Modeling the airflow inside the central courtyard under the influence of physical factors in traditional houses in the hot and dry climate of Yazd

Subject Areas : architecture

Omid Rahaei ¹ , Amir Hossein Shirdel ^{2 *} , Milad Omidi ³

1 - Department of Architecture, Faculty of Architecture and Urban Engineering, Shahid Rajaee Teacher Training University, Tehran, Iran.
2 - Department of Architecture, Faculty of Architecture and Urban Engineering, Shahid Rajaee Teacher Training University, Tehran, Iran.
3 - Department of Architecture, Faculty of Architecture and Urban Engineering, Shahid Rajaee Teacher Training University, Tehran, Iran.

Received: 2024-10-27 Accepted : 2025-07-09 Published : 2025-07-15

Keywords: Natural Ventilation, Central Courtyard, Lariha House, Golshan House, DesignBuilder,

Abstract :

Given the increasing consumption of fossil fuels and the architectural consequences of climate change resulting from it, it
is essential to create solutions to reduce energy consumption through optimal and climate-friendly design of buildings and
the exploitation of traditional foundations. Traditional Iranian architecture, which is known as one of the most successful
examples in the world, has overcome environmental problems over the ages by using various methods and measures and
has used precise and intelligent methods in coordinating the use of natural environments in the case of discovered hands.
Distrust of natural ventilation. The central courtyard is an important element in traditional Iranian architecture that, while
being simple and diverse in physical patterns, plays a role in the ventilation of surrounding spaces, considering the principle
of compatibility with the environment. The aim of the research is to identify the air circulation pattern inside the courtyard
and examine the status of natural ventilation during the study of physical changes in the central courtyards of traditional
houses in Yazd. This article, by its nature, has a mixed method and includes experimental, simulation, and research strategies.
The statistical population, houses with central courtyards in Yazd and houses in Lariha and Golshan, are selected as a
sample. After field observations with experimental measurements, the airflow speed was recorded as a dependent variable.
Then, the DesignBuilder software is used and simulated. After proving validity and reliability, interventions were made
in the independent change (yard length). The results show that changing the length of the yard, assuming that the width
is constant, affects the air circulation pattern of the central courtyard and natural ventilation of nature. In the courtyard
of the Golshan house, with an increase in length from 17 meters to 20 meters, the air speed increases by 21%, and in the
case of an increase in length from 20 meters to 23 meters, the air speed increases by 7.5%. In other words, the longer the
yard, the higher the wind speed, but it is not significant. The same increase will be noticeable in the yard, and it will be
ventilated. On the other hand, reducing the length has a proportional effect on the airspeed. This means that with increasing
length, the wind speed increases at a slower rate. Changing the length of the courtyard can be applied to improve the
ventilation of the central courtyard more easily than other factors, so these changes will be among the changes that are
effective in improving ventilation. In previous studies, architectural elements and physical changes have been investigated
in natural research on ventilation, but the physical changes of the central courtyard in traditional architecture, especially
the height and length of the courtyard, require further investigation and analysis. The results of this research can help
develop climate design patterns and create the possibility of using these patterns in contemporary architecture, so that by
combining traditional and modern structures, it can be designed in an environmentally friendly and energy-efficient way.

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