Evaluating the Climatic Role of the Howzkhaneh in the Architectural Body of Historic Houses: A Case Study of the Mosaver-ol-Maleki House, Isfahan

Sarparast, Abaseh; Saghaei, Farnoosh; Ghasemi Sichani, Maryam; Salehpour Servak, Zarir

doi:10.22034/ijumes.2026.2097934.1395

Evaluating the Climatic Role of the Howzkhaneh in the Architectural Body of Historic Houses: A Case Study of the Mosaver-ol-Maleki House, Isfahan

Articles in Press

Document Type : Case Study

Authors

Abaseh Sarparast ¹

Farnoosh Saghaei ²

Maryam Ghasemi Sichani ³

Zarir Salehpour Servak ⁴

¹ Department of Architecture, Yas.C., Islamic Azad University, Yasuj, Iran

² Department of Architecture and Urban Development, Shi.C., Islamic Aad University , Shiraz, Iran

³ Department of Architecture and Urban Planning, Kho.C., Islamic Azad University, Isfahan, Iran

⁴ Department of Architecture and Urban Development, Yas.C. ,Islamic Azad University ,Yasuj, Iran

10.22034/ijumes.2026.2097934.1395

Abstract

In the hot–arid architecture of the Iranian plateau, water is not merely a decorative motif but an active environmental device, and the howzkhaneh is the space in which this role is most concentrated. This study evaluates, with a climatic approach, the extent to which the water body of the howzkhaneh modifies the summer microclimate within the architectural body of a Qajar-era courtyard house, taking the Mosaver-ol-Maleki house in Isfahan as a case study. The functional–climatic level of an embedded, qualitatively-dominant mixed- methods design is operationalised through three complementary tools: a psychrometric estimation of the evaporative-cooling potential for the July design day of Isfahan; conceptual air-circulation schematics coupling the pool, the sash windows and the roof skylight; and a two-dimensional natural-convection field validated against the de Vahl Davis benchmark (Ra = 10⁴, |ψ|max ≈ 5.07). The wet-bulb temperature of the base state is only 20.1 °C, giving a theoretical temperature-depression ceiling of 16.9 °C; for the realistic efficiency band of a still pool the attainable depression in the immediate microclimate of the water is about 2–7 °C, and it falls below 10 °C as the inlet humidity approaches 50%. The convection field confirms a closed, stack-driven circulation cell. It is concluded that water here operates not as an isolated element but as part of an integrated climatic system, pool, level difference, skylight and openings whose cooling value is realised only when airflow transports it to the living spaces, reframing the howzkhaneh as a climate-responsive component of the architectural body.

Graphical Abstract

Evaluating the Climatic Role of the Howzkhaneh in the Architectural Body of Historic Houses: A Case Study of the Mosaver-ol-Maleki House, Isfahan

Highlights

• A four-level mixed-methods framework unifies the climatic, spatial, and semantic roles of water.

• Space syntax identifies the courtyard as the integration core (integration = 2.97).

• The howzkhaneh is semi-private (integration = 1.22) and gates the deepest private spaces.

• Ornament content analysis reveals six interconnected semantic themes of water.

• The three analytical levels converge on the howzkhaneh as the cool, private, meaningful core.

Keywords

Climatic approach

evaporative cooling

Howzkhaneh

Isfahan

Mosaver-ol-Maleki house

· Ahari, Z., & Habibi, S. M. (2001). The Isfahan school in urban design. Tehran: Cultural Research Bureau. [in Persian]

· ASHRAE. (2017). ASHRAE handbook—Fundamentals (Ch. 1: Psychrometrics). Atlanta, GA: American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers.

· Bahadori, M. N. (1978). Passive cooling systems in Iranian architecture. Scientific American, 238(2), 144–154. https://doi.org/10.1038/scientificamerican0278-144

· Bemanian, M. R., & Amini, M. (2017). Social architecture of the Iranian house. Journal of Iranian Architecture Studies. [in Persian]

· Cuce, P. M., & Riffat, S. (2016). A state of the art review of evaporative cooling systems for building applications. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 54, 1240–1249. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2015.10.066

· De Vahl Davis, G. (1983). Natural convection of air in a square cavity: A bench mark numerical solution. International Journal for Numerical Methods in Fluids, 3(3), 249–264. https://doi.org/10.1002/fld.1650030305

· Ghobadian, V. (1998). Climatic analysis of the traditional Iranian buildings. Tehran: University of Tehran Press. [in Persian]

· Givoni, B. (1994). Passive and low energy cooling of buildings. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold.

