干旱区生态环境知识资源中心

The concept of environmental sustainability is one of the most fundamental aspects of sustainable architecture which is easily perceivable in the traditional architecture in the central plateau of Iran. This research is an attempt to clarify different architectural approaches to nature and recognize those attributes of architecture that contribute to environmentally-friendly built environment. To achieve this aim, notable aspects of nature's manifestation in Iranian traditional desert houses are going to be studied, applying the grounded theory as the research method, concentrating on three houses in the historic city of Yazd. Accordingly, based on the data gathered from the houses, architectural approaches to nature will be emerged. As a result, this paper is going to emphasize on the comprehensive manifestation of different aspects of nature in its truest sense of the word through two main and fundamental architectural approaches including perfection and harmony in terms of environmentally-sustainable development.