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Affordable housing design with application of vernacular

architecture in Kish Island, Iran

Article  in  International Journal of Housing Markets and Analysis · March 2012

DOI: 10.1108/17538271211206680

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Affordable
Affordable housing design housing design
with application of vernacular
architecture in Kish Island, Iran
89
Ali Afshar
Architecture Department, Faculty of Design and Architecture,
University Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Malaysia
Wa’el Alaghbari
Architecture Department, Faculty of Engineering, Sana’a University,
Sana’a, Yemen, and
Elias Salleh and Azizah Salim
Architecture Department, Faculty of Design and Architecture,
University Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Malaysia

Abstract
Purpose – Kish Island is one of the most attractive tourism destinations in Iran and it is becoming an
increasingly popular destination for tourism investment. Many people have recently migrated to the
island. Thus, one of the housing policies for the island is to maximize the efficiency of residential lands,
particularly in providing affordable housing for low-income people. The purpose of this study is to
develop social, economical and architectural solutions for affordable housing design and overcome
related problems using adapted vernacular solutions.
Design/methodology/approach – The methodology of this study involved identifying the
research problem, followed by formatting the research framework, reviewing the comprehensive
literature and documenting the concepts of affordable housing and vernacular architecture. Therefore,
an affordable house design methodology was used to develop vernacular architecture to minimize cost
and environmental impacts, while maximizing the social acceptability in housing projects for
low-income earners in Kish Island. Section A in Mir Mohanna, which is the most important residential
centre for the low-income people, was used as the study area in this research.
Findings – The results of this study clarified that the houses in Section A in Mir Mohanna did not
meet the criteria of affordable housing and people’s needs. Hence, some suggestions for affordable
housing would certainly contribute towards formulating all these, including housing policy to be
implemented on Kish Island.
Originality/value – The current paper was an attempt to find strategies for guiding the appropriate
process of developing affordable housing on the basis of vernacular architecture for the country and
other similar places. It is hoped that the recommendations might increase more regulated housing
development and housing policies on Kish Island.
Keywords Iran, Housing, Design, Architecture, Government policy, Affordable housing, Housing policy,
Low-income, Vernacular architecture
Paper type Research paper

