Hubble - Bubble vol.2

Yazd located almost center of Iran. Hotels which were used renovated traditional houses, and winding lane surrounded by mud walls. The old city attracted tourists. I became a resident of labyrinth once again after Halar, Ethiopia.
The old city was the sea of forms. The architectures which was matched for the landscape. The patterns which was made by the strong desert sunshine and deep shadows was better than anything for a "form mania" like me. I looked over the city from Hotel's roof top. I saw two tall minarets of Masjed-e Jameh, sphaerical roof of Zoroaster temple. Among the flat houses characteristic structures suck out from the roofs. "What's that? It's too big for a dovecote"

I looked it up later. It's structure called "Badgir" (Not Bud Girl) Yazd's extremely hot in summer. Because of low humidity, it's cooled down in the shade. But you couldn't expect cool breeze in this flat town. Then the Badgir took a great role. Like air-intake of Formula 1 machine, top of the tower capture the wind. The hot desert wind went down through the vertical air duct and got into the house. While cool air came in, hot air's pushed out to the top. Again the cool wind went through the house's water reserve system and lost the extra heat with vaporization. Finally only cooled wind came into the living room. See? That's really advanced system. It's a water-cooled engine, an air-conditioner which didn't need electricity or Freon gas.

The Badgir was settled with Ab anber, which's traditional Iranian architecture, too. It's a public water reserve system. The water reserver must be dried up without shelter. So normally it's pooled in semi-underground water reserve room which was covered by brick doom, or sometimes boxed shape structure. Iran has earthquakes so it's also designed in solid structure. Water's so important as a life line.
Now the role of Badgir here was cooling system for the reserver as for the residential house. But Badgir had another role here. Purifying the water. The vapored water's cooled down again in the cabinet and makes a dew. This vapored and condenced circulation purifying the reserved water.

That's all knowledge from surviving in the desert city. Think about when an air conditioner came out in this world. Compare to that Iranian architecture was so advanced. I think the hints for energy, architecture or city development are scattered all over Iran.
So Iranian people is still in the slow life style? Maybe not. Actually most of the residents of Yazd live in the apartments or houses in the new city area. They must turn on the air-conditioner in hot summer. They can drink tap water. Actually Iranian tap water was tasty. I guess Badgir and Ab ambar has a bigger role as a cultural heritage now a days. It's a little pity.