The Windcatchers of Yazd

And How Architects Know Next to Nothing About Climate Control

A couple of years ago, I read somewhere that medical students typically learn almost nothing about nutrition, a cornerstone of health and wellbeing. I was outraged. How could this be? Now, looking at my own field, I found an analogue. In my seven years at architecture school, I don’t remember hearing anything substantial about the principles of natural heat exchange. At best, it was just a passing remark.

Photo by author

Just a disclaimer: I am not a practicing architect. I did obtain my master’s degree and worked for two years in an office as an intern. Even when I was asked back as an assistant professor, my job was to teach multimedia — video, photography, and a bit of sound — which has been my occupation for the last 15 years. So this is not a critique of mature architects working in offices, but of my years as a student in the early 2000s.

So, what did we learn? Well, for the first three years, we covered the basics. A significant portion of our time was devoted to learning drawing skills. We spent endless hours drawing and redrawing classical architecture from ancient Greece, Rome, and Egypt. I probably still know most of those proportions by heart. Another large chunk of time was dedicated to mechanics, math, physics, and structural engineering, ensuring the…