International Journal of Housing

Introduction Markets and Analysis
Vol. 5 No. 1, 2012
Kish Island is an attractive place which is located to the south of Iran, and known as pp. 89-107
one of the most important free-trade tourism zones in the country. This island has a q Emerald Group Publishing Limited
1753-8270
long history of more than 1,000 years (Nasr et al., 1971). Since the earlier centuries, DOI 10.1108/17538271211206680
IJHMA i.e. after the appearance of Islam, Kish has been a habitable island. Due to its natural
5,1 geographical features, Kish Island was selected as a free-trade tourism zone in 1968. In
order to increase tourism development, huge changes have been made to this Island.
Hence, the first master plan of Kish was prepared in 1973. Following this, three other
master plans were prepared by three consultant companies in 1988 (i.e. after the war
with Iraq ended), 1998 (with the rise of oil price) and 2007 (which was aimed at creating
90 a new destination image for the island). The last plan, prepared by Dress and Sommer
International Consultants Engineering Company, was the first approved master plan
of the Kish Island. Notably, each of the master plans has had different influences on the
island’s housing policy and development. At the moment, however, there is a shortage
of low-cost houses in the island. Moreover, there is a mismatch between affordable
houses and residents’ needs.
The towns of Mir Mohanna and Sadaf are the main residential housing areas on
Kish Island. Most of the low-cost houses are built or in Mir Mohanna, a town which is
located close to the workshops and industrial areas and near Saffein Village (the last
remaining vernacular settlement) in the north-west of the island. It is reported to have
3,500 homes, whereby 2,600 are in primary use. Most of the primary used houses are
located in Section A, i.e. an area which is the biggest and the lowest cost of living
section of the island. Hence, based on these criteria, Section A of Mir Mohanna was
selected as the case study for this particular research.
Vernacular architecture is a result of the long-term processes of social and economic
developments. It has the potential to provide appropriate responses to the residents’
needs. In designing affordable houses for low-income earners based on vernacular
architecture, there are some criteria that should be considered. The design should
maximize social acceptability, but minimize the cost and environmental impact, while
the impact of physical characteristics should be taken into account as well. Hence, the
main objective of this study was to improve the affordable housing designs to develop
the vernacular architecture for low-income earners in Kish Island. In addition, this
research also explored the social and economic criteria that could affect affordable
housing in Kish Island based on the case of Section A. This was to ensure that the
low-income earners living in this area have the ability to afford new houses in the other
areas of the island. Also outlined in this study are some guidelines which can be used by
the Kish Free Zone Organization (KFZO) to improve the housing policies and strategies
and to decrease the shortage of affordable houses for low-income earners living on the
island and to increase the quality of the houses to meet the residents’ needs.
This paper will focus in affordable housing design and vernacular architecture in
Kish Island. The price of housing is extremely high in Iran and one of the highest in the
MENA region (Baharoglu et al., 2005). The affordability problem is largely the result of
housing and policies. Additionally, the inadequate housing supply compared to the
increasing demand and constrained flexibility with which the housing stock is used,
contribute to the high housing prices and low levels of affordability.
Moreover, this paper will cover an extensive and critical review on related literature
to establish the terms of reference of the current research work. The methodology of
this study involved identifying the research problem, followed by formatting the
research framework, reviewing the comprehensive literature and documenting the
concepts in affordable housing and vernacular architecture. Additionally, Section A of
Mir Mohanna was selected as the case study for this research.
Housing development in Kish Island Affordable
Kish Island is closely situated to the mainland and it lies only 18 km from the southern housing design
coast line. The total area of the island is 90.5 km2. Its population is currently estimated
to be around 22,000 people. It is assumed that this increasingly dense population is the
result of the large movement from Iran to the Island to take up employment
opportunities. Based on the official reports, there were approximately 4,400 households
in 2000, and these grew to around 10,360 households in 2005. 91
According to Mohktarpour (1995), the island reached its zenith of progress between
the twelfth and fifteenth centuries AD. From the fifteenth century up to the last decade
of the twentieth century, there had not been any significant change in the island. Up to
1968, the number of settlements in Kish was limited to ten sparse villages
(Sahab Institute, Department of Geographical Studies, 1998). The main villages were
Masheh and Saffein.
After the selection of Kish Island as a “Free Tourism Port”, Kish Development
Organization was founded. Following this, the first master plan of Kish was prepared
