Iran's architecture divides roughly into two styles shaped by climate. In the humid, forested north, between the Alborz mountains and the Caspian Sea, houses are open and airy, with wide verandas, elevated wooden structures and deep eaves that improve airflow and prevent moisture damage. In the arid centre and south, around cities like Yazd and Isfahan, buildings turn inward, built from mud brick around enclosed courtyards with high walls, windcatchers called badgirs and domed roofs that shade and cool the air. Many scholars argue that culture and social structures shape these forms as much as climate does.

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.