Building materials in eco-energy houses from Iraq and Iran

• Configuration of Scandinavian Habitat was constructed according to climatic act.
• Natural building materials were used efficiently in habitat components.
• Habitat functions were allocated according to climatic circumstances.

Builders from the Western part of Asia are trained to make buildings that can fulfil certain required functions while giving full consideration to all sites and environmental conditions. The research covers the zone between Iraq and Iran. The first investigated region is the “Mesopotamian Marshes” or Iraqi-Iran Marshes, a wetland zone situated in southern Iraq and partially in southwestern Iran. The other region is a desert district, which includes a prominent part of the southern and western parts of Iraq and part of Iran. The last is the centre city of Basra. The building materials were the most important building element that affected the conformation of vernacular habitats from the western part of Asia in general and the Iraq–Iran area in particular. In this study, we needed to focus on the effects of ecological and energy-efficiency processes in creating vernacular habitats and the selection of optimal building systems and materials in this part of the world, which can be an essential point for sustainable environmental building processes in the future. Reeds, clay, straw, bricks, and wood were the most popular building materials used by builders from this region. The impact of building material on the environment embodies the essential method implicitly significant in this research to effectively determine traditional building materials in the environment, in addition to comparative analysis. This presents an essential factor of our analysis, in addition to the impact of environments on building systems. The main target of this study is to benefit designers and building engineers in their pursuit to find optimal and competent solutions suitable for specific local microclimates using traditional methods in the design process that are sustainable and ecological.