JOURNAL OF IRANIAN ARCHITECTURAL STUDIES
Year:2016 | Volume:4 | Issue:8|Papers Count:9

Historic gardens of Shiraz were considered among key elements of the city up to the Pahlavi and contemporary era. It seems that the formation of the historic core of the city and its development in different periods involved gardens, both regarding the structural relationship between the two, and also in the use of the garden and its elements in the body of the city. On the other hand, the garden site selection system is dependent on several factors that, in turn, impact how it interacts with the city. Shiraz was under the rule of four powerful states to the end of the Zand period. Thus, the main question of this research is what the structural relationship of the garden and the city was from the fourth century AH to the end of the Zand era. To understand this relationship, first “the place of the garden in the urban core,” and then “the role of garden-axes on the spatial development of the city” was studied by using historical documents, travel accounts, and reconstructed maps. Then, site selection system of gardens in the city to the end of the Zand period was analyzed, and their locations were reconstructed on the map. The results show that the interaction of the garden and the town is a reciprocal process in that the natural settings such as mountains, rivers, and water supplies, along with governmental decisions on town structure predefined the location for a garden. Reversely, the gardens defined the identity of governmental axes and guided the development of the city in its forthcoming periods, thus playing a key role in the spatial organization of the city.

According to many researchers, the tomb of Rukn-i Alam, built by the Tughluqs, is the first among Indian mausoleums to start an architectural tradition which reached its glory in the Taj Mahal. Much research has been done on the impacts of Iranian architecture on Indian monuments especially the Taj Mahal, but further discussions is needed on the impacts of Iranian funerary architecture on early Indian tombs, as they constitute the model for later mausoleums. The tomb of Sufi Rukn-i Alam in Multan is among the earliest mausoleums in India built under the Taghluq dynasty, and features many aspects of Iranian architecture. The aim of this paper is to explore in it influences of Iranian funerary architecture. According to the results of the research, these influences can be summarized in the following four cases: 1. Plan geometry; 2. Usage of turrets and symbolic cupolas encircling the dome; 3. Transition from the octagonal plan to the circular base of the dome; 4. Materials and geometric ornamental patterns. Also, the three most influential mausoleums from Iran can be named as the tomb of Amir Ismail Samani, the tomb-towers of Kharaghan, and the mausoleum of Uljaytu at Sultania. The descriptive-analytical approach was used in the research, and a deductive approach, in the comparative study.

In contemporary urban planning and design literature, small-scale urban divisions attract much consideration as the most important scale of residential use. In addition, the sustainable characteristics of traditional units has made the introduced models by Western planners to be based on the principles of their respective traditional neighborhood units. The equivalent of a neighborhood, the most prominent residential scale in Iran, is the mahalleh. A review of existing studies on the concept and structure of an Iranian mahalleh shows that, on the one hand, the results were mainly only descriptive, and on the other hand, were not based on a clear methodology. So far, no appropriate theory matching the culture and contemporary life in Iran is introduced yet. This study assumes that through case studies of mahallehs in historical cities based on qualitative and quantitative analysis, new dimensions of the nature of a mahalleh can be defined. Therefore, according to the main body of Iranian research in the context of cities in the central desert, in addition to the already known historical context of Naeen consisting of seven mahallehs, it was selected as the case for this research. The historical analysis and interpretation, descriptive-analytical, case study, and content analysis methods were used in this study. Data from historical records, field observations, and interviews on oral history were utilized in analysis by ArcGIS software to compile a special model of mahallehs in Naeen, enabling the evaluation of quantitative and qualitative indicators. The results of the evaluation of qualitative indicators identified that the development of the city and its mahallehs was gradual and in harmony with new requirements until the Qajar period. The customs and social values, especially religious values had a decisive role in the emergence of elements, attributes, and quality of connections, as well as the formation of the city and neighborhood identity. Also, harsh climate conditions and limited water resources led to dense building masses, while also limiting the size and populations of the mahalleh and the city. Quantitative findings show that the area of the smallest mahalleh is 2.3 hectares, while the largest is 8.2 hectares. These figures are much less than the contemporary western neighborhood unit. The mean distance between houses in each mahalleh is, respectively, 131 meters from the local square, 171 meters from the bazaar, and 81 meters from the local mosque. This clearly indicates pedestrian compatibility of the model, in addition to the importance of the mosque owing to their large number.

