gholamhossein memarian

A clear relationship exists between human personality and architectural preferences. However, reviewing the findings of previous studies reveals that this expectation is not necessarily accurate, as contradictory results have been reported. This study aims to review various research and assessment methods used in previous studies for assessing the relationship between personality and architectural preferences and identify the theoretical and practical shortcomings of each method.

This is a critical review study. A search was conducted in Google Scholar and Web of Science database for published articles in English using the following keywords: “Visual aesthetics,” “personality traits,” “architectural preferences,” “art preferences,” and “aesthetic judgments.” These articles were first categorized into four groups based on their methodological approaches (physiological, neurobiological, practical, and psychological) and then their degree of success and generalizability were assessed briefly. Finally, due to having lower implementation limitations and a higher theoretical background, the group using the psychological approaches was structurally analyzed from the methodological and practical aspects to develop a conceptual quadruple model. After presenting the model, neural network modeling was used to discover of hidden patterns.

Based on the analysis of the reviewed studies, the psychological approach was a more feasible option for assessing the relationship between personality and architectural preferences. The quadruple model that proposed for this purpose included aesthetic variables/environmental stimuli, context, personality traits, and responses. The machine learning method facilitated the discovery of hidden patterns in relationship between personality and human preferences.

This study proposes a new systematic quadruple model for evaluating aesthetic preferences.

Climate Change has revealed the necessity of attention to the issue of water in different fields such as architecture. Water use management in arid and semi - arid climates of Iran has long been considered by the scientific and executive community of the country, but these considerations are not considered in humid regions, especially the Caspian Sea. This lack of attention to the subject of water in the studies of Rural Architecture in the area of Mazandaran is under conditions that the structures of buildings are shaped by water. The purpose of this paper is to analyze feasibility of developing rainwater harvesting systems in rural housing of Mazandaran province according to the compatibility in three dimensions of social, physical and institutional. This paper is an applied and quantitative research. the data were classified into three groups: physical, social and technical. This paper is an applied and quantitative research. The data were classified into three groups of physical, social and technical. Quantitative data analysis was done by Delphi method and Kolmogorov-Smirnov test by SPSS.24 software.  The study area is the villages of Mazandaran province (Parsi, Shaneshar, Diva, Kabarakla, Kotna and Varki villages) which are divided into three groups of "mountainous", "foothill" and "plain".
The results show that participation in the development of rainwater harvesting in mountain and foothill regions of the province is close to each other, but in plain villages, social adjustment is lower than average. In the physical dimension, the adaptation of rural architecture is above average and this consistency in all three types of villages is almost close to each other. the results show that participation in the development of rainwater harvesting in mountain and foothill regions of the province is close to each other, but in plain villages, social adjustment is lower than average. In the physical dimension, the adaptation of rural architecture is above average and this consistency in all three types of villages is almost close to each other. Therefore, the physical structure and architecture of rural housing of Mazandaran have the potential to develop rainwater harvesting systems; But in the institutional dimension, Rural Management capacities are more than average and can prevent the development of rainwater harvesting systems in the villages of Mazandaran.

This research aims to examine how the World Architecture survey course is taught in Iranian universities so as to prepare the ground for changing its curriculum to make it more inclusive and diverse. The research participants are nine lecturers who teach world architecture in nine public universities, selected through purposive sampling. The data was collected through interviews and analyzed thematically and continued until saturation. The analysis revealed six main themes: teacher’s motivations, student learning outcomes, teaching approaches, teaching strategies, materials, and teaching problems. The findings indicate that the lecturers are graduates of architecture programs who are interested in history or have researched architectural history. The main student’s learning outcome is to strengthen their design skills by studying world architecture. Lecturers use a combination of eight teaching approaches: analytical, comparative, conceptual, contextual, cross-cultural, descriptive, historiographical and typological. They face several problems, such as limited time, low priority of the course in the curriculum, lack of reliable sources written in Persian, and difficulty of visiting historical monuments abroad. By exploring the motivations, outcomes, approaches, strategies, materials, and problems of teaching world architecture in Iran, this research contributes to the literature on architectural education and offers recommendations for curriculum development and innovation.

