The Spatial Structure of Yazd Courtyard Houses: A Space Syntax Analysis of the Topological Characteristics of the Courtyard

An important “architectural type” in Iranian history is the Yazd courtyard house. This historic building type features a walled boundary that contains a complex pattern of open (to the sky), semi-enclosed and enclosed spaces. The planning of the courtyard in these houses has typically been interpreted as either a response to changing socio-cultural values or to local climatic conditions. Such theories about the planning of these houses are based on a series of assumptions about (i) the numbers of courtyards and rooms they contain, (ii) their unchanging nature over time and (iii) a topological pattern existing in the relationship between the courtyard and the rest of the plan. Yet, these assumptions, all of which have an impact on the socio-cultural or climatic interpretation of this famous architectural type, have never been tested. In response, this paper uses a computational and mathematical method drawn from Space Syntax to measure the spatial topology of 37 plans of Yazd’s most significant courtyard houses. These houses, which are classified by the Yazd Cultural Heritage Organization, were constructed between the 11th and 20th CE centuries and are all exemplars of this type. This paper develops three hypotheses around the assumptions found in past research about the characteristic planning of the Yazd courtyard house. Then, using quantitative measures derived from plan graph analysis, the paper develops a series of longitudinal trends to test the hypotheses and explore changes that have occurred in this architectural type over time.