Indigenous Housing of Villages in Markazi Province, Iran1
Mohsen Sartipipour

Abstract
Iran is a vast country with a rich climatic, ethnic and topographic diversity. About 60% of land area of Iran is comprised of rural regions. In the recent years with the emphasis put on the supply of suitable housing and environment for rural people, 200,000 rural housing units are being built annually. Markazi Province with a total rural population of 419,184 and 1,278 villages and an area of over 29,125 km2 (1.8% of the country's land area), is among the provinces where about 4,500 residential units should be built each year following the above- mentioned plan. According to the 2006 Census of Statistical Center of Iran, there are 99,842 rural housing units in this province. Due to existence of valuable indigenous rural housing exemplars in Markazi Province, and the necessity of being informed of the local architectural features and its bond with housing units under construction, conducting research on the rural architecture of this province is of significant importance. This paper deals with introduction of remarkable and widespread types of indigenous housing in Markazi Province and their features.

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