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A windcatcher is a tower that helps cool a building by catching moving air and guiding it indoors.

UNESCO / Energy and Built Environment

TechnologyHistoryArchitecture

Why it matters

The idea in context

Used in hot, dry regions such as Yazd in Iran, windcatchers work with shade, pressure and air movement rather than electric machinery. They remind us that old architecture can carry climate knowledge in its very shape.

Türkçe

Aynı kart, başka bir dilde.

Rüzgâr yakalayıcı, sıcak iklimlerde havayı binanın içine yönlendirmek ve içeriyi serinletmek için kullanılan geleneksel bir kuledir.

İran’daki Yezd gibi sıcak ve kuru kentlerde görülen bu yapılar, elektrikli klimadan çok önce gölge, hava akımı ve basınç farkından yararlanıyordu. Eski mimarinin değeri burada nostalji değil; iklimle yaşamanın somut bilgisidir.

Source trail

Read beyond the card.

UNESCO lists the Historic City of Yazd, noting wind-catchers, courtyards and thick earthen walls; research in Energy and Built Environment examines windcatchers in Yazd as passive cooling architecture. Sources: https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1544/ ; https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1296207424000141

Background reading: WindcatcherAttribution and context are revised when stronger evidence appears. Corrections are welcome through the editorial page.
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