In my small night, ah! The wind has a date with the leaves of the trees - Forough Farrokhzad, Iranian Poet

Ancient Engineering III

Badgir/Windcatcher or Windtower

 

The badgir, or windtower, is a traditional Iranian air conditioning system that lowers the air temperature in buildings. Badgir is strictly an Iranian architectural element, used in conjunction with the qanat, to create natural ventilation in buildings in hot, dry climates.

Abarkooh badgirs, Fars Province.

Flow of the air into the building.

The flow of air through a badgir.

The Badgir is very resourceful and the way it works is simple but quite ingenious.  It is basically a brick tower built with either four or eight openings at the top, although it can also have one opening (less common). These vents are decorated in brick, mud plaster, or ornately carved lime plaster. The height of the badgir is usually between a foot (30 cm) to 16.5 feet (5 m) above the roof. The tallest badgir was built in the Dowlat Abad Garden in Yazd and rises 110 feet (33.35 m) above the roof.

Detail diagram of the operation of a badgir.

Dowlat Abad badgir in Yazd stands 110 feet tall.

A dome is usually part of the traditional architecture of badgirs.

Badgirs are a dominant part of the skyline.

Working with a qanat (see post on Qanat). The tower’s orientation is adjusted by directional port at the top. With the open side facing away from the direction of the wind, air is pulled in, drawn down into the passage, and into the qanat tunnel. From there, the air is cooled as soon as it comes into contact with the cold qanat water. The cooled air is then drawn up through the windcatcher as it flows through the building, cooling off anything it comes in contact with.

 

A traditional home with typical interior courtyard and badgirs.

Agha Zadeh Mansion, Abarkooh, Fars Province.

The badgirs at Agha Zadeh Mansion, Abarkooh,
Fars Province.

A closer look at Agha Zadeh Mansion badgris,
Abarkooh, Fars Province.

Town of Aran Va Bidgol badgirs, Isfahan Province. 

The city of Kashan, leveled by an earthquake in 1778, saw an abundance in the construction of classic traditional Iranian residential buildings in the 18th and 19th centuries. These houses are now a focal tourist attraction in Kashan and one of the finest is the Boroujerdi House, built in 1857 by architect Ustad Ali Maryam. A wealthy merchant, Boroujerdi built the house for his wife which, besides having the traditional courtyards, holds fine examples of domes and badgirs. 

Boroujerdi House, Kashan.

Boroujerdi House badgirs, Kashan.

Interior courtyard of Boroujerdi House, Kashan.

The badgirs at Tekiehe Amir Chaghmagh, Yazd.

Badgirs are present in many Iranian-influenced (Persian-influenced) architecture throughout the Middle East. Unfortunately, with the development of modern air conditioning units, this amazing system of cooling the interior of the building was abandoned in favor of the electric machines and badgirs have become more of an element of architectural decoration.