The traditional urban quarter is considered here as a materialized form of human thoughts, skills and resources which created functional, meaningful and identifiable spaces in relation to society, time and place. Regarding these leading points, this research focuses on traditional Iranian-Kurdish urban quarter of Qatâr-chyân to investigate its design principles. Various approaches to traditional built form were reviewed to pave the way for a methodological inquiry. The data generated through historical archives, direct observation of the existing built form and interview with elderly. The findings enable us to discover the shaping design principles which characterize the urban character of the selected quarter as a distinctive traditional urban form especially as compared to other Islamic-Iranian cities. These findings can be recognized as indigenous rules embedded in the structure of traditional quarter which can help designers to reconcile the traditional and modern urban architecture by applying these principles in city conservation plan or new developments plans in the city suburb.
