Soffeh
Year:2009 | Volume:17 | Issue:47|Papers Count:12

Shahnameh, litera, “The Book of Kings”, was composed in almost pure Persian by Ferdowsi around 1000 AD. It tells the mythical and historical past of (Greater) Iran from the creation of the world up until the Islamic conquest of Persiain the 7th century.This voluminous work, regarded by Persian speakers as a literary masterpiece, also reflects Persia’s history, cultural values, ancient religions (Zoroastrianism), and a profound sense of nationhood.The book can be divided into three main successive parts: the mythical age, the heroic age and the historic age. The relatively short mythical age gives an account of the creation of the world and of the first man, or the first king. The author argues that the definition of deva and asura in this part indicates that architecture was a skill which passed to the conquering Indo- Europeans from the original inhabitants of Iran.

Design process includes a series of complicated mental processes. A designer tries to develop a concept by encompassing diverse functions and influencing factors. This paper explains the metaphor as a technique for enhancing creative thinking. In contemporary architectural design, the ability to avert from the architectural problem and revert to abstract subjects such as nature or literature is instrumental in achieving a better understanding of the subject as well as creative thinking. The culminating point in use of metaphor surpasses physical analogy in search for fundamental concepts.

The relation of technology and Modern architecture has been the subject of many accounts from different points of views.Here the author has tried to justify a point of view based on the essential relation of architecture and technology. Three groups of understanding and defining technology are introduced as three stages, and respectively their origins has been analyzed: technology as human practice, 2) technology as instrument, and 3) technology as a way of bringing forth the world or undisclosedness as Martin Heidegger has discussed. The first two stages are based on historicism and take architecture and technology as “separate objects” which have effects on one another. On the other hand in the third stage, the question is' rather upon which world-view Modern technology and Modern architecture became inevitable. We can trace the notion of Modern architecture as a new way of life and world-view in the pioneers and masters of Modern architecture which may justify of rethinking the part for technology in the rise of Modern architecture as such.

The Adelaide School of Architecture, Landscape Architecture and Urban Design has established a ‘Virtual Gallery: Web Spaces for Collaboration and Assessment: The assessment method employed in this Gallery is based on four key elements: the head of the studio; the students, evaluators or critics; and visitors.  The method increases the collaboration between students and facilitates self-assessment by students. This paper compares this method with the traditional assessment methods employed in most schools of architecture.

This paper presents a brief survey of Achaemenid art and architecture in Egypt when it was a Persian satrapy. Some of the works reviewed in this paper include: hieroglyphs inscriptions from Wadi-al-Hammamat, bas-reliefs in Memphis, Elphantin funerary inscriptions, Aramaic papyrus writings, and the Temple of Hibis in al-Khargheh Oasis. This survey thus demonstrates the influence of Egyptian art on the Achaemenid art and architecture.

The question of the optimum procedures in project-based organizations has created many patterns in the last five decades, of which, one of the most important patterns is value engineering. Value engineering has a more rather long background in the world but is very young in Iran. A review of the experience of value engineering in Iran show that we have not been successful in this respect. In this article the weak points of value engineering in Iran are discussed based on an analysis of the real projects. Our analysis shows that the weak points can be categorized in four groups: analysis of functions, organized procedure, creativity, and team work.

This paper employs a geometrical technique to determine, their original form of two historic squares in Yazd City. These two squares, Amir Chakhmaq and Shah, undergone drastic transformation due to rapid urbanization so that their original form is currently disputed. To determine the original geometric formation, this study employs the techniques for drawing perspectives on old photographs or drawings of these squares. By reversing the drawing method, the original plan and facades of the squares are reconstructed.

The urban management in Iranian metropolises represents the modernist approach to management of the country: it is non-participatory, centralized, top-down and bureaucratic management which is not committed to urban plans, but rather reacts to short-term political concerns. Despite the establishment of city councils, the current management does not accommodate a democratic local participatory management. In particular, the relationship between the city council, mayor and the citizens is not efficient. To correct the situation requires a transformation off undamental urban management mechanisms, which faces challen9, es in management, human resources, financing as wellas legal challenges.

Green spaces an parks play a key role in the quality of urban life. Their distribution in the urban environment directly affects the quality of life in the urban environment. This paper summarized the result of a study for assessing the accessibility of urban parks in Tabriz City. Using person/park and buffering methods to analyze spatial data, the study categorizes the urban green spaces based on size, type and function to examine their distribution and accessibility. The study reveals that the average green space area per capita in Tabriz City is satisfactory, yet green space distribution within the city does not correspond to population needs. The accessibility of green spaces is therefore low, in particular in the central districts.