Recognition of the physical characteristics and natural elements of courtyards in the historical houses of Isfahan

Courtyard is one of the indigenous and old patterns and identifiers of Iranian architecture, which is seen in the physical - spatial composition and organization of most traditional homes in hot-arid climate in Iranian cities such as Isfahan. The aim of this study is to identify the physical characteristics of the courtyards in terms of orientation, aspect ratio of courtyard facades, proportions and percentage of openings, closed space to open space ratio and the ratio of natural elements (water and vegetation) in the historical houses of the city of Isfahan. The method of this research is case study and descriptive-analytical analysis. The data analysis is done in a qualitative way through comparison and interpretation. For information gathering, library studies, documents and observations and field measurements have been used. In this research, 35 historical houses with central courtyard have been purposefully selected and non-randomly tested. The results of this study indicate that the orientation of the 65 percent of the studied courtyards, is between 0-20° South-East and West. The largest aspect ratio (L/W) of the courtyards is 1:1.2, and 1:1.4. The ratio of open space to the total space of historical buildings is 20-50 percent. The proportion of water to the courtyard area in 70 % of the studied homes is between 2-10 % and the proportion of vegetation to the courtyard space in 73 percent of the studied houses is between 10-30 percent. The findings of this study can be applicable in the design of contemporary buildings with the pattern of the courtyard as well as studying and understanding the climatic characteristics of courtyards in the city of Isfahan.