JOURNAL OF ARCHITECTURE AND URBAN PLANNING
Year:2017 | Volume:9 | Issue:18|Papers Count:9

Urban planning systems are exposed to the diverse types of contingencies and uncertainties which can cause dysfunction or failure of and unexpected outcomes for the system. Within an integrated metropolitan planning scope, non-coordinated and non-integrated inter-organizational relations would generate and enhance the creation of urban planning problems, which in its own terms would strengthen the pre-existing complexities, in addition to contingencies, constraints and uncertainties. Based on the strategic thinking in metropolitan planning and policy-making, recognizing and coping with challenges, and specifically “contingencies”, requires both flexibility and ability to comply with the special conditions of each planning context. The application of the inherent concepts in strategic planning has led to the development of “contingency approach” to planning. To avoid the inefficiencies of the planning system and mechanism in the face of changing structures, planning systems and its environment, “contingency approach” has been applied in urban and metropolitan planning as a problem-solving method to comply with not only the ever-changing conditions, but also the contingencies, constraints and uncertainties. Disintegrated nature of metropolitan urban planning policy-making leads to inefficiencies specifically when handling urban problems, specifically the problems which have a contingent nature. The metropolitan planning of Tehran is faced with known and unknown contingencies. Such contingencies can affect the expected outcome of the entirety of planning system in Tehran but also can expose this city to risks and hazards, whether natural and man-made. These contingencies indicate the penetrating need for planning in Tehran to acquire potentialities and capacities to react properly and take pre-devised measures to be prepared for all categories of contingencies, to solve problems and to overcome the unwanted outcomes. This paper has a dual question and two sets of aims, (1) are Tehran’s policy-makers aware of the existence of contingencies in Tehran and the necessity of applying a contingent approach in their process of planning and policy-making, and, (2) how to define the manners applied by policy-makers and planning authorities in encountering the known and unknown contingencies. Accordingly, the aims are (1) to find the opportunities of applying the contingency approach plus overcoming the barriers confronted by this approach in Tehran, and (2) to trace the available opportunities in the application of contingency approach in order to enhance the functioning of metropolitan planning in the course of an integrated planning system in Tehran. Methodology adopted in this paper is a process containing two stages: the first descriptive- analytical stage concentrates on the conceptual framework of contingency approach and adopts the “systematic review” method to attain a proposed framework to be applied in Tehran. In the analytical-prescriptive stage, the application of proposed framework for applying the contingency approach in an integrated metropolitan planning approach for Tehran, the “qualitative deductive content analysis” is applied using the existing laws, regulations, instructions and planning documents of Tehran. One achievement of this paper is promoting the necessary consideration of contingencies and contingency approach to planning. Another achievement is proposing an analytical method for tracing opportunities and barriers of establishing an integrated planning approach and a proposed framework that can be applied in Tehran, specifically when an integrated metropolitan planning is to be adopted.

Positive consequences of citizen participation in planning process are irrefutable. Over the last few years, most countries have been considering citizen participation in planning, as they attempt to provide the grounds for public participation at different levels of planning and decision-making. While the concept of public participation has been developed in a piecemeal fashion in developed countries and while it is in line with their social, economic, political and cultural structure, its application to developing countries with numerous planning-related problems (e.g. poverty, rapid urban development, inefficiencies in service provision, infrastructure and institutional frailty, etc.) without due consideration to the characteristics of their planning environments, may not lead to much significant success. Achieving public participation in these hostile contexts requires either a reform in existing procedures and structures (i.e. a long-term strategy) or maximization in application of citizen participation capacities in existing planning procedures and structures with an emphasis on the role of planners as the key players. This research aims to introduce a conceptual model for analyzing the effective factors of participatory planning in the planning environment. In this regard this work is an attempt to study the models and theories related to planning environment, decision environment, planning system, and planning culture in general. It further offers a primary and temporary framework for effective participatory planning factors by surveying two kinds of research: (1) research that directly or indirectly mentions the effective factors on success or failure of public participation, and (2) research that introduces some criteria for evaluating participatory planning (from process- or result- viewpoint or both). In order to identify the effective factors in participation realization, and to better unite practice and theory in this matter, the proposed framework of basic factors seeks to incorporate normative and instrumental benefits of participation to provide a pragmatic, moderate, and genuine understanding of citizen participation in the form of contextual variables and potential impacts. Finally, to reconsider the primary conceptual framework and offer a conceptual model of participatory planning, the effective factors on the realization of public participation have been examined in the planning environment model. Based on the nature of participation and the influences it attains from informal structures, the submitted conceptual framework emphasizes both formal and informal structures of planning environment at six analytical levels: external planning environment consists of two analytical levels of: (1) government (e.g. political sustainability and stability of politics, commitment to public participation processes, economic structure, etc.), and (2) participants (e.g. motivation, skills, knowledge and experiment, social capital, etc.). Internal planning environment consists of three analytical levels of: (3) planners and planning institutions (such as professional ethics and commitments, norms and cognitive frameworks, accountability, etc.), (4) legislations (e.g. incentives and deterrent policies, rules and regulations in the field of public participation, etc.), and (5) mechanism and procedures (such as representativeness, accountability, providing sufficient information, timing, etc.). The sixth level implies (6) external changes, like globalization, the impact of technological changes in information and communication. This conceptual framework can lead to identification of the limitations in Iran’s planning environment in the field of citizen participation. The components of the model can further be reviewed according to Iran’s planning environment specifications.

