This paper demonstrates how an integrative approach to design can succeed in creating a built form that is environmentally sustainable, socially responsive to existing gender and family relations, and symbolically expressive of shared values and belief systems. Case studies in the vernacular building tradition of the Iranian desert region are examined and related to Australian examples. They demonstrate how innovative design solutions can rely on the limited natural resources available at the local level and provide a multifaceted response to various spheres of life. The humane quality of the vernacular built form is shown to emerge from its wholeness and integrative character. Without implying the replication of traditional design decisions in the contemporary built form, it is argued that better understanding of vernacular design offers certain lessons to contemporary design which may allow it to reach solutions that are environmentally sustainable and socially fulfilling.