“Beautiful things take time to build” and “God is in detail.” An excellent interpretation of the quotes can be seen in the Borujerdi Historical house standing in Kashan. Built-in 1857 by a merchant as an expression of his love, it took over 180 years and 150 masons to erect the masterpiece. The building sets a classic example of a wealthy Kashan family residence incorporating architectural features from the ’90s. Of the most famous historic sites of Kashan, this project exhibits a pure glimpse of Persian Architecture.
The Architecture | Persian Architecture
The Borujerdi house was previously used as a residence, now open publicly as a museum. The exceptional architectural details within the project of this Persian architecture have inspired many architects and engineers to understand ventilation techniques. The faces of the building are decorated with stucco, glass, and mirror work. The integrated detailing in plaster in the shapes of flowers, fruits are the eye-catch of the tourists.
The overall structure consists of two parts: The outdoors and the indoors strategically created designed to tolerate the hot climatic context. With an area of 620 square meters, the house is built around a courtyard.
Features
Borujerdi’s house has all the essentials of traditional Iranian residence. First of all, its orientation towards or outside of Mecca is regulated. Second, it was designed according to the type of desert architecture, i.e. about climatic conditions. It had three entrances, two stories, and a traditional separation from the Andarouni, the inner courtyard and rooms for private families where women and servants mingle, and the Biruni, the outer public inner courtyard, and rooms that are mostly occupied by men.
Stucco was used by Kashan’s master craftsmen and architects as a cheap but functional and easy-to-shape material that, when skilfully crafted, left a luxurious impression. Thus, raw and raw bricks or blocks of stone were transformed from humble earthly materials into elegant and refined styles. It was an ancient technique of the Persian masters that belonged to an era of pre-Islamic Iran. A mixture of soft clay sifted straw and corn on the cob was used by the builders to decorate the ceilings and walls. In addition, the building’s paintings are done in various styles in oil paint and watercolour.
Strategies
The roofs have a unique look due to the famous 40-meter high wind towers, a Persian peculiarity that provides air conditioning in hot summers. In the center of the building is a rectangular courtyard that is usually full of fountains, swimming pools, and fig trees, vines, and pomegranates. The main structure is made of brick, but straw and mud were used for the insulation and facade, while the interior and facade decoration is made of plaster, the interiors are heavily covered with mirrors and mirror mosaics, paintings. Reliefs.
The importance of the Borujerdi house is so great that its windcatchers have become a symbol of the city of Kashan. Some rooms have a lot of sun, mainly in winter. The kitchen is in the northeast of the city. Visitors can see the grids. Windows at the bottom of the terrace on the ground floor. These rooms have a perfect temperature during the hot summers. The exterior of the house resembles a fairytale castle. It can be compared to a building built by Gaudí in Barcelona.
Impact on modern-day Architecture
The passive cooling methods used in the Borujerdi house are replaced by the use of Air conditioning units. Improvement in technology has reduced the efforts to physically develop a built form to enhance the building performance. The formation of the house has brought on different studies analyzing connectivity and the introverted nature of the house.
The main structure of the formation of these houses is introverted, so the central courtyard of these houses is a space for social life and has adequate vitality. An important point in the configuration of the social structure of these houses is their hierarchical system; To get into the private space, one has to go through the spaces in between, this way from the public space into the private space has to get it is also derived from the culture and customs of these regions.
Timeless Nature of the Architecture | Persian architecture
Architecture what we see today has an edge for functional designs. What we learn from these historic treasures is the blending of functionality with aesthetics. The use of proportions in open and enclosed spaces and the psychological effect it creates on the user.
Strategically placing the wind catchers and the engineering behind them has influenced the modern-day climatic study while designing. The term “Timeless” signifies the evergreen nature of the resident to make us understand the use of micro-climatology of spaces. Being a museum, the households have a lot of architecture to display the era in which it was built. With sophistication and science that Iranian house truly holds a “timeless” title.
