part. The wind catchers in Semnan can be divided into two main types in terms of their position in houses' plans. 1) Wind catchers located behind the hall and on the houses' axis: it means that the wind catcher's, the hall's, and the court's axis are along. The hall height is sometimes higher than other parts, and the windcatcher ventilates the Shahneshin, which is the hall's upstairs. The hall, which is the main part of the Iranian house and is ventilated by the wind catchers, has a rectangular plan that might have a cross shape because of the corridors and the closets. 17 out of 37 studied houses have this type of wind catchers, which account for 45.9% of the houses (Figure 4 a & b). 2) Wind catchers located on the corner of the hall: the windcatcher is not along the hall's axis nor that of the court, while it is on the corner. Semnaniha and Haj Heshmat Sorkhei have such wind catchers (Figure 5a). Twenty of the studied houses have such wind catchers, which accounts for 54.1%. C) Typology according to the wind catchers' plan 1) Square wind catchers: such windcatchers have an X-shape partition that is connected to all four corners. The plans' ratio is 1:1. They are usually located on the corner of the hall. Although this type of windcatcher is square in the plan, they often do not have a square shelf with sides of more than1. Such windcatchers have medium height. 11 out of 37 houses in Semnan (29.7%) have square wind catchers, similar to their plans (Figure 6). 2) Rectangular wind catchers: this wind catcher is one of the most popular types of wind catchers. 26 out of 37 houses in Semnan have rectangular wind catchers, which account for 70.3%. The partitions might be in X-shape, H-shape, and T shape. However, most of them have X-shape partitions, and a few have H-shape and T-shape partitions (Figure 7). D) Typology according to the cross-sectional area: the wind catchers can be classified according to their target space for ventilating. 1) Simple wind catchers that are not ventilating the basements. 2) Simple wind catchers that are ventilating the basements 15 out of 37 (40.5%) studied wind catchers in Semnan ventilate the bungalow and not the basement (Figure 8a), while 22 of them (59.5%) ventilate the basements, too (Figure 8b). E) Typology according to the façade As most of the wind catchers are rectangular, they have two facades, and the main façade is to the north. The height, the roof form, the shelf form, the stem, the decorations, the material, and the color are the features that can be seen from the outside. The typology according to the facade is done considering the shelf form. The shelf form can be classified into three forms. The square (E1), the vertical rectangular (E2), and the horizontal rectangular (E3). 10 out of 37(27%) of the houses have wind catchers with square shelves in their façade (Figure 9a), 17 of them have vertical rectangular shelves (46%) (Figure 9b), and 10 of them have horizontal shelves (Figure 9c). Most of the wind catchers in Semnan aim to ventilate the houses, and just a few of them were built to cool down the reservoirs (Figure 11). Mayamey and Mahdi Shahr do not have any wind catchers because of their cooler climate. 80% of the province's wind catchers are located in Semnan, and 10% are located in Garmsar and other counties (Figure 12).
Main comparison to the similar studies
The results of the current study are consistent with the result of Mahdavinejad & Javanrood (2011), Roohi (2014), and Morahemi et al. (2017) in terms of the wind catchers' function and importance. The current study results are similar to the results of Mahmoodi Zarandi (2016) and Roohi (2014) in terms of the wind catchers' history.
Suggestions
There is no suggestion reported.
Limitations
There is no limitation reported.
Conclusions
The wind catchers used to play an essential role in cooling and ventilating the buildings in Semnan province. This region's climate had been influential in designing and geo-locating the wind catchers. Although Iran's indigenous architecture had successfully dealt with climatic challenges and could meet the needs with natural and not expensive methods, the constructions do not pay any attention to this element and have to incur high expenses. Iran's indigenous architecture can be a great measure to tackle the urbanism problems. A combination of the traditional and modern means of architecture help to enjoy a new approach consistent with the region's climate.
Acknowledgments
The authors thank Dr. Hooman Bahman Pour for his invaluable guides.
Conflict of interest
None.
Ethical Permissions
None.
Funding Sources
The current research is extracted from a Ph.D. thesis on the "typology of the wind catchers in Semnan houses to propose physical recommendations for modern architecture" carried out in the Islamic Azad University of Mashhad using personal funds.

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