Soffeh
Year:2020 | Volume:29 | Issue:87|Papers Count:7

The concept of "form" is among the most important concepts in the present-day architectural discourse. There is also a thought and an approach called formalism in architecture, which basically focuses on the form of the work in the absence of functional, social, and other considerations. Form is the core concept in the formalist thought; yet its countless significations on one hand, and the lack of well-organised research on its origins on the other, have hindered an understanding of the essence of formalist thought especially when it comes to architecture. The present paper studies architectural formalist thought, and attempts to find the kind of understanding of form involved there. Formalism is seen here not as an intervention approach for architects but a mode of thought among architectural scholars, critics and theoreticians. The study here is through literature on formalism and form in architecture. The architectural formalist thought has its roots in artistic currents, and is thus informed by them, and in turn influencing architectural scholars, critics and theoreticians. Three types of formalism are recognised here: formalism as a thought possessed by architectural scholars in the realm of architectural theory, formalism as a method for the analysis of architectural works, and formalism as a design method. The paper particularly focuses on formalism in the realm of architectural theory.

Music is an abstract art which tries to make connections with the world of meanings, and architecture is an applied one, which can respond to mental requirements and convey transcendental thoughts on top of responding to physical needs. They share formal denotational aspects, whether qualitative or quantitative, and many have attempted to associate the two by drawing parallels between architectural and musical works, both structurally and conceptually, and to a lesser extent, by finding common purposes between them. Trying to introduce commonalities between architecture and music, with reference to the features of Iranian architecture and music, the present paper tries to focus on their qualitative aspects. Besides theoretical debates regarding commonalities and differences between architecture and music, it seems that many audiences have had personal experiences of finding modal similarities Iranian architecture and music. The question is, therefore, that of formal and denotational commonalities between the two artforms, namely, which Iranian architecture factors make it coherent with Iranian music in the audience’ s mind? To answer, it is necessary to start with recognising the two artforms’ characteristics, particularly in their Iranian versions. This is continued with a closer scrutiny in order to extract common qualities using a hermeneutic approach. In conclusion some factors are introduced, which can be used to understand commonalities between the two, recognising that the appreciation of these commonalities might differ from one person to the other.

Liminality indicates a state of transition or being in between, as opposed to being at one. In architecture, it refers to a transition between two places on the way to arrive at a destination. The starting point of the present paper is tackling the reduction of the concept of liminality to ‘ being at a threshold’ , and thereby the threshold itself as a mere connection point and the neglect of is denotational range. The adopted method is qualitative accompanied with logical reasoning. After accurately defining the etymology of the term, and also a search for transitional zones in the literature, the views of significant architectural thinkers in this field such as Christian Norberg Schulz, Christopher Alexander, and Louis Kahn are further scrutinised. Although these thinkers have different perspectives towards the matter, they still share some common views. An investigation into their views shows that on top of wide-ranging meanings to ‘ liminality’ , there is also hierarchies in terms of objectivity-subjectivity. Liminality is also classifiable, it is shown, into four categories of the physical, the functional, the denotational, and the substantial. The paper then moves on to investigate concepts such as boundary, centre, and threshold in order to analyse the substantial and its relation with other realms. The results show that transitional zones tend to converge into the centre, which materialise in thresholds. These liminal materialisations set the limits for the adjoining centre. The investigation of the bi-existential characteristics of thresholds and their emblematic state proves the denotational stance of liminality, with its existential demand explained in relation with the audience after defining the substance of the concept at a more subliminal stage. To conclude, architectural liminality is hierarchical, and paying attention to its various denotational levels yields a deeper understanding of the concept.