If any systematic change or conversion towards perfection in the form of a thing be named as “a sub-movement” of a complex of sub-movements known in the process-based system of a thing’s evolutional movement in its earthly existence, then, in accordance to the basic principle of a thing’s eternal intellectual essence and to the unchangeable, everlasting divine laws of the perfection-bound process of creation, these constant formal conversions (in whole) are led in the rightful, unified movement of elements in reaching the ultimate goal (which is the best and most complete form of each thing, in harmony with the divine knowledge-based attributes). These continual (systematic and process-based) conversions of form (even though in answer to the consecutive conversions of mutual needs of things in the world), give artists and architects of any time a golden opportunity to take a new step in the way of “the live, process-based, and developing path of a given thing, with the goal of reaching harmony with the absolute Perfection” (which is but “sairurah ila Allah”, or becoming toward Allah).  This paper is aimed at highlighting this forgotten truth of the Qur’anic saying, and one of the most effective solutions that could gradually and slowly (but certainly) solve the problem of identity and Islamic affinity in architecture, is to re-explore “the natural/divine path of maturing,” realized by “the reflective, knowledge-based experience”. The main goal of this paper is to present a comprehensive discussion of this truly magnificent meaning. A reflective, knowledge- based experience is the key to the nourishment of compassion inside the living, intelligent womb connected to the knowledge-based forgiveness and mercifulness (inside the earth and the natural world) for the maturing of human mind and soul. In fact, the converting geometry of the physical form of a work of art (despite its fixed essential meaning and unchangeable intellectual organization), is an “opportunity” or “path” that the Compassionate Nourisher (Allah) has prepared for maturing, and step-by-step growth of human mind and soul. Therefore, losing the opportunity of life, work and knowledge-based experiences in this world equals to the departure of soul and wisdom from the merciful, nourishing womb, which in consequence, results in dissection from the ever-flowing, nurturing stream of knowledge and wisdom, and in conclusion, hinders one from traveling on the natural path of growth and maturity.

The purpose of this paper is to explore in detail the concept of architectural analysis. This concept is, in many ways, similar to criticism, which is used sometimes unintentionally and unknowingly instead. Therefore, at first, this paper attempts to identify the terminology regarding the concepts of criticism and analysis. Then, for a more comprehensive view, the criticism framework of Wayne Attoe that involves both aspects of analysis and criticism is theoretically assessed. This helps in understanding how criticism frameworks, and for the purpose of this research, the framework for the criticism of form in the process of architectural creation are developed. Finally, a form analysis model is established in this research, as an example of a model based on the criticism framework according to the gained knowledge of the connections between the two fields, and by a quick review of multiple descriptive and analytical resources on architectural form. Thus, the method used involves the analytical assessment of previous resources. Finally, a comprehensive and practical model for form analysis is presented in this paper.

The culture of the powerful industrial countries is one of the most important factors affecting lifestyles and developments in the majority of other societies in this era of globalization and information exchange. The main points in the context of cultural transactions are the type and degree of this kind of influence, which will result in either submissiveness or dominance. This domination does not come necessarily by force (military forces), but by propaganda and advertising, and imitation and repetition of cultural patterns and lifestyles in other societies, and eventually result in intellectual reformation and transformation. During the past decades, undeveloped and underdeveloped countries have taken developed countries as a model, relying on imitation and repetition of their ideas and theories as well as their behaviors in different aspects of life. In this regard, the main focus of this paper is on context and equivalents of idioms. In fact, the main question of the research is that in cultural transactions, what aspects have to be considered so that besides gaining benefit from human scientific achievements, intellectual/cultural dominance of societies be prevented. The inductive approach is the main research method, and some specific aspects will be analyzed to reach a general conclusion. Finally, two distinct cases (place and space) will be discussed. The most important results of the research are as follows: explaining the process through which space transforms to place in a city; introducing definitions of different orders of place; introducing different classifications of place; errors in current translations; and the meaning of terms in different languages in relation to their respective culture.