by Mercury Consultant Company (Motazed, 2007). According to Mercury Consultants
(1973), the island was considered as a residential-recreational complex. The most
important strategy of the plan was to keep Kish Island as a residential island and to
employ the native people as blue-collar workers for running the projects in the island.
At that time, the residential areas included three major categories: the rural areas for
the natives, the residential apartments for the employees of government and the luxury
houses for second homes. The north-eastern coast was chosen for establishing the
tourism complex at the same location of Masheh Village. All the buildings were built
based on the idea from the architecture of the Pahlavi Era (Monsef, 1978).
Masheh Village was relocated adjacent to Saffein Village in the north-west coast of the
island as a strategy of the master plan, which aimed to gather all rural areas close to
each other. In 1977, the total population of the island was around 5,600 people. By the
year 2000, they were considered as the island natives. Many of the architectural ideas
and urban design elements, which were established in this master plan, still prevail
today (Dress and Sommer International Consultant Engineering Company, 2007).
After the Islamic Revolution in 1979, Kish was chosen as the first free zone of the
Islamic Republic in Iran. In 1986, there was no building activity on the island at all
because of the war with Iraq. In 1988, however, the second master plan of Kish was
prepared by Geno Consultant Engineers Company (1995), and due to this, a more
involved approach to diplomacy across a range of issues has taken place since 2000. This
is reflected in the development of the island. Based on the annual statistical report (DOPI,
2005), the total population of the island in 1992 was around 4,000 people, and
approximately 50 percent of them were natives. The natives were living in the villages
while the others were dwelling in most apartments, which were the remains from the
early development on the island. Dress and Sommer International Consultant
Engineering Company (2007) noted that the master plan was never completed.
Nevertheless, the most noticeable focus of it was to develop the industry and to propose a
total population of 300,000 people for the island.
After the war ended, i.e. from 1993 to 2000, the development process gained speed all
over the country. Based on the unique potentials of Kish Island, there was an important
implication for it in the tourism master plan of Iran (2001), i.e. to increase the number of
domestic and international tourists by upgrading the currently run-down facilities.
IJHMA The willingness of the Iranian government to invest in tourism is a good sign for Kish.
5,1 According to Dress and Sommer International Consultant Engineering Company (2007),
another master plan by Pajoohesh va Memari Consultant Engineers Company was
completed in 1998, although it was never formally adopted by KFZO. The major
suggestion was the extension of Mir Mohanna and Sadaf town areas as residential hubs.
Mir Mohanna is located in the north-west of the island and near the Saffein Village. It
92 was designed to serve the natives and low-income earners living on the island.
Meanwhile, Sadaf is located in the centre of the island and it is close to the developed
tourism attraction areas. Pajoohesh va Memari (2000) further noted that Sadaf is mostly
used as second homes for the high-income earners. When the master plan was
completed, the population grew from 8,047 people in 1995 to 16,501 people in 2000. Based
on the authorities and with reference to Dress and Sommer International Consultant
Engineering Company (2007), this plan generally failed to view the island in its regional
perspective, and besides, it was not sustainable. Additionally, it was prescriptive
without guidelines and principle ideas.
KFZO needed to make itself known in the development of Iran’s plans and to
involve itself more in the development of the country in the first years of this decade.
Hence, the overall vision was to create a new destination image with a new “brand”
(IranEconomics, 2006). On this basis, the new plan was named “Destination Master
Plan for Kish Island as Persian Garden in the Persian Gulf, 2007”. Notably, four centres
are proposed for residential development in this master plan. As Dress and Sommer
International Consultant Engineering Company (2007) explained, Mir Mohanna, Sadaf
and two other centres were suggested for this reason.
The expected low-income Iranian working population, who come from the mainland,
as well as the expatriates, need a lot of houses which must be built. At the moment, there
is a shortage in low-income housing in Mir Mohanna, i.e. the town is targeted for this
reason because it is close to the industrial areas, harbour, workshops and quarrying
areas. Also, according to Dress and Sommer, 14,250 housing units are required
to accommodate 85,000 people by 2025. The fact that most of the existing houses are not
affordable, there is a low percentage of local ownership of the homes. Furthermore,
around 50 percent of the current low-cost housing units (approximately 1,894 units) are
overcrowded by double of their normal capacity. Based on the Destination Master Plan
for Kish Island (2007), “it is important that positive mixed urban environments
are created and barren housing complexes typical of poor urban ghettos are avoided.”