The consumption of fossil fuels has caused increasing environmental problems and replacing them with renewable energies is one of the necessities of today's world. The purpose of this research is to identify and investigate the climate components of Kashan in order to provide climate-friendly house design solutions that will reduce the consumption of fossil fuels and replace renewable energies. The spatial scope of the research is Kashan and the time span is 2007 to 2019. The research method is descriptive and analytical. This study is innovative because of the analysis of climatic components for Kashan and the presentation of a mixed table and some solutions that are specific to Kashan. The results of this research are expressed in two areas: the explanation of the climatic components of Kashan and its comparison with the past, and practical solutions to achieve climate-friendly architecture.

In recent decades, environmental psychology has been accepted as the basic knowledge of human-environment studies in many interdisciplinary fields, including architecture and urban planning. The present study aims to generally introduce environmental psychology and show how the studies in this field have been developed and what the most popular research topics and approaches are in this field. To this end, the present research follows two main paths. The first path includes the bibliometric analysis of the articles indexed in the Scopus database between 1972 and 2022, which included the keyword "environmental psychology", and the second path includes the content analysis of 40 most cited articles (out of the abovementioned articles). The analyses were carried out by asking key people and sources and investigating major research areas, the importance, and priority of topics, research approaches, and research examples. The results indicate that environmental psychology research can be classified into four main subject clusters including "sustainability", "place", "mental health", and "consumer behavior". Moreover, behavioral and cognitive approaches were identified as the most important and widely used psychological approaches in analyzing human-environment relations. Most studies have been conducted in urban spaces, followed by commercial, residential, educational, and work environments, respectively. These studies have been carried out on various scales, from macro scales such as planning to micro scales such as interior design. A significant number of studies have focused on human perception and evaluation of environmental qualities and their results such as satisfaction and place preference. The health area has been raised in this field in recent decades and is still considered a growing area. The issue of place attachment has been raised as one of the issues receiving researchers' attention, with continuous growth throughout the studied period.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the variables that form the courtyard system of Kashan houses (from a morphological point of view), to improve the climatic comfort of the house in Kashan and to determine the significant of correlation between them. These variables include length, width, height, courtyard elongation, garden pit, pond area, garden area, number of courtyard, number and location of the Sardab and Houzkhane and the orientation of the courtyard. The study area of the old urban fabric of Kashan, which is surrounded by Jalali fort and the statistical population is houses in the old part of city. The type of applied research and descriptive research method is using statistics, analysis based on SPSS outputs and content analysis. In this study, twenty houses were selected as a sample from the statistical population and each of the research variables was reviewed based on field visits and written sources and checked for Pearson correlation and summarized by content analysis and then concluded. This study is innovative in terms of number and type of variables and examining the correlation between variables for the courtyard of Kashan houses. The results show that the central courtyards of Kashan have an average area of 440.6 m2, length 33.8 m, width 17.5 m, body depth 6.75 m, central courtyard elongation 1.38, pond area 48.7 m2 The area of the garden is 86.6 m2, the percentage of the area of the pond from the yard is 10.98, the percentage of the area of the garden from the yard is 19.7, the average number of yards is 1.55, the average number of Sardaab is 1.75, 50% have a pond and 70% have a garden pit and 65% have a southeast orientation. have a .  The variables of width and length and yard area and pond area and garden area are correlated with each other and yards with an area of more than 500 square meters have two Sardab.

Considering roads just in terms of their connecting role and ignoring their importance as an asset and wealth has led to paying no attention to them as cultural-historical, natural and dynamic places. This study aims to provide a logical framework on how to conserve these historical resources in Iran by taking advantage of global experiences and principles of dynamic conservation.
Methodology The current qualitative study was done using the content analysis method and inductive reasoning process in 2022 and 10 relevant articles were selected. Primary codes on "historical and cultural roads conservation principles" and a "framework to protect historical and cultural roads" were identified and extracted. The analysis process (feedback loop) was done step-by-step according to inductive reasoning and the subcategories were classified into some core categories according to the primary codes' differences and similarities.

The frequency of those categories relevant to the conservation of cultural routes and historical roads including strategic management, protecting the assets and wealth, sustainable economic development, recognition of assets and wealth, flexibility, and education, development of knowledge and creative interpretation were 44, 37, 24, 17, 15 and 14 times, respectively. While, the frequency of those categories relevant to the framework of the historical and cultural roads conservation including "future decision-making", "recognition of the assets and wealth in the historical road corridors", "networking and synergy, analysis of the historical road importance", "formation of the roads semantic network" and "defining the historical roads corridors" were 26, 20, 16, 14, 8and 2 times.

