Thesis Defense - Nahal Khorrami (MSARCH)

Nahal Khorrami – M.Sc. in Architecture (with thesis)

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Alessandro Camiz – Advisor

Dr. Mazyar Abaee (University of Art, Tehran) – Co-Advisor

Date: 15.12.2023

Time: 10.00

Location: AB4 B 207

“Water and Urban Tissues: The Qanat System and the Formation Process of Yazd, Iran”

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Özlem ÖZER, Gebze Technical University

Asst. Prof. Dr. Luca ORLANDI, Özyeğin University

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Alessandro CAMIZ, Özyeğin University

Abstract:

This research has analyzed the Qanat system to discern its influence on the urban morphology of Yazd, Iran. In arid areas where agriculture depends on irrigation, water shortage was one of the main motivations for many innovations, such as the underground watercourse, referred to as the Qanat system. This system played an important role in maintaining and developing civilization on the Iranian plateau (Bouzarjomehri, Khatami, 2018). In Yazd, there exist a total of twenty-two Qanats, with only two among them presently retaining water, the Zarch Qanat and the Firozabad Qanat. Regrettably, the remaining twenty Qanats have succumbed to drying up over time (Arse Architectural and Urban Consulting Engineers, 2007). The research has been structured into two primary phases. In the first phase, the study focused on identifying and characterizing the Qanat system. Subsequently, in the second phase, the research has directed a morphological analysis of Yazd. The study has determined the correlations between Yazd’s urban configuration and the Qanat system across four distinct scales, the territorial scale, urban scale, urban fabric scale, and building scale. Furthermore, the study has investigated the architectural structures associated with underground watercourses such as cisterns, watermills, and Payabs. The main aim of the research is to recognize the impacts of the Qanat system on the formation process, urban tissue, and architectural characteristics of Yazd. This research has exposed the significant attributes of the Qanat system and illuminated their complex interaction with the urban morphology of Yazd, Iran.

Bio:

Nahal Khorrami received her Bachelor’s Degree in Architectural Engineering from the Tehran University of Art, Faculty of Architecture and Urban Planning (Iran, 2021). Her bachelor’s thesis is entitled “Designing Pottery Cultural Complex”. She is currently pursuing her Master’s Degree in Architecture at Ozyegin University, Faculty of Architecture and Design. She is working on her master’s thesis which is about the Qanat systems and their correlation with the formation process of Yazd, Iran, and its urban tissue. She founded the Tile Design Studio, an Iranian ancient architectural decoration. She has been designing and manufacturing handmade tiles since 2018.