Methodology
The methodology of this research was employed to improve the affordable housing
design in order to develop the vernacular architecture to be affordable by the low-income
people in Kish Island. As indicated earlier, Section A in Mir Mohanna (Figure 1), which is
the most important residential centre for the low-income people, was used as the study
area in this research.
Based on Alaghbari (2010a, b) who developed affordable housing design for
low-income in Yemen by using the affordable housing design methodology. In this study,
the background was divided into two parts; the first part overviews the background of
housing policy in Kish Island and its development process by using related documents
and four different proposed master plans for the island. This part also overviews the
vernacular architecture in Iran and examines the quality of the architecture on the island.
 Affordable
housing design

93

Figure 1.
Section A of Mir Mohanna

Theories, concepts and principles of affordable housing related to the vernacular

architecture and housing development are established and discussed in the second part.
The results of this particular part include vernacular characters, which are applicable in
the architectural design of affordable housing. Additionally, the affordable house design
methodology was used to develop vernacular architecture to minimize cost and
environmental impact, while maximizing the social acceptability in the housing projects
for low-income earners in Kish Island.

Section A in Mir Mohanna (study area)

Section A in Mir Mohanna, which is the most important residential centre for the
low-income residents, was used as the study area in this research. In addition, the
social and economic needs of the residents were also explored in this study. Besides,
the relationship between the needs and the vernacular architectural solutions was also
explained.
Mir Mohanna is located in the north-west of the island and very close to workshops
and industrial areas. Land price and rentals are cheaper than other areas in the island.
Overcrowding has resulted as low-cost housing is not provided and there are limited
affordable dwellings available in the low-income market. In addition, the occupancy
IJHMA rate is at 73 percent, which is a lot higher than that in Sadaf (Dress & Sommer). There
5,1 are three different types of residential there namely; the traditional native housing, the
high density area and the multi-storey area in seven different sections. The less dense
area is in Nobonyad, which is targeted for the medium-income people. Mir Mohanna
reportedly has 3,500 homes, whereby 2,600 of the whole home units are for primary
use. Most of the primary used homes are located in Section A, which is the biggest and
94 cheapest section of the island. There will also be the need for small single flats or loft
type of apartments (Figure 2).
There are around 1,620 home units in 372 pieces of lands in this section. The
pieces of lands are in four different sizes;, i.e. 74 lands with 400 m2 area, 50 lands with
320 m2 area, 32 lands with 250 m2 area and 216 lands with 200 m2 area. Based on the
physical standard planning of the island, the number of home units is limited to the
size of the pieces of lands. The maximum number of units for less than 400 m2 is four
home units, whereas for 400 m2 and above, it is six home units. Figure 3 shows a
summary of the physical standards for residential lands in Section A, as prepared by
KFZO.

Figure 2.
Coverage areas,
1/16 of Section A
 Affordable
housing design

95

Figure 3.
Physical standards
for residential parcels
of lands in Section A

Vernacular architecture as a base for affordable housing design in Kish

Island
Bordignon (1998), Alaghbari (2010a, b), Queensland Government (2004) and
Alaghbari et al. (2011) indicated the initiative in promoting good practice in the design
and construction of residential dwellings. This will further advance more sustainable
housing in terms of Social Sustainability, which concerns universally designed, safe and
secure homes; Environmental Sustainability that concerns resource-efficiency in handling
waste, water and energy; and Economic Sustainability, which concerns cost-efficiency
over time.
Iranian architecture is a result of a long-term processing of socio-economic and
environmental developments. The Iranian vernacular architecture is based on five
fundamental characteristics (Pirnia and Memarian, 1992) namely compatibility with the
needs of people (Mardom-vari ), inward-looking (Daroon-geraei ), avoidance of
unnecessary necessities (Parhiz az bihoodegi ), self-efficiency (Khod-basandegi ) and
structural rigidity (Niaresh). These codes concern building quality from two aspects:
first, the concepts and ideas and second, the construction and technology. Mardom-vari,
Daroon-geraei and Parhiz az bihoodegi address the quality of concepts and ideas,
i.e. the socio-economic aspects, whereas Khod-basandegi and Niaresh point out the
issues related to construction and technology, i.e. the environmental and physical
aspects (Afshar et al., 2010). Vernacular houses in Kish Island have followed the same
process and contributed to a specific environmental system which is compatible with the
economy of the community (Plate 1).
IJHMA
5,1

96

Plate 1.
Central courtyards
in Saffein Village,
an inward-looking
architecture

This vernacular architecture, through its adaptation over a long-term period to local
context has the potential to provide an appropriate response to currently undermining
Kish Island’s architectural cohesion. There are some criteria that should be considered
in the design of affordable housing, which will be used to simulate the vernacular
architecture to be affordable for low-income earners (Bordignon, 1998; Friedman, 2005;
Salama, 2006; Sidawi, 2008; Alaghbari, 2010a, b; Alaghbari et al., 2011). These criteria
are as follows.

Maximizing social acceptability criteria

Bordignon (1998), Salama (2006), Sidawi (2008), Alaghbari et al. (2011) and Alaghbari
(2010a, b) presented that poor housing conditions directly signify poor social conditions.
Therefore, a properly designed sustainable affordable housing project can provide home
owners with the positive social conditions necessary to promote strong community
development. A socially acceptable house will directly address the cultural needs of the
people in terms of size, affordability and function, as well as the intangible benefits
of housing, such as security, privacy, safety, aesthetics, sense of accomplishment and
the community (Friedman, 2005). Generally, in Iran and especially in Kish Island,
vernacular architecture is compatible with different needs of the people. It clarifies the
relationship between functionality of house and the residents’ needs. Satisfying people
needs forms an essential part of Iranian vernacular architecture, based on a
socio-economic system that meets the daily needs and functions (Manzoor, 1989).