In order to plan for the historical roads and conserve them dynamically, "defining of the historical road corridor", "formation of the semantic network of the historical road", "recognition of the assets and the wealth and understanding the importance of the historical roads corridor" "the analysis of the historical roads' importance", "networking and synergy" and " decision making for future" were of great importance.

In the past decades, under the influence of Postcolonial theories and their critiques on the Eurocentrism prevalent in architectural history, the curriculum and textbooks of architectural history survey courses have changed in some European and North American countries. The purpose of these changes is decolonizing the curriculum to achieve a more balanced representation of global architectural history. However, in Iran, these kinds of revising curriculum are not observable. Thus, it raises the question of: is there a necessity to make amendments in the “world architecture” course in Iranian architectural education system? To answer that, one needs to clarify whether the “world architecture” course in Iran is also “Eurocentric”, or it has its unique characteristics. The world of world architecture course is a constructed object, rather than it being ahistorical, universal, and natural. Nevertheless, it is not clear what this world is and what it has to do with our past and our present problems. To understand this constructed world and our place in it, we need to map its conceptual geography. One way of recognizing the constructed “world” is to analyze the texts that make it visible. Since the questions of “world architecture” in the university entrance exams are good representatives of the dominant discourse of the curriculum planning and teaching of this course, the authors have conducted a qualitative content analysis of the tests related to this subject in centralized entrance exams for the Master of Architecture (M.Arch.) programs from 2002 to 2021. The aim of this research is to shed light on the ways of the world-making in the questions of “world architecture”. To this end, we coded 165 tests in Atlas.ti software and extracted the main constitutive categories of world architecture from them. Then, we developed a coding framework and analyzed the relations of the emerged categories with each other. To conclude, the constructed “world” in world architecture tests belong to the European ‘man’, whose cultural and geographical canon is Italy and the city of Rome and the Renaissance and Baroque periods are most significant historical periods for him. From all monuments of all times in the world, the constructions related to Christianity —like churches, baptisteries, abbeys, and monasteries— have an exceptional importance. In other words, the analysis of the tests reveals that the Eurocentric approach to world-making is dominant in the discourse of world architecture in the Iranian education system. This Eurocentric world not only dominates, but also fails to establish a meaningful connection with its “Others” in the Global South. In this way of world-making, the history of non-European, their constructions, their periodization, and architectural styles are placed in a lower position than those of Europeans and are considered just a prelude to the history of European architectural achievements.

Climatically, the orientation of the courtyard effectively controls the receipt of renewable energy from wind and radiation. Thus, the type of activity on each side of the courtyard can be affected by the house's orientation. This study aimed to investigate the correlation between the orientation of the courtyard and the number and position of sides in K houses. The study area was the old fabric of Kashan, and its statistical population was Qajar houses in the area of Jalali fortification. The type of research is applied, and the research method is historical. In this study, 20 Qajar houses from the Kashan Cultural Heritage Organization were chosen, each with a distinct orientation, the number of sides, and elongation. Each research variable was investigated through field visits and written sources, and SPSS outputs based on Pearson correlation. This study is innovative in terms of subject matter. The results showed no significant correlation between gradual change of orientation and change in the number or position of sides or elongation, but there are relationships; all cases have a north and south side. In the southwest and southeast orientation, most cases had an east side.

To reach greater efficiency, traditional houses have experimentally achieved principles and patterns over time that are repeated explicitly or implicitly in all houses. Providing great harmony with the culture and climate of the region, some of these principles are used in a larger spatial or temporal range and some in a smaller range. The study aims to identify and study the principles and physical patterns of traditional houses in Kashan by providing examples. The research is applied and qualitative and uses descriptive and analytical methods based on case studies. Data collection was conducted through field surveys and studying written sources. The scope of the study is the traditional houses of Kashan in Jalali fort during the Qajar and First Pahlavi period. The case study consists of eight houses that were randomly selected from the collection of houses of the Kashan Cultural Heritage Organization. The findings of this study are categorized into three main patterns: the pattern of relationships with the surroundings and the city, the pattern of spatial arrangement and formation, the pattern of activity and functions. These patterns include eight principles: in harmony with the context, simplicity of the external body, negative space as a forming center, coherence of the positive space, sequential and articular spatial arrangement, confidentiality, variety of functional spaces, and multiple sides for different activities. The results of this research show how houses are formed based on the mentioned patterns and principles starting from the courtyard and evolving to the relationships with the city back and forth. By explaining these principles, this research can pave the way for recognizing other principles and patterns that shape traditional houses.

