Soffeh
Year:2020 | Volume:30 | Issue:90|Papers Count:7

Assistant Professor, Faculty of Engineering, Islamic Azad University, Sari Branch An understanding of the relationship between housing and the family is at the heart of any lifestyle-compliant housing design, without which no appropriate housing is feasible. Despite numerous studies about the relationship between housing and the family, no studies are found which systematically identifies and categorises this relationship. The present research intends to address the above shortcoming through a content analysis of previous research, and provide a theoretical model of how this relationship is. To do so, a qualitative approach was adopted, and using targeted sampling, an initial list of studies in this field was prepared, using library and electronic searches on resources dating from 1969 to 2018. In the final stage 77 relevant cases were shortlisted, and using content analysis, the housing and family components of the shortlist were extracted and coded. This was followed with the classification, interpretation and analysis of components, and a theoretical model of the relationship was presented. The results showed that, as emphasised by previous researches, spatial organisation is the most strongly associated aspect with the family, followed by physical characteristics, semantic orders and the behavioural settings. On the other hand, of the main five family features, the relationship between the socio-cultural characteristics of the family and housing was most emphasised, followed by the interactive-communicative, structural, economic-livelihood and demographic characteristics. To conclude, a theoretical model for the relationship between housing and family components was proposed. It is necessary to mention that this model needs to be put into test through field studies.

Case study’ is a common term in architecture referring to both the use of past projects as backdrops and a research strategy in a more general sense. Case study methodology is of particular importance in architectural pedagogy and research, because on one hand its widespread use cause confusion and weaknesses, and on the other hand having a good command of architecturally oriented features of case studies can shed light on the discipline’ s neglected aspects. The two topics studied so far in this connection are its negligence as a systematic pedagogical tool and the vagueness of the boundaries between copying and proper adoption of the studied cases. The aim of this study is to identify and assess case study techniques in two respects: methodological clarity and the ways in which case studies influence design, in order to fulfil prerequisites of its strategic organisation for the production of architectural knowledge. Nine current techniques are identified in this research. They are then positioned among four main areas, namely, ‘ clear-pedagogical’ , ‘ clear-research-oriented’ , ‘ unclear-pedagogical’ , and ‘ unclear-research-oriented’ . The results show that those techniques that are subjective and geometry-/ graphic-based are much more widely used than comparative, calculation-/ examination-based techniques. The positioning of the former show that they are limited in scope, lacking sufficient theoretical support, and mostly realised in pedagogy as paradigms rather than critical, transformational research. Apparently, the simple looks of certain techniques plus the late manifestation of their shortcomings gives the impression of their prevalence, whilst ruling them out as unhelpful can in turn result in their elimination instead of prompting attempts for their improvement.

Aiming at reducing the consumption of resources, protecting the environment, and improving human health, the green approach is one of the most important and essential approaches in architecture today, with an emphasis needed on its practical aspects in Iran. Given the rich architectural tradition of the country, which is in line with present-day green architecture attitudes, there is a lack of any recent successful projects in the country. To address the matter, a ‘ Green Guest House’ project was initiated using the project manager's experience, especially his ‘ Passive Solar House’ , in a mud architecture incarnation, in the hope that it offers a model for future developments. This small mud-brick building has no mechanical air conditioning systems and meets its thermal comfort needs through passive strategies. To prove its greenness the building required an assessment, and the LEED standard was selected as the most widely used standard, with an expanded checklist called ‘ LEED v4 for Building Design & Construction: Homes and Multifamily Low rise’ used for rating, based on which the building achieved 67 points, demonstrating high green credentials and outrating the research silver tier assumption to be gold tier. This paper introduces the project, its passive strategies and green design measures, and also presents demonstrates how it achieves this LEEDv4 rating.