Due to the weakening of the bonds of place-human that are part of globalization, spatial mobility, and environmental problems, bond and attachment to place (psychological issues) and cognitive issues are major factors in overcoming these problems, and in achieving environmental sustainability. Thus to enhance the attachment to place and to reduce the spatial mobility in new and central urban environments, it necessary to review the factors and variables affecting the place attachment in these environment. Place attachment involves positively experienced bonds, sometimes occurring without awareness, that are developed over time from the behavioral, affective, and cognitive ties between individuals and groups and their socio-physical environment. The neighborhood attachment is embedded in the relationships between physical, cognitive, affective and behavioral aspects of people-residential environment transactions. The few research studies that took into account more than one type of place demonstrate that attitudes towards place and their predictors may differ depending on the spatial scale. The present paper attempts to evaluate the theories of place attachment at central neighborhood and at three scales of home, neighborhood, city, and factors of place attachment and relationship among these factors with attachment intensity and spatial scale. The research is conducted using qualitative and quantitative methods such as drawing cognitive maps and distribution of questionnaires among Sorkhab (historical-central) neighborhood residents. Results of test showed that there is a U shaped relationship between place attachment intensity and spatial scale. Attachment to home has the highest value and attachment to neighborhood has the lowest one. There are descending linear relationship between cognitive and spatial scale from home to city and also a U shaped relationship between cognitive- attachment value and spatial scale. This relationship is of the highest value for the city scale and of the lowest for neighborhood scale. Evaluation of cognitive maps drawn by residents showed that cognitive maps of neighborhood have the highest frequency for the ways, nods, symbols and edges, while for the cognitive maps of city, this belongs to ways, edges, symbols and nods. So symbols at neighborhood scale and nodes at city scale have the more impact upon the residents’ mental image and legibility of neighborhood and city. Socio-demographic factors (gender, marital status, home ownership, car ownership, age, education, type of transportation, duration of residence) showed consistent impacts on place attachment and a strong positive and significant relationship was established between social factors and attachment to neighborhood. Understanding the relationship between place attachment and place identity and characteristics of the activities is useful for planners and urban designers in making livable and meaningful urban places. Also the results showed that increase of the spatial scale decrease the intensity of residents’ mental image. The results of the research indicate that in order for improving attachment to historic neighborhood, affective dimension (physical factors) and cognitive dimension of attachment to neighborhood must be taken into account, and more emphasis must be placed on improving symbols and ways in neighborhood; on the other hand, there is a need for improvement efforts for neighborhood center to enhance residents’ participation and social relations.