· Haeri Mazandarani, M. R. (2009). Home, culture, nature: A study of the architecture of historical and contemporary houses. Tehran: Building and Housing Research Center. [in Persian]

· Haji-Ghasemi, K. (1998). Ganjnameh: Cyclopaedia of Iranian Islamic architecture — Houses of Isfahan. Tehran: Shahid Beheshti University. [in Persian]

· Haji-Ghasemi, K. (1999). Ganjnameh: Cyclopaedia of Iranian Islamic architecture — Houses of Yazd. Tehran: Shahid Beheshti University. [in Persian]

· Ikemoto, F., Sakura, K., & Astaburuaga, T. A. (2021). The influence of historical irrigation canals on urban morphology in Valencia, Spain. Land, 10(7), 745. https://doi.org/10.3390/land10070745

· Laureano, P. (2001). The water atlas: Traditional knowledge to combat desertification (A. Cirella & A. Whitehouse, Trans.). Paris: UNESCO.

· Mirahmadi, F., & Altan, H. (2018). A solution for future designs using techniques from vernacular architecture in southern Iran. Sustainable Buildings, 3, 1. https://doi.org/10.1051/sbuild/2018002

· Najaf, S. M. A., & Yaghoubi, M. (2015). Thermal study of a cistern's dome (the case of the Motamed cistern in Lar, Iran). Energy and Buildings, 102, 453–466. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enbuild.2015.05.043

· Pirnia, M. K. (2004). Stylistics of Iranian architecture (G. H. Memarian, Ed.). Tehran: Soroush Danesh. [in Persian]

· Roaf, S. (2003). Settlement form and qanat routes in the Yazd province. In Qanat, Karez and Kariz. London: The Middle East Centre, School of Oriental and African Studies.

· Saadatian, O., Haw, L. C., Sopian, K., & Sulaiman, M. Y. (2012). Review of windcatcher technologies. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 16(3), 1477–1495. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2011.11.037

· Salari, F., & Nouri, M. (2016). An introduction to the culture of water use in Iranian architecture. Journal of Iranian Architecture & Urbanism. [in Persian]

· Soflaei, F., Shokouhian, M., & Mofidi Shemirani, S. M. (2016). Traditional Iranian courtyards as microclimate modifiers by considering orientation, dimensions, and proportions. Frontiers of Architectural Research, 5(2), 225–238. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foar.2016.02.002

· Soflaei, F., Shokouhian, M., & Soflaei, A. (2017). Traditional courtyard houses as a model for sustainable design: A case study on BWhs mesoclimate of Iran. Frontiers of Architectural Research, 6(3), 329–345. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foar.2017.04.004

· Soltanzadeh, H. (2017). The importance of water and water elements in the Persian garden. Manzar, 9(38). [in Persian]

· Taleghani, M., Tenpierik, M., & van den Dobbelsteen, A. (2014). Energy performance and thermal comfort of courtyard/atrium dwellings in the Netherlands in the light of climate change. Building and Environment, 82, 566–579. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2014.09.028

· Tavassoli, M. (2003). Urban structure and architecture in the hot arid zone of Iran. Tehran: Payam va Peyvand. [in Persian]

· Watson, D., & Labs, K. (1983). Climatic building design: Energy-efficient building principles and practices. New York: McGraw-Hill.

· Zamani, Z., Heidari, S., & Hanachi, P. (2018). Reviewing the thermal and microclimatic function of courtyards. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 93, 580–595. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2018.05.055

· Zamani, Z., Assadi, M., et al. (2019). Energy performance and summer thermal comfort of traditional courtyard buildings in a desert climate. Environmental Progress & Sustainable Energy, 38(4), e13256. https://doi.org/10.1002/ep.13256

· Reisi, M., & Kasmai, M. (2019). Climate and architecture. Tehran: Khak. [in Persian]

· Ostadzadeh, A., Keramati, G., & Ghobadian, V. (2023). The link between water and the spatial organisation of Iranian courtyard houses. Journal of Architecture and Urban Planning. [in Persian]

· Kheirabadi, M. (1997). Iranian cities: Formation and development (H. Hataminejad & E. Mazhari, Trans.). Tehran. [in Persian]