To dwell means belonging to a real place, with dwelling and its qualitative concepts being among prerequisites of humanity. One of the impasses of contemporary cities, however, is the influx of people incapable of acquiring proper, quality dwellings, and thereby altering existing spaces to suit their needs with their own dwelling styles prevailing. Because of the importance of the concept of dwelling and the increasing growth of self-grown dwellings, and in order to establish clear scientific bases for the realistic planning of such dwellings, it is necessary to study how dwellings are realised. The present text, therefore, is after identifying the characteristics and aspects of dwelling concepts and methods in self-grown dwellings based on research experiences in this field. The paper is based on a fresh qualitative recognition of the aspects and styles of the lived experience of people living in these dwellings, using a descriptive-analytical method based on logico-scientific reasoning. It starts with a study of the concept of dwelling, its relation with culture, self-growing dwelling and its characteristics. It then continues with a thorough study of relevant researches in Costaricca, Indonesia, the Occupied Palestine, Spain, Egypt, Brazil, Mexico, and Pakistan, through which the concept of self-grown dwelling is introduced. The results show a consistency in dwelling-related behaviours and public spaces of these cases, which is based on their unique characteristics and limits, yielding social assets and collective identities, holding dwellers together like a big family with strong social solidarity, stimulating a sense of support, and helping individuals achieving their goals against the burdens imposed by the greater society. The analyses of the research finds the following as implicating the concept of dwelling: the spatially oriented collective identity, spatial identification, collective wisdom based on consensus, domestic security, spatial isolationism, the collective social asset, the security of occupation, cultural fusion, higher dwelling satisfaction, social power, introvert collective space, the transparency of inter-group relations, social trust, cultural dynamism, and spatial association.

Airports were initially comprised of isolated land uses in urban outskirts, but are now increasingly finding themselves within expanded towns. Local activists are, therefore, faced with a paradoxical situation: they need to emphasise the key role airports play to attract passengers on one hand, and protect the quality of life in adjoining areas on the other. In this context, the question is what are the main approaches in dealing with ramifications of inner-city airport activities: relocating them, or allowing them to carry on. The answer sought here is based on a qualitative approach and investigating a case, namely, Tehran Mehrabad Airport and its influence area in southwest Tehran (District 9). A study of global experiences highlights three solutions: continuity (a symbiosis between the city and the airport), reduction (an interaction between them), and relocation (a conflict between them). The analysis of the side effects of Mehrabad Airport activities (economically, physically, environmentally, and management-wise) shows that whilst suffering from airport activities, local residents gain little from airport operations. This is despite the fact that these activities are beneficial regionally and even nationally. The paper concludes with recommendations to mitigate the situation caused by Mehrabad Airport activities on its influence area.

Due to its location in a seismic zone on one hand, and the vulnerability caused by dereliction on the other, the District 3 of Sari is highly exposed to earthquake hazards, making the planning of post-earthquake reconstruction all the more necessary. One of the most important aspects of any such plan is attracting stakeholders’ the participation, which faces many challenges. The present paper examines appropriate forms of community participation in providing post-earthquake permanent housing in the absence of a guideline. The results of this research can enhance the effectiveness of community participation in housing reconstruction in the complicated, chaotic conditions after an earthquake. The research was conducted based on case studies using observations and semi-structured interviews, and using them to explore the main themes of community participation extracted from the literature review in the studied region. Purposeful sample selections were made and data were analysed using thematic analyses. After the validating the results of qualitative analyses through expert opinion elicitation by Delphi method, it was used to determine appropriate forms of community participation in the reconstruction of permanent housing in the District 3 of Sari. The results show that resident satisfaction is the most important ‘ participation target’ , with vulnerable households, local builders, and built-environment professionals also identified as ‘ key participants’ . With the above target, as well as time and participation capacities in mind, the ’ appropriate participation levels’ were established for each of the five stages of housing reconstruction. Based on these levels, ‘ participation methods’ including community meetings, individual interviews, and informal talks were identified as appropriate methods of participation to achieve the purposes of community participation. Finally, the ‘ required resources’ for effective stakeholder participation in post-earthquake housing were identified and categorised into four categories including social, financial, technical, and legal resources.

While in contemporary Iran, educated architects are titled muhandis (engineer) or muhandis-i mi’ mā r (architectural engineer), in Europe where is the origin of modern Iranian architectural education, it is not common to title architects as such at all. The same title in Persian, muhandis, is commonly used to address graduates in other technical disciplines (mechanic engineer, civil engineer, etc. ). Having the same signifier for different signifieds implies that there is some common cultural aspect to the matter. This article aims to study the transformation of the concept of muhandis in the first half of the Qajar period, especially the Fath-Ali-Shah’ s reign, through a conceptual history approach and by taking an interpretive-historical method. The study suggests that in the early Qajar period, muhandis started to denote a person less concerned with architecture but more concerned with surveying and fortification. Even though in pre-modern Iran eminent experts in other fields concerned with handasa (geometry) used to be called muhandis (a person who knows geometry) too, in this period, the term chiefly denoted the Iranian architects and engineers who had been educated in Europe. Gradually, the architecture of non-military buildings was delegated to this latter group of muhandiss, which implies that they were the transmitters of European architecture to Iran too.