Different climate conditions often result in different use of open spaces. The impacts of climate on the use of outdoor spaces in the urban environment are particularly important for quality and quantity of the activities that are carried out in the area. Thermal comfort is one of the most effectual factors on the quality of “place”, and promotion of thermal comfort quality would affect the vitality of the area. Cities significantly modify the meteorological conditions of surrounding areas: overall radiation is higher, except for ultraviolet radiation; the mean annual temperature is higher in cities than in the surrounding areas; wind speed is considerably lower in the cities, being slowed by buildings. As a consequence, relative humidity in cities is lower. Environmental conditions that body is exposed to can, however, be attenuated, filtered or enhanced by architectural means, e.g. a sunshade or vegetation can provide shading. But thermal comfort, especially in outdoor locations is a great challenge to assess, since numerous environmental, personal factors are involved: variation of sun and shade, changes in wind speed, and so on. Thermal comfort, in its basic definition, is the human reaction to the surrounding indoor or outdoor environments. More specific definitions of this term are summarized under three different categories: the psychological, thermo-physiological and energetic definitions. Background of studies about thermal comfort dates back to 1970s, but these studies focus on indoor thermal comfort quality. Attention to outdoor thermal comfort in urban design studies has started in the last decade. Research on outdoor comfort involves different conditions and issues, not encountered in studies on indoor comfort. Surveys in this field emphasized the need for investigating different ways to quantify comfort condition in outdoors. This research is to apply effective urban design techniques, such as shading devices, a selection of surface materials, vegetation and water bodies on the site, evaluating thermal comfort quality of an area and proposing optimum design alternative and modifying thermal comfort. This research is based on simulating thermal comfort quality, using ENVI-met software. This software was chosen because it is the only software where all factors influencing thermal comfort like wind speed and direction, air temperature, etc. are simulated integrally to derive thermal comfort indices. PMV index was also chosen to quantify thermal comfort condition in the area. PMV relates the simple energy balance of the human body to thermal comfort experienced by a person, with normal values between -4 (very cold) and ‏4 (very hot). PMV was originally created to measure indoor human comfort, but later adapted to outdoor spaces by Jendritzky. In research process, three differences alternatives, based on various design solutions, were proposed for the area and simulated by ENVI-met software. Impact of each technique was evaluated through comparison of these three alternatives. In conclusion, based on simulation results, shading has a significant influence on thermal comfort, compared with other techniques such as surface materials, vegetation and water bodies, in microclimate scale. Moreover, using a combination of shading with other techniques especially water bodies reinforces reduction of temperature.

The fragility of the historical gardens, as well as the importance of "intangible cultural heritage" with an approach toward qualitative and aesthetic aspects for the users motivate us to document the atmosphere of these gardens. There are much studies about morphology and formal structure of Persian gardens included on UNESCO's World Heritage List on 2011. The Persian gardens are also introduced as mysterious and poetic spaces in the literature and descriptive texts, without enough necessary scientific studies on their atmosphere and user's perception. In fact, the historical gardens consist of many elements that play their roles to constitute the space, including water. Water is not only a vital element for maintaining the garden life, in particular where it is known to be scarce, but also it is the constituent element of the ambience with its sensory capacities like visual, auditory and others sensory modalities. With the developments of modern sciences and the notion of environmental sustainability, it seems that water has been turned into mere H2O as a material for use which tends to lose its sensory quality. We follow the hypothesis that despite of its rarity in the arid context of the typical Persian garden and inevitably the minimal use of water in gardens space, this element has its perceptive role for the users/perceiver, and particularly in the domain of auditory perception that will be studied in this paper. To examine the sensory relationships of this resource, among several typical gardens, two gardens are selected in the desert area of Iran: Fin garden situated in Kashan, and Shazdeh [Shahzadeh] garden near Kerman possess the indicators for developing the methodologies of the research. The methods used to evaluate the impact of water on the auditory perception in the two gardens consists of three phases: first, the observations of spaces and uses in situ to identify the objective dimensions of the presence of water. In this phase, the sound of water is also recorded in the gardens by digital recorder. Second, performing some surveys concerning sensorial memory, based on the memories and narratives of the visitors allows us to formulate an initial interpretation of the memories of ambiance in connection water. Finally and in the third phase, we collect verbal comments in situ of perception of motion from some visitors who participated and expressed sound effects of water in the gardens. The result of the above studies are analyzed and collected inductively in a list of the sound effects that are categorized in three types: spatial, temporal and semantic in accordance with the reference "Répertoire des effets sonores” (Sonic experiences: a guide for everyday sound). The effects derived from this study are anticipation, sound attraction, reverberation, resonance and filtering as the spatial effects; also rhythm, cross-fade and staccato, as temporal effects; and finally the semantic effects are listed as synecdoche, erasure, remanence, mask and immersion with regard to presence of water in the two Persian gardens. These sound effects can be used as the potentials of water in landscape domain to create a water soundscape.