This research is aimed to find an energy optimization method for existing buildings in cold climate regions of Iran. In the proposed system, a secondary skin is installed against the unglazed surfaces of the southern wall, creating a Trombe-wall. The sun-facing wall is then painted in black, and covered with a transparent material like clear glass, leaving a closed air gap between them. The resultant unvented Trombe-wall increases the thermal resistance of the building envelope, and reduces heat loss while absorbing and storing solar energy at the same time. This can also cause a reduction in fluctuations of indoor air temperature. The simple way of construction, in addition to formal and spatial structure, and the materials used in building construction in cold regions make this system a feasible option to apply to urban and rural buildings.  In order to assess the thermal performance of the proposed system, the basic model was simulated in three different configurations for the sun-facing wall: with the conventional wall, with the insulated wall, and with the proposed system. The simulation was done by Energy Plus 8.0. The results of the simulation approved higher thermal performance of the proposed system as compared with the conventional wall and the insulated wall. Due to the need for providing thermal comfort conditions in buildings and preventing overheating, calculation of parameters such as dry-bulb and mean radiant temperature was done. This showed a decrease in the total heating period time, and improvement of indoor comfort in critical outdoor conditions.  The proposed system was applied to an existing building in a cold climate region, and the real-time results fairly tallied with the predictions.

The Landscape Architecture program in the educational and research system of Iran is no more than two decades old. As a professional discipline, its theoretical and practical grounds need to be developed to assist in training professionals and localization purposes. Also, training for design, as the core of the pedagogy and practice in landscape architecture, requires the broadening of concepts, procedures, and professional tools. Results of a comparative study of the course description of Design Studio I in the Master of Landscape Architecture program in Iran and that of top-ranked universities all around the world imply that Iranian landscape design programs have a less research-based curriculum. This study seeks to present a theoretical framework for the educational content of landscape design studios with a causal approach to the current courses provided in Iran-with an emphasis on Landscape Design Studio I. The survey consists of comparison of the course descriptions of Landscape Design Studio I in Iranian universities with those of top universities of other countries using random sampling. Also, semi-structural interviews were held with nine tutors of landscape design studios using the contextual survey method. Content analyses of responses demonstrate two general points of view of Iranian tutors: 1. environmental and natural values; and 2. aesthetic and architectural values of open space design. Therefore, educational contents and approaches must be more elaborated by detailed descriptions. After discussions, the proposed framework for the Landscape Design Studio I course description is introduced.

This paper provides a new system of understanding the relationship of man and the built environment. This new system is adopted from Iranian traditional medicine, which is based on philosophy of physics and traditional wisdom. In wisdom and medicine alike, anything manifested in the material world-such as humans, artifacts, and everything in their surrounding environment-has qualities known as temperaments or humors. Since these qualities are present in humans as well as the built and natural environment, they can be employed in a holistic approach to understand and explain the relationship of humans and the surrounding environment in a theoretical system of architecture. It will be named "Temperamental Architecture". In this paper, by means of logical reasoning, applicability of this approach and its issues are assessed. The paper is composed of four main parts. The first part provides an introduction and background information. The second part discusses architectural topics in traditional medicine, and how to adopt the system for architectural purposes. The third part is a brief description of philosophy of physics and the tetrad (the four elements, temperaments, or humors). Finally, the presence of the four elements in architecture is explained.