After a period of decline and decay, the historic centre of Kashan has recently experienced new developments. Dilapidated, abandoned old houses have started attracting private investors’ attention, and a wave of their purchase and restoration is started. Most of these restored buildings were transformed into ‘ traditional’ hotels (boutique hotels) or other tourism-related facilities. The present research intends to investigate the effects of new investments and adaptive reuse on the historic centre of Kashan from the perspective of local communities. The old Posht-e Emarat neighbourhood was selected as the study case. The required data were collected through interviewing local residents and tradespeople as well as other visiting citizens of Kashan. The findings showed that investors’ actions have had tangible physical-environmental, socio-cultural, functional and economic results, and that local communities generally have a positive view about changes, and are satisfied with them. However, there are concerns about problems such as vehicular traffic and parking, a loss of local services, and the weakening residential aspect of the neighbourhood. Actions need to be taken, therefore, by the authorities and with investors’ and local residents’ participation, to prevent Posht-e Emarat from turning into a merely tourist destination.

Iran's strategic location in the Middle East, the continual threats by foreign countries, and the breaking out of numerous wars in its neighbouring countries, have necessitated the planning for urban spatial arrangements in order to deal with war crises. This is addressed in the Supreme Leader’ s policies, the ‘ Formation of the Passive Defence Organisation’ bill, as well as other regulations. This paper focuses on a key element of passive defence, namely, an integrated legal structure for preventive measures in Tehran’ s spatial planning. Home to over 1500 official institutions, from political to military and diplomatic, the question is about the degree to which the present legal structures are capable of supporting the city’ s passive defence, and the opportunities and obstacles on the way. To answer this question, the Delphi method has been employed to analyse subjective factors, and document and text analysis methods for objective ones. The findings of the paper shows that territorial comprehensiveness, legal dogmatism, clarity of the language, accessibility, and achieving sufficient spatial requirements generate opportunities, whilst the lack of implementation guarantees, thematic comprehensiveness, people in charge, necessary details, overlaps and conflicts, along with the openness of laws to interpretations are among treats. Furthermore, although responsible authorities are formally named, the multiplicity of institutions and their conflicts of remit, as well as their weakness in establishing horizontal lines of communication diminish both the influence and efficiency of their decision-and policy-making.

Tehran has always been vulnerable to possible earthquakes, with informal settlements being most at risk and their worn-out urban context exacerbated by socio-economic problems. Studied here, is the Farahzad neighbourhood, one of the informal settlements in Tehran, which is extremely vulnerable to earthquakes. The purpose of this study is to investigate the extent of the vulnerability in this neighbourhood by using scenario planning for possible damages and casualties. The research method is descriptive-analytical with a quantitative approach. The spatial analysis is conducted using Arcmap software, and data collection methods include the study of documents along with exploratory interviews with residents. After recognising the neighbourhood and studying its vulnerabilities using the models suggested for a possible earthquake in Tehran, the worst-case scenario is considered, namely, an earthquake caused by the fault in northern Tehran. Working out the extent of vulnerability and the degree of destruction of buildings, infrastructures, and other aspects of damages, it is concluded that the Farahzad neighbourhood would face a 65% damage to its built environment, meaning between 1153 and 1345 buildings will be damaged seriously, and human casualties would reach more than 500 people if the quake occurs at night.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the nature of the ‘ maidan’ (the Persian square) in the Iranian context, by pondering the word ‘ maidan’ and the different aspects of its meanings. To do so, we draw upon Persian dictionaries and historical texts and explore the meanings of ‘ maidan’ using linguistics techniques – such as discovering semantic fields, conceptual relationships, and metaphors – and interpretive research methods. The semantics of the maidan has evolved throughout history. Having found its origins, meanings, compounds, related concepts (synonyms, collocations, contrasts), and metaphors, we have placed ‘ maidan’ within its conceptual network and then interpreted its nature in this context. Moreover, we have explored the history of its concept based on the changes in its conceptual network throughout history. The results of this research show that the maidan as a public space involves various semantic fields implying its numerous functions and forms and clarifying its roles, and at the same time demonstrating its flexibility. The maidan, in its most comprehensive sense, has been an open territory providing opportunities for a variety of events to take place: from trading as a quotidian activity, to special ceremonies and important annual festivals attended by rulers to demonstrate their power. It has been a container providing the possibility for performing as well as watching the performers and the audience. The history if the maidan is one of evolution from that of people as mere spectators into that of people as role-players in the public domain.