Emotions constitute a major part of human existence, social interactions influence on decision-making, experiences and most of all the social interactions and communications with other persons, so revealing its various aspects and its recognition are very important. The aim of Emotional Intelligent Architecture (EIA) is designing the spaces in which they can influence psychological states and emotions by using physical factors such as geometry, light, temperature, sound and smart materials. Emotional intelligent building can show people's sense of presence in various forms, and provide other issues such as entertainment, care, health and safety for users of the space. There are several key challenges in emotional intelligent building design. One of these challenges is to find the person's emotional state at the moment, and to establish a mutual communication between people and space is yet another challenge. Moreover, physical strength, electrical components, light intensity control as well as user safety during use of space are some of the important factors that affect the emotional intelligent building design. Producing visual qualities (pleasure and aesthetics) and development of a scale control software that can be re-usable in infrastructure are other important issues. As the final point, increasing the capacity of visitor’s interactions should be considered as a key point in intelligent building design. So, this study seeks to devise a relationship between human and architectural space in order to create a sensible balance between these two items. For this purpose the role of advanced technologies has been investigated. According to the studies, in order to achieve a building intelligent façade based on emotions of visitors, the best solution would be use of facial recognition technology. Researchers generally use two methods for classification of feelings. In this study we use arousal-attraction two-dimensional space. The vertical axis in arousal-attraction chart shows the active and inactive feeling, and the horizontal axis shows a positive or negative sense. In this study, facial expressions of 44 subjects (22 males and 22 females) has been evaluated. The mean age of participants was 18-28 years. Facial expressions of the subjects have been captured while viewing various geometry of an intelligent façade. Then five emotional states have been evaluated according to arousal-attraction chart including: pleasant, unpleasant, comfort, surprise and neutral, using three methods, i.e. questionnaires, recording video and image processing. The results indicate that people have the same emotions while viewing the intelligent façade with various geometry of the openings. After feature extraction, classification and interpretation, emotional states associated with each image were identified for different groups. Afterward certain emotional categories were defined for each group. The result also shows that recognition of users' emotions by two methods of questionnaire and image processing are approximately the same and in 65 present of cases are completely matched. Finally, the model for smart change of the façade that is appropriate for the people who visit the space was provided. It can be concluded that Emotional Intelligent Architecture (EIA) can create a suitable relationship between design and human and can help the designers to create the facades are appropriate for human psychological states.

One of the issues that have been sorely neglected in the historiography of Islamic architecture of Iran is the architects’ social standing and their role in the construction of architectural monuments. Due to the poor attention paid to the constructional complexities of the process of construction of a work, the works published on Islamic architecture of Iran have failed to reflect all hidden and explicit aspects of this phenomenon. In fact, the negligence regarding the study of buildings, which is the last stage of construction process has caused a number of striking inattentions towards many other relevant and influential issues. Thus, the following questions are raised by the researcher of the history of architecture regarding the historical monument that is the ultimate product of an architectural construction: Which factors and elements have been involved in the construction of the monument? What were the roles of the architect, patrons and erectors? How much freedom does architect had to make decisions for construction affairs? Who were the patrons and erectors of the construction of monuments and what were their responsibilities? All these questions are intended to determine the level of the role and influence of aforementioned factors in an architectural work. According to a number of historical documents, in the Timurid and the Ilkhanid eras the architects and engineers were from the middle class of the society and their profession was considered one of the low level occupations. We can distinguish between four types of architects and engineers who were active in these eras. Every group was in charge of certain affairs: (1) royal architects who performed the orders issued by the court and the governors; (2) guild architects, these architects were active in their hometown and offered services for their fellow citizens; (3) migrant who had emigrated to the capital from other cities (the movement of architects between different areas of the Islamic world); and (4) others, which this group consisted of those who pursued architecture as a secondary work and had other vocations like Quranic sciences or calligraphy or astronomy‚ but they were also working as an architect. The patrons of architecture were from various social classes. The patrons and erectors could be from monarchical and influential families who were affiliated with the progeny of the Prophet Muhammad. They even had affiliations with such mystical initiations as Naqshbandi. These patrons and erectors had various degrees of influence depending on their social and historical context. This paper seeks to cast light on the dark sides and corners of the history of Islamic architecture in Iran through a study of the architecture and its related circles in the Ilkhanid and the Timurid eras. This research seeks to review the features of Islamic architecture of Iran with the hope to take a small step in the direction of this field. First of all‚ we will discuss the types of architects who were active in this historical era, and then we will turn to the role of patrons and erectors.