In comparison to urban texture, contemporary texture, which is formed from the beginning of the present century, occupies less space and was formed based on pedestrian connection. Contemporary texture was on a gradual increase and there was a relative correlation between needs of residents and building of infrastructures,providing services which because of this, there was a balance between residential and other users. The new needs were not forced on texture’s space structure and idea of “housingrepair” was popular as oppose to the idea “housingreplacement”. But since the beginning of 40s(Persian calendar),Due to numerous reasons such as the overwhelming effect of foreign culturecompared to past, sheer residential use of the space and high dependency on new cities facilities has put historical textures among  one of the most unbalanced urban textures. This has been an ongoing process and majority of historical textures and their residents are facing new problems and unstable factors on daily basis. Some experts believe that there had been a continuous trend previously and recent occurrences has caused an interruption in history. There are two completely different perspectives regarding this issue, one believes that there has been a continuity in different eras of the history but the other believes that due to interruption, these eras are not necessary part of an evolution. However this continuity throughout the 3000 years up to beginning of the present century has been confirmed by many experts.
Historians and social theorists have different views on the historical course of these issues in Iran, which are classified into three categories. Based on this, and given the fact that the historical-social dimensions have had a definite influence on the architecture of Iran, the impact of different views on history can be traced back to architecture, with the difference that the reflection of social change on architecture has taken place with a slight delay, which includes the past six decades. Accordingly, this study has raised some questions as following: What are the elements and components of continuity as oppose to interruption in a social life zone such as historical textures? Which factors and bases effective in birth of these two perspectives are the most important from experts’ point of view?
Gathering and measuring the importance of elements and components of continuity and interruption perspectives in historical texture is the objective of this study. Initially, the elements and components of these perspectives are found through review of sources and exploratory interviews with experts and after categorizing them into different dimensions, they are measured and weighed firstly by the number of references and then the surveys completed by experts. The examples are drawn from scholars of sociology and architecture using snow ball sampling method. The credibility of experts measurement is surely more than number of references (due to importance of components localism and extent of sources), but alignment of these two methods can be a reliant factor in giving importance to the dimension and components. Also, it is visible that this interruption has influenced all social aspects and Iran’s architecture and urbanization consecutively. By considering the consequences of interruption, future urban and architectural plan should be prepared in a way which could close the gap between past and present.

Review and continuation of the physical evidence can be pursued over a long period in Iranian architecture; however, the architecture of modernity occurred in  persistence of Iranian architecture. The past architecture and discontinuity can be the factors deemed to avoid identity. Facing tradition against contemporary ideas is now a challenge in many primeval countries. Lack of intimacy and compliance has grown up so that fewer ones can establish a logical architectural connection with the past. Gaps in the historical structures are often visible all over the country. This paper is examining the historical break in the continuum or dimension of the recent historical contexts relying on the opinion of experts in this field. For this purpose, two different concepts are studied to achieve the new categories available in the recent events of the last six decades. The questions in this research are as follows: a. Have the experts named the recent developments in architecture of historical context and to what extent do they believe in discontinuity or break? b. What are the categories available about the issue of continuity and stability in the two historical contexts? Based on the research methodology, this article is a comprehensive review of the existing resources and library records in case of historical break or continuum. After summing up the new categories, for providing reliable data, resulted survey and reports were amended by interviewing the experts.  Snowball sampling method was used in this research.  At first, experts were divided into three groups according to their opinions. The first two groups believe that discontinuity and deviance is happening in the last decade but the third groups believe this is related to the all-historical periods.

