A windcatcher (Persian: بادگیر Bâdgir, Arabic: بارجيل Baarjiil) is a traditional Persian architectural device used for many centuries to create natural ventilation in buildings. It is not known who first invented the windcatcher such as the uni-directional, bi-directional, and multi-directional. Examples of windcatchers can be found in traditional Persian influenced architecture throughout the Middle East, Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Central Iran has a very large day-night temperature difference, ranging from cool to extremely hot, and the air tends to be very dry all day long. Most buildings are constructed of very thick ceramics with extremely high insulation values. Furthermore, towns centered on desert oases tend to be packed very closely together with high walls and ceilings relative to Western architecture, maximizing shade at ground level. The heat of direct sunlight is minimized with small windows that do not face the sun.
The windcatcher functions on several principles.
The windcatcher of "Dowlat-abad" in Yazd, is one of the tallest extant windcatchers.
The emergence of a traditional Bahraini and Persian Gulf style of architecture arose as people migrated to Bahrain with the growth of the pearl trade. With newfound wealth, the merchants built houses of note in the 18th and 19th centuries. The people of Ahvaz in Iran, for example, came and brought with them new architectural designs an early and very effective form of air conditioning, has in fact been around for about 500 years and was developed from the early Wind Scoops first built about 2,000 years ago in Iran.
