Zohreh's Blog: People & Weather

In the eleven session of the class we learned about human response to weather. Human response to climate mostly is related to adaptation. People adapt their lifestyles, food and architecture to the weather that they live in. This may not be very obvious nowadays, because of the use of technology. Technology is changing the world dramatically in terms of globalization. But in the past, climate really impacted people’s lifestyles. In countries like Iran that have a variety of climate conditions, adaptation to the weather is really obvious in the architectural style and the kinds of food and clothing people wear.

Fig 1. Traditional costume in North of Iran

For example, the North of Iran is full of forests and it is near to the sea. Hence, it has a humid climate. People mostly build their homes with wood which is the most available material. The main crop is rice. Sea foods are available, so rice and seafood are main dishes. South of Iran has a hot climate and most of the parts are desert. Therefore, the architecture and food adapted to that climate.

Fig 2. North of Iran

Human always responded to the environment that they live in and try to find a way to be able to adapt in that climate. Architecture in the South of Iran, especially in desert part has the most genius architectures. Buildings are built in a way that they are cold in the hot summer without using any cooling appliances, just by locating summer rooms in places that receive less sunlight.

Fig 3. South of Iran architecture

Iran is a country with different climate condition, so in winter just with one hour flight you can go to the South from North and visit the beach. You can experience two seasons at the same week. So these differences in climate require various kinds of lifestyle and architecture to get the best of the situation.