Over the past few decades and aligned with the beginning of energy crisis in the world, many efforts were made in order to reduce energy consumption in the construction sector and this droved humanity to use natural energies. Since there are limited source of energy in the world, many countries are aiming to achieve sustainable developments. In our country, there are various climate zones and weather conditions during different seasons. In this regard, traditional architecture has created rational solutions based on the type of building, the activity carried out in it, and the climate of the area, to provide comfortable conditions for humans. By investigating past architectures, we can see that providing thermal comfort for humans was carried out with utilizing maximum natural energy. Defining human comfort range precisely in each climate zone is one of the best ways for designing natural factor-based buildings. It can be assumed that using native and traditional methods is one of the best solutions that can be used to solve the problems created by modern buildings. Iranian traditional architecture is one aspect of sustainable architecture, which was responsive to environmental factors and energy efficiency, both in terms of low initial cost and current and functional price of the building. Despite all technological difficulties, the traditional architect has general understanding of his surrounding climatic concepts and chooses the right proportion and orientation in order to move toward a sustainable architecture. Light plays a significant role in architecture; hence, architects and designers use light extensively in various fields to create unique spaces. In this paper, the authors aimed to study the characteristics of considering climate in term of energy issues in Kashan and in functions such as houses that have the most usage among architectural functions. The methods of research in this study are both qualitative and quantitative, and in sample recognition phase, the qualitative research method was used. First, the basic knowledge was completed by collecting information from library resources and field observations. And then a quantitative research method was used to analyze and evaluate the data obtained from recognition phase. Therefore, in this study, one of five-door-room in the Boroujerdi homes was selectively modeled in Google sketchup 3D software and then analyzed by Ecotect’s software, with the aim of investigating the effects of shadow depths on space quality, recognition of native pattern and building architecture, and the amount of light and the energy received by different spaces. To enhance the accuracy of the studies, analyzes were carried out on two days, one in summer and another in winter, which had the greatest difference regarding the state of the sun, and to assure the accuracy of measurements carried out for sun lifetime and daylight, the investigations were carried out in three different hours per each day (9 Am, 12 Pm, 15 Pm). Light is one of the main types of renewable energy, and from long ago its usage was one of the primary concerns of humans. By proper analysis and with the use of architectural discipline solutions, residential buildings with efficient principles, less costly models, and more comfort can be achieved. At the Boroujerdi House, the traditional architect considered particular climate issues and successfully was able to provide thermal comfort and optimal lighting of the five-door-space, which is largely consistent with the foundations of sustainable architecture. The five-door-room in the Boroujerdi House can be considered a favorable and optimal space in terms of lighting and energy reception level, and its architect can be considered a successful and acceptable example in terms of climate situation. Using sunlight to provide the necessary lighting for the whole day and providing the required energy maximally in the cold days have resulted in the definition and responsiveness of space toward the needs in two levels, so that the required light would not be less than a minimum amount, and on the other hand, a part of the building which is defined for specific usage and is dependent on the needs of its user, will respond to other needs which is providing and supplying energy in cold season. It seems that in Iranian houses, the proportions and symmetry of eaves have an important role on receiving the solar energy and providing thermal comfort. This has significant importance for studying and for importing it in modern designs. The design of the Boroujerdi House contributes to the continuity of senses and the quality of space, increases the life span of space, and the user can spend more time in this space with a reasonable amount of light change.

Certain theorists of architecture and cultural-studies scholars have pointed out the mutual interrelationship of physical characteristics of dwelling in each region with the lifestyle of its indigenous residents. Therefore, a better understanding of the physical characteristics of residences would clarify how cultural and environmental circumstances affected settlement practices of local residents. As a primary abode, the very first experiences and memories of the human beings are framed via dwelling has important role in forming their worldview. Therefore, understanding the forming factors and their impact mechanism on form and spatial structure of vernacular dwelling would play an important role in understanding the Quality of residential life.
Today shortage of designerly attention to lifestyle and the attractive nuances of vernacular architecture are at the grassroots of identity crisis and lack of quality space in residential architecture. Thus in this research, existential reasons of these elements in Boshrouyeh houses is investigated. Boshrouyeh is a city in southern Khorasan province, which seventy percent of its historical residences have still sustained and considered as one of the intact valuable urban fabric in the whole province.
Historical residences and valuable urban fabric they have formed have been greatly endangered by the unconscionable contemporary interventions. The shortage of current available resources calls for a further analysis of the constructional and spatial elements of these houses particularly in this specific region. While modern housing practices have totally chosen a different language, still there is much to learn from vernacular housing in sense their behavioral suitability, privacy, multiplicity of spatial functioning and climatic logic.
The main objective of this research is to identify residential spatial typology and the formation of each type’s characteristics in the study area. The research has employed a combined strategy of descriptive, interpretive and historical methods. The data has been collected via field surveys and questioners and interviews were conducted with the residents.
This study benefits from two inquiry methods in order to target spatial organization and dwelling properties that are as the following: 1. Ethnography; to study the living style and behavioral and activity systems
2. Typology of space and dwelling patterns.