Minimizing cost criteria

Too often, the initial construction costs of a home are overemphasized without
acknowledging the total system costs involved in a housing project. The total system
cost includes the costs associated with planning and design, construction, operating and
maintenance, as well as disposal of house (Friedman, 2005). Avoiding the unnecessary
necessities as a base for Iranian architecture explains about achieving the highest act
for building users in relation to issues such as waste control and cost. Moreover, Affordable
self-efficiency is reflected by using local materials and natural resources (Boom-avard in housing design
Persian). This architecture attempts directly to create an environment that responds to
human needs of becoming attuned to the materials and processes available and using
them in the most effective way (Manzoor, 1989). As a fundamental belief, economy is an
important factor; hence, this architecture considers this through implementing energy
saving and using local materials. 97
Minimizing the environmental impact criteria
Minimizing the stress of a home on the environment can contribute significantly to
achieving a globally sustainable society (Bordignon, 1998). Thus, this will ensure
future generation’s equivalent housing opportunities. Environmental considerations
exist in the materials selected, the construction procedure and the operation of the
housing system.
Due to its location in hot and humid region of Iran, the long summers in Kish Island
are hot and humid, whereas the short winters are mild. Having mentioned this, the most
important feature of vernacular architecture in this region is the adaptation to
environment (Babakrad, 1985). Thus, compacting is a technique used to minimize the
amount of building surface exposed to the direct radiation of the sun (Ardalan, 1976). In
vernacular houses, compacting can be specified in many ways, but it is most clearly
evidenced by the ratio of exposed building surface to enclosed living volume. Moreover,
to create cross ventilation in the spaces and to reduce the heat, lane and courtyard
windows are often built opposite to each other. In addition, rooms usually have openings
on the sides with positive and negative pressures (Afshar et al., 2010). Moreover, the
materials used and their sustainability, as well as resource-efficiency in waste and
energy saving related to the environmental criteria, are very important for designing
sustainable houses (Alaghbari et al., 2011 and Alaghbari, 2010a, b). In the island, the
coral stone is a fundamental material in vernacular buildings, which affects the character
of this vernacular architecture by its specific features, especially the bright milky colour.

Physical characteristics of impact criteria

To increase efficiency in the systems design process, the designer can increase the
probability that the first design(s) concept is close to optimum by recognizing the unique
environmental and socio-economic conditions of a location, which directly influence the
physical characteristics of a house design (Salama, 2006; Alaghbari et al., 2011; Alaghbari,
2010a, b). Vernacular construction techniques comprise the basic elements needed to
build statically and dynamically to achieve the design construction in accordance with the
existing levels of knowledge and technology. The structural rigidity, or Niaresh in
Persian, explains the necessary requirements in building technologies, i.e. the static and
dynamic dimensions of buildings. The characteristics of vernacular architecture related
to physical characteristic criteria are very important in designing sustainable housing in
Kish Island. Most of the houses are one-storey dwelling units with central courtyards,
high surrounding walls and large windows towards the courtyards (Afshar et al., 2010).

Developing affordable housing in Kish Island

In this section, the results from the simulation of the vernacular architecture are
discussed to develop affordable housing design in Kish Island. This study adopted
IJHMA Bordignon’s design of a system for affordable houses, with some modifications
5,1 following (Alaghbari et al., 2011). A sustainable affordable housing design is one that
minimizes costs and environmental impacts, while maximizing social acceptability at
the same time. However, the physical characteristics influence the affordable housing
design. Subsequently, these physical characteristics also influence the social,
environmental and economic sustainability. There are some criteria that should be
98 considered in designing an affordable housing in Kish Island.
Based on the results of this study, a strategy was suggested to provide housing for
low-income people and to establish a clear housing policy. Thus, this stage of this
research explored the criteria that could affect affordable housing in Kish Island based
on the case of Section A in Mir Mohanna, and also to make sure that the low-income
people has the ability to afford new houses in other areas of the island.

Social need analysis

There are necessary needs that should be given more focus in designing affordable
housing projects. These needs include privacy, safety, secure and stability of the
housing psychics.

