Gender Quality of Space in Rural Houses of Guilan

In addition to impressibility from geographical and continental components of region, housing architecture in rural society is influenced from general culture of villages. Therefore, rural housing is considered as a social-cultural phenomenon that from one side with the impact of cultural features of native people is the place of manifestation of cultural features and life style of the inhabitants, and on the other side influences on formation of folklore and life style, by its unique structure and physical features. Gender as a social-cultural character has mutual relation with space. This essay studies relation between gender and space and impact of this relation on rural residential architecture of Guilan and related spaces. This qualitative research is a practical-developmental one that is based on bibliographical studies and field studies, following descriptive-analytical method. Thus, field studies consist of villages from different cultural areas, east and west of Guilan. Conclusions indicate that geographic, economic, social, and cultural circumstances of rural society in Guilan influenced on women’s position in native culture of these areas and consequently form the relation between gender and space in local housing. Hence in Guilan’s rural housing, there is no requirement for spatial differentiation between men and women in the outward of buildings, but in inward of spaces, male and female ranges are separated.