The Kurdistan of Iran is one of the regions widely disregarded in the historical architectural study or architectural analysis, especially during the Islamic era. Studying the mosques of this region can lead to a deeper understanding of Iranian architecture in this era. This paper aims to introduce the characteristics of mosques by categorizing them through a typological approach. For this purpose, 27 of historical mosques in the region are studied and their main repetitive spatial units are considered as the basis of the typology. The compositional models of these mosques, from the simplest to the most complicated form regarding different combinations, are each separately introduced. Following these introductions, the relation of each type with simpler earlier types is discussed and it is maintained that all types are inter-related. The pillared shabestān is the most fundamental spatial unit of these mosques, which is the core unit in almost all examples and all types. Other units such as the iwān and rāhros are organized around it and define the first type of historical mosques in Kurdistan. The second type, which includes mosques with interior courtyards, combines the regional/traditional model of the first type with that of the mosques of central Iran. This second type of mosques includes a shabestān with hujrehs dispersed on three sides of the courtyard. These two main types include some sub-types and variations differing in the presence or the number of iwāns and rāhros. Based on these facts, a typology is suggested and is comprehensively illustrated in a table in the final section of the paper.

Covering one of the most important spaces, domes have a magnificent role in Persian mosques. During continuous eras of Islamic architecture masons could promote this techno-spiritual heritage and developed its spatial value. This process reached its apogee in Safavid era. Overshadowing Shia conceptual system carved the cultural context of Safavid society and consequently changed its architectural features. In this context, Safavid illustrious domes acquired modern roles and were dressed differently.
In previous studies symbolic meanings of domes have been analyzed mostly in two major groups of “positivist-narrative” and “mystical-hermeneutic” approaches. The followers of traditionalism school by applying mystical-hermeneutic approach have suggested some general meanings for most of dome cases in the entire Islamic world. Manifestation of symbolic meanings such as heaven, paradise, sky and unity is proposed by these scholars. On the other hand, positivist art and architectural historians by utilizing a narrative approach has criticized the traditionalism school. They believe tying any meaning to a traditional architectural element requires achieving clear historical evidences that could be gathered through field studies. Meanwhile there are limited group of scholars that benefit from both hermeneutic and narrative methods. Although they accept the central concept of embodiment of Islamic meanings in the buildings, they provide historical subjective evidences for their arguments.
This paper aims to investigate the meaning of Safavid domes by using “Narrative - Hermeneutic” approach. Appropriately, the hypothesis of embodiment of the meaning of a holy tree, called Tuba in Safavid illustrious domes is examined by means of two questions. The first question looks for the original meaning of Tuba in Safavid cultural context which has been studied in a separate paper. That paper indicates that the term Tuba is only mentioned once in the Quran, However its attributes can be ascertained from various hadiths and other relevant references. Additionally, in his The Red Intellect, Sohrevardi describes this tree. Accordingly, Tuba is a divine, tall, with a long shadow tree that is one of the blessings in heaven. The second question is concerned about Tuba’s probable relationships to illustrious Safavid domes. Consequently, to find out the answer characteristics of the two main domes in Madrese Chāhār-bāgh (Soltānī school) and Masjid-i Jamī Abbāsī (Shāh mosque) at Isfahan are analyzed in three spatial scales including the city, the building and the dome chamber. Accordingly, images of the domes in city sky line, dome’s silhouette and shape, outer and inner ornaments as well as the content of dome’s inscriptions are studied.
In the urban scale, western traveler’s description as well as studying the city sky line represents a modern picture that forms in the Safavid capital. The picture that displays raised huge domes in the verdure background of the Isfahan as a garden city. In an architectural scale, the projected shape of the dome constructed on a tall drum represents the form of an abstract tree that dominates the mosque and the school and their surrounding area. This image can be better realized by looking to the decorative layer of two domes. Both cases are covered by lavish vegetal decorative patterns drawn on a turquoise background that encompasses the outer and inner shell of the dome. This layer dresses the abstract shape of domes and illustrates an objective tree free standing beyond the city skyline.
Moreover, studying the buildings inscriptions may reflect the indicated concepts and intention of their builders and providers. Acordingly inscriptions of main spaces including the entrance (pishtaq), the foyer (hashti), Qibla ivan and minarets were survived. Almost all the inscriptions in both monuments reflect the three main concepts. Inscriptions in both monuments reflect the scientific superiority and spiritual grandeur of Imam Ali. Simultaneously in Madrese Chāhār-bāgh the value of knowledge and in Masjid-i Jamī Abbāsī the importance of congregational mosque are mentioned in different ways. More precisely investigation of dome chamber inscriptions reflects some indicated concepts. Unlikely to the most of dome chambers the applied inscriptions in both cases hardly contain Quranic verses. They mostly include those hadiths and quotes that clarify the role of Imam Ali as the first Imam and also successor and brother of the prophet. More importantly, the mihrab inscription at Madrese Chāhār-bāgh, as the focal element for meaning manifestation in dome chamber, represents the night journey and the ascension of Prophet Muhammad and describes his meeting with the holy tree of Tuba.
Finally, qualitative analysis (comparing and content analysis) of the findings evaluated the paper’s hypothesis in three criteria of “logical consistency”, “truthfulness probability” and “completeness”. In the first criterion, the paper indicates on the logical consistency of this hypothesis. Paper findings in the second criterion demonstrate the truthfulness probability for embodiment of the meaning of Tuba. Eventually the last criterion suggests that provided evidences cannot support the completeness of the hypothesis. All in all, this paper suggests that core concept of Tuba tree as the most truthful explanation for the meaning of studies domes.

