Abstract

There have always been discussions about how to use our environment and resources, to keep them for the future human generations. Using natural resources have always been the best option in any era. It is clear that ventilating, cooling, and heating the environment of the buildings are massive energy consumers which this forces the designers to take more responsibility in the matter. The interesting concept that the past generations used with minimum technology in getting advantages of the natural resources in the building designs, is easily applicable nowadays with the improved scientific knowledge. One of the best examples of this, is the ventilation Wind Towers (Wind Catchers), which were massively used in the Middle East, especially in the city of Yazd in Iran. In this paper, we describe the principles and elements used in the historic Persian Architecture for saving energy with the help of natural resources like wind catchers and domes. We will demonstrate how to use these simple but smart principles in the modern design of our buildings to save our irreversible energies.