Environmentally responsive design in the vernacular architecture of mountainous regions. The case of Kang village, Iran

Vernacular architecture is highly compatible with local conditions and is often referred to as environmentally friendly and sustainable architecture. Today, due to issues that threaten the environment, re-paying attention to these compatibility methods and their application in contemporary architecture can be one of the priorities of architectural planning. This research seeks to answer the question of how vernacular architecture in mountainous regions is formed in order to adapt to local characteristics and particularly the role of semi-open spaces in this coordination. The article is a case study of the residential units in Kang village, Torqabeh city, Khorasan Razavi province, Iran. For this purpose, the physical variables of the village, including how the village texture and its thoroughfares were established and formed, mass and space structure, the configuration of residential units and the formation of closed, open, and semi-open spaces, material types, building techniques, and construction details, and issues related to the openings of residential units are studied in 35 house samples of the village. The result shows that the physical planning of the village, in accordance with the principles proposed in the Mahoney table for cold semi-arid climates, causes the most passive heating. Examination of the physical characteristics of the semi-open spaces in relation to the residential unit shows that these spaces play a major role in coordinating the building with the coldness of the region.