Resilience against natural disasters, such as earthquakes, has been considered as an important goal in sustainable development in recent years. On the other hand, today, sustainability is considered as a main aim in modern architecture. In spite of these facts, the role of sustainable architecture in increasing the resilience of buildings and cities against disastrous events has not been thoroughly discussed so far. In this paper a new natural-base, low cost, eco-friendly and lightweight fiber-reinforced clay (LFRC) material, with high heat, sound and moisture insulation capability, is introduced which its employment can remarkably increase the resilience of buildings against earthquakes. To obtain mechanical properties of the proposed LFRC material, an experimental study was done by conducting a series of tests to measure its bending, shear and compressive strengths. Tests results show that the proposed material has much higher strengths comparing to plain clay and also clay reinforced by some other previously used fibers. The density of the LFRC material is around 1.37 which is less than 75% of the dried plain clay. Building’s components made of the LFRC material can be very helpful for creation of movable partitions or floors/ceilings as well as smart furniture to achieve flexible architecture of special buildings, which is considered as a must in today’s architecture in seismic regions. Because of the relatively high strength and integrity of the LFRC material its usage as the main body of masonry elements, such as load bearing walls in small rural houses and dwellings can also be recommended.

Purpose: The main purpose of this study is revival of vernacular architecture of Zegalli houses, which can be beneficial in several aspects of sustainable architecture, and therefore, its reuse in contemporary architecture can be strongly recommended. Zegalli houses, in northern Iran, are almost-entirely wooden vernacular houses, which beside to having several aspects of sustainable architecture, have shown good resistance against past earthquakes. Their relatively good seismic performance is mainly because of their specific timber foundation, which creates a kind of rocking/rolling isolation, as well as their light weight and diagonally braced stiff walls.Design/methodology/approach: In this paper, first the architectural features of Zegalli houses, particularly energy efficiency, sustainability and eco-friendliness are described. Then, their structural system, focusing more on their foundation, is discussed. Finally, a simplified model of the house, developed in a powerful finite element analysis program, is introduced, and sample results of a series of time history analyses (THA), employing three-component accelerograms of three selected earthquakes, are presented.Findings: Results of THA show that the rocking/rolling behavior of foundation timbers in various levels significantly reduces seismic response of the house, leading to its stability against earthquakes with peak ground acceleration up to 0.25 g.Practical implications: Regarding the architectural and structural merits of Zegalli houses, they can be considered as sustainable vernacular architecture, and therefore, architects and civil and structural engineers are encouraged to reconsider the use of these houses, with some modifications, in future developments.Originality/value: 3D dynamics analysis of Shikilli foundations of Zegalli houses is done for the first time in this study.