One of the issues that have been sorely neglected in the historiography of Islamic architecture of Iran is the architects’ social standing and their role in the construction of architectural monuments. Due to the poor attention paid to the constructional complexities of the process of construction of a work, the works published on Islamic architecture of Iran have failed to reflect all hidden and explicit aspects of this phenomenon. In fact, the negligence regarding the study of buildings, which is the last stage of construction process has caused a number of striking inattentions towards many other relevant and influential issues. Thus, the following questions are raised by the researcher of the history of architecture regarding the historical monument that is the ultimate product of an architectural construction: Which factors and elements have been involved in the construction of the monument? What were the roles of the architect, patrons and erectors? How much freedom does architect had to make decisions for construction affairs? Who were the patrons and erectors of the construction of monuments and what were their responsibilities? All these questions are intended to determine the level of the role and influence of aforementioned factors in an architectural work. According to a number of historical documents, in the Timurid and the Ilkhanid eras the architects and engineers were from the middle class of the society and their profession was considered one of the low level occupations. We can distinguish between four types of architects and engineers who were active in these eras. Every group was in charge of certain affairs: (1) royal architects who performed the orders issued by the court and the governors; (2) guild architects, these architects were active in their hometown and offered services for their fellow citizens; (3) migrant who had emigrated to the capital from other cities (the movement of architects between different areas of the Islamic world); and (4) others, which this group consisted of those who pursued architecture as a secondary work and had other vocations like Quranic sciences or calligraphy or astronomy‚ but they were also working as an architect. The patrons of architecture were from various social classes. The patrons and erectors could be from monarchical and influential families who were affiliated with the progeny of the Prophet Muhammad. They even had affiliations with such mystical initiations as Naqshbandi. These patrons and erectors had various degrees of influence depending on their social and historical context. This paper seeks to cast light on the dark sides and corners of the history of Islamic architecture in Iran through a study of the architecture and its related circles in the Ilkhanid and the Timurid eras. This research seeks to review the features of Islamic architecture of Iran with the hope to take a small step in the direction of this field. First of all‚ we will discuss the types of architects who were active in this historical era, and then we will turn to the role of patrons and erectors.

Architectural elements have been always designed for providing comfort for human being. One of these elements is Ice houses that have been used to prepare ice for warm seasons. Given the variety of climates in Iran, different approaches have been adopted to make harsh environments tolerable for a long time. In this respect, architects tried to take the utmost advantage of climatic conditions. Ice house is a typical example for this. The ice needed for ice houses was prepared during the freezing months of the year to be saved and used in hot summers. Thanks to their technical mastery and experience, architects designed the structural elements of an ice house. The ice houses were generally constructed in hot regions where the number of freezing nights of the year and the temperature difference between winter days and nights was considerable. However, ice houses can be seen in cold climates too. Ice houses can be divided into two distinct structural spaces: ice-producing space and ice-keeping space. The ice-producing space includes a shading wall and an ice-producing pool. The keeping space includes an ice-keeping pit and a dome. Geometry is among the influential factors upon the design of elements of Iranian architecture. Review of the forms of ice houses, based on the geometry is necessary for maintenance and revitalization of this important achievement. By understanding the various forms of ice houses components in each region of Iran, including Kerman province, capabilities of the architects familiar with geometric issues used in them can be revealed. Geometry has a direct impact on type, shape, and form of shading wall, and finally upon the form of ice houses of Kerman province. According to the studies conducted so far, fewer research can be found regarding geometry of ice houses elements of Kerman province, especially for shading wall. Data was collected using library sources and field studies. First, different climates of the hot regions in the country and their impact on the ice houses were studied. Some issues such as location of dome, sunshine angle and architectural knowledge have had an impact on the form of the shading wall, and has changed the wall form in the plan. Studies revealed that the shape and form of shading wall is affected by resting, geographical factors and the location of the dome in the plan. Layout of the dome and shading wall was based on the sun angle in the area, and this arrangement is effective on the location of entry points. The type of connection of shading wall to the dome has been different in accordance with the location of the sub-component of ice house plans. Generally speaking, it can be said that all of these factors have been effective on the form of ice houses and their typology. This method can be used for other examples of architectural structures in order to investigate the validity and reliability of the obtained results that. Studies and research carried out in the present study can be also carried out on other traditional structures.