Privacy
Privacy shall be taken into consideration in designing the housing. Alaghabri
divided privacy into three sections, namely; privacy for the residents with neighbours,
privacy for the residents with visitors and guests, and privacy for the residents between
themselves following the Islamic rules Alaghbari et al. (2011) and Alaghbari (2010a, b).
The Islamic rules impose the prohibition of mixing between insiders and outsiders of a
house. This is a principle idea in the vernacular architecture of Kish Island, whereby
visitors should never view directly into the house. As a result, the vernacular architecture
of the island is generally designed in inward-looking. Thus, a vernacular house normally
consists of a series of spaces grounded around a courtyard (Mokhtarpour, 1999).
In Section A, the yards are visually and physically accessible for every outsider due
to short external walls. As a result, the families, who are mostly Muslims, use the yard
rarely. Moreover, the distance between neighbouring lands and organization of the
town allow the residents to have a direct view to each others’ homes (Plate 2).

Functional distribution
The residents’ lifestyle should have some dimensions, for instance, the social
dimension that is the need for space for individuals to socialize with family members,
relatives, guests and neighbours (Sidawi, 2008). The vernacular houses in the island
are created with summer and winter sections. The summer spaces are facing towards
the Persian Gulf, while the winter spaces are on the opposite side. The orientation of the
houses is mostly on the north-south direction but the expansion of the rooms is in the
east-west direction (Afshar et al., 2010).
In Section A, the ground floors are used for parking and in some cases used as
stores. The residential areas are settled in the first and second floors. The interior of the
house is divided into two sections according to the day and night activities. In the
day-activity section, the guest and family living areas are mixed together and mostly
located in the side closer to the street. On the other hand, the night-activity section area
includes the bedroom(s), and located in the other side of the house, distant, isolated,
 Affordable
housing design

99

Plate 2.
A view of home
units in Section A

quiet and calm. There are typically two different types of units based on some factors
namely the size of the parcel of land, the size of the family and the average income of
the family. In addition, the kitchen and bathrooms are mostly located between these
two parts.
The bathroom is usually attached with the bedroom to be more separated from
other house areas. The living area includes a gathering place for family activities, such
watching TV or talking. This area also comprises the kitchen (Figures 4 and 5).

Safety and physical stability

Flexibility in housing design is very important to enable the residents to move inside
their houses with more freedom. The visitors cannot explore the house from the first
sight. This will make the house design more secure and stable for the residents. Sidawi
(2008) clarified that the space should provide the users with feelings of security and
safety; thus, he also included safety and security under the psychological dimension. In
most of the vernacular houses in the island, a short divider, called estar, is erected in front
of the main entrance door, with a height of about 2 m. The houses also do not have
windows on the external walls to prevent the indoor activities to be viewed from outside
(Afshar et al., 2010). Apparently, due to the size of windows and their short distance to
the street (especially in the first floors), majority of the houses in Section A enable the
outsiders to have a direct view into the houses and the indoor activities (Plate 3). In
addition, each home unit has access to outside through a staircase, whereby the entrance
opens directly to the staircase. Moreover, a large number of the residents leave their
houses early in the morning and return home only at night. As a result, majority of the
houses are empty during the day.

Economic analysis
The economic criteria include many factors influencing the design of affordable
housing for the low-income people in Kish Island. These factors comprise the house
size, the construction cost of housing and the physical characteristics.
IJHMA
5,1

100

Figure 4.
Typical plans of the
living areas

House size
The different spaces that carry out their full functions without wasting space were also
investigated in this study. There are two alternatives for families from low-income
people in Section A; one-bedroom houses or two-bedroom houses. These alternatives
are designed based on building restriction and local regulations. The total area in
majority of the house units is between 50 and 80 m2. The size of the houses follows the
size of the pieces of lands. There are also very limited number of flats with single
bedrooms and three bedrooms for big family size. Table I shows the limitations based
on the Standards of Architectural and Urbanism Design in Kish Island (2007).

Construction cost of housing

Due to regulated limitations, all construction materials must be brought from outside the
island. Consequently, this causes a big increase in the price of the materials. In addition,
because of the lack of skilled workers in the island, especially during hot season, the
salary for construction workers is also very high. Dress and Sommer International
Consultant Engineering Company (2007) mentioned that, with the increase in price of the
land, the construction cost in the island is very expensive in comparison with
the mainland. Moreover, the unregulated market also makes the construction
 Affordable
housing design

101

Figure 5.
Typical plan of the
living areas

Plate 3.
Direct view into the Yards
of home units in Section A
IJHMA market expensive. Thus, most of the people who are living in the island have difficulty to
afford a parcel of land or apartment ownership.
5,1
Physical characteristics
Because of their valuable shading properties, trees play an important role in vernacular
architecture of all housing areas. Considering that the wind is blowing all year round, the
102 vegetation can mitigate high temperature and make the surrounding spaces more
comfortable. Furthermore, the use of local materials and natural resources has provided
fundamental characteristics for the Iranian architecture in the country. Vernacular
construction using local materials is one of the most important factors for creating
identity of vernacular architecture.
In Section A, all the residential buildings are made of three-storey attached houses.
The external windows are mainly wide and do not have any shading device in contrast
to vernacular architecture. The orientation of all the houses is very similar to that of
vernacular houses, which enables natural ventilation inside the houses. There are a
variety of elevation materials, which include travertine, granite, cement mortar covered
by plastic colours, white cement mixture, and recently, aluminium clad. Due to the
limitations of the local materials and based on the environmental-friendly regulations,
all of the materials are brought from outside the island. As a result, the price of the
materials in comparison with those from the mainland is a lot higher.

Conclusion
This article presents the study of the vernacular architecture in Kish Island, which has the
potential to be used as the base for the design of affordable houses in the island. From the
findings, there are different characteristic features in the vernacular architecture, which
can maximize social acceptability, as well as minimize costs and environmental impact
while maximizing the social acceptability. These criteria should be considered in
affordable housing design. This research explored the criteria that could affect affordable
housing in Kish Island based on the case of Section A in Mir Mohanna.
As for the social need analysis of the houses in Section A, the yards are found to be
visually and physically accessible for every outsider due to the short external walls. As
a result, the families who are mostly Muslims, rarely use the yard, and there is also a
problem related to privacy resulting from the residents’ direct view of each others’
homes. The vernacular houses in the island are built to have summer and winter
sections. The summer spaces are facing the Persian Gulf, while the winter spaces are
on the opposite side. In Section A, the ground floors are used for parking and in some
cases, they are used as stores. The first and second floors are used as residential areas

Number of car
Total area of the Max. park units
parcels of land Max. number of house units residential (in ground Max. height of
(m2) (typical units per area) density floor) building (m)
Table I.
Limitations based on the 200 4 (4 £ 53.0 m2) 100% þ 15 m2 4 11.5 (three-storey)
physical standards of 250 4 (4 £ 62.5 m2) 100% 4 11.5 (three-storey)
architectural design in 320 4 (4 £ 80.0 m2) 100% 4 11.5 (three-storey)
Section A (2007) 400 6 (4 £ 75.0 m2 þ 2 £ 50.0 m2) 100% 6 11.5 (three-storey)
and divided into two areas, and these are for day and night activities. The guest and Affordable
family living areas are mixed and these are mostly located on the side close to the housing design
street. There are two unit types based on the three factors namely the parcel size of
land, family size and family income. In most of the vernacular houses on Kish Island, a
short divider called estar is erected in front of the main entrance. Majority of the houses
in Section A enable the outsiders to have a direct view into the houses.
The results obtained from the economic analysis have clarified that there are two 103
alternatives to the three-storey attached houses for low-income families in Section A;
these include one-bedroom units and two-bedroom units. The sizes of the units are
according to the land pieces and the total area of the units is between 50 and 80 m2.
There are several three-bedroom units for big families.
These alternatives were designed based on building restriction, local regulations
and architectural features, as follows:
.
Vernacular construction using local materials is one of the most important
factors for creating the identity of the vernacular architecture.
.
External windows are mainly wide and do not have any shading device as
compared to those in the vernacular architecture.
. The orientation of all the houses is very similar to that of the vernacular houses.
.
The elevation materials, which include travertine, granite and cement mortar, are
covered by plastic colours, white cement mixture and recently aluminium clad.

The study has also recommended valuable housing policies to be used by the
authorities in developing or building affordable houses for low-income earners on Kish
Island.

Recommendations
The affordable housing inadaptability with local architecture and its shortage have been
mentioned by many previous studies and the local experts. The effective factors behind
them were also identified in this study. Housing policies and strategies in Kish Island
have clearly caused increasing affordable housing demands and unsuitable housing
areas in the island. Therefore, this study would recommend KFZO to prepare a housing
policy for low-cost housing that caters for the low-income people in the island based on
Kish Destination Master Plan. Apart from updating the information of the low-income
people’s requirements, the results of this study also provide suggestions from the local
experts in the housing industry. Besides, this study significantly contributes towards
formulating this all encompassing housing policy to be implemented in the island by
incorporating the sub-policies. This study also recommends amalgamation of small
pieces of lands, so that they become bigger pieces of lands. Based on the compatibility
with the needs of people (Mardom-vari ) and inward-looking (Daroon-geraei ), as two
fundamental characteristics of the vernacular architecture, central courtyard can
answer to different social and economic needs of affordable houses in Kish Island. Due to
this, the existing building regulation about building coverage needs to be updated
to match with the ideas. Figures 6 and 7 shows the existing and proposal coverage of the
lands undertaken in this study.
Based on this proposal, the following are some recommendations for future
improvement in the island:
IJHMA
5,1

104

Figure 6.
The existing and proposal
coverage of lands and
their cross sections

Figure 7.
The existing and proposal
coverage of lands and
their cross sections
 .
providing more green areas to create more adaptability with the Affordable
environment; housing design
.
decreasing high temperature by planting more trees in the house yards, which
will make suitable natural ventilation for the house interior, especially during
autumn and winter seasons;
.
using more central yard when it is more facilitated and more spaces for facilities;
105
.
increasing the distance between opposite neighbours in order to provide more
privacy for activities inside the houses as a basic belief for the Muslim
community;
.
planting appropriate local vegetation to prevent the house interior from being
viewed by the outsiders;
.
organizing the inside of the house based on the functions of rooms, for instance,
the bedrooms are located in the yard side, while the living rooms are located
towards the street;
.
raising the safety and security in the houses by making them more private when
the residents use the central court yard as the access to their houses;
.
creating more varieties in size and type of houses by amalgamating the
residential areas;
.
reducing the total area of common spaces, such as parking and staircase, in order
to decrease the cost of construction; and
.
providing less payment for keeping the common spaces, such as green areas,
with more number of residential units in a parcel of land.

This study also proposes the use of vernacular architectural characters in the elevation
and formation of the houses. For covering the facades, a material with similar specification
to local one should be used. Moreover, the size and place of openings are required to follow
the vernacular architecture, whereas the following of fashion and unknown forms must be
forbidden. These are based on two fundamental characters of Iranian vernacular
architecture, namely; avoiding unnecessary necessities (Parhiz az bihoodegi ) and
self-efficiency (Khod-basandegi ). Thus, the following are several strategies suggested in
order to develop the affordable housing industry in the island:
. decreasing the cost of construction by using simple forms and cheap local
technologies and materials;
.
creating harmony with the nature as well as using very specific colour of coral,
which is the primary feature of Kish Island and its vernacular architecture;
.
providing a good solar reflection due to the bright colour on the facade;
.
making the windows oriented towards the central yard wider for better view and
the windows facing the street narrower to prevent the inside of the house from
the outsider’s view and bad solar radiation; subsequently, the building should be
seen as solid from the street view; and
.
saving very expensive and valuable energy in the island by making
cross-natural ventilation to avoid terrible effects of direct solar radiation in the
houses.
IJHMA References
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About the authors

Ali Afshar is a PhD candidate in the Department of Architecture, Faculty of Design and
Architecture, University Putra Malaysia.
Dr Wa’el Alaghbari is an Assistant Professor in the Architecture Department, Faculty of
Engineering, Sana’a University, Yemen. Dr Wa’el Alaghbari is the corresponding author and can
be contacted at: wail42311@yahoo.com
Dr Elias Salleh is a Professor in the Department of Architecture, Faculty of Design and
Architecture, University Putra Malaysia.
Dr Azizah Salim is an Associate Professor in the Department of Architecture, Faculty of
Design and Architecture, University Putra Malaysia.

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