Patkâné، Based on Pirnia’s definition is formed out of tiers of niche. Each tier is projected and extended farther out from the course bellow. Development of this element has led to conformation of one of the most interesting and complicated vaults in Persian architecture that mostly is not known as a single vaulting type due to its similarity to some other ones. This paper arranged to answer a fundamental question that “What is the essence of Patkâné as a vaulting type? To answer this question، the paper reviews the historical background of formation of Patkâné through referring primitive cases. Consequently، data about these cases is gathered through “Direct observation” and surveying of selected cases، “in-depth interviews” with contemporary traditional architects (Masons) and studying limited available written references. Then، formal and structural geometry of the cases is presented by the means of preparing 3D-Model of their structure and architecture. And finally، comparing and analysis of findings through a descriptive-analytic method result in achieving to a deeper understanding about essence of Patkâné and its elements. Accordingly Patkâné since its appearance is relative with the concept of creation of squinches in dome chambers of pre-Islamic architecture. In the next era development of technical science of Muslim architects led in the formation of ribbed arch which was covered by to niches. This structural element applied in four corners of transitional zone of dome chamber as a promoted solution. Finally، in the mid of the fourth century combination of ribbed arches in different levels resulted in formation of stratified space under the ribbed arches and consequently horizontal and vertical development of niches. This made a single new vaulting type which can be called as Patkâné.

Considering the acceptance of culture as the principle predictorof understanding housing elements, including religious and behavioral patterns, is becoming increasingly important. This understanding can be clearly visualized in a city such as Kerman. Kerman is located in South-East of Iran andhas a diverse culture witha residential district in which Muslims, Zoroastrians, and Jews liveside by side in harmony. In this paper, the impact of religious and behavioral patterns on the interactive structure of houses, which belong to the followers of the above mentioned religions, will be explained.The results of this study could be used as a practical guideline and framework by the planners who are organizing approachesfor designing and renovating buildings in these districts. The paper implements a combinationalresearch method using documentation, field study, interviews, observation and logical reasoning in order to discuss the matter of privacy and hospitality and its impacts on formation of the houses. Furthermore, apart from the study of ethnography, the paper demonstratesthe fact that there are at least two impressive layers affecting the traditional architectural housing in Kerman. The first layer is derived from the dominant cultural patterns of privacy; respecting the rights of neighbors and hospitality that are acceptable by all religions.Adhering to these two principles is practical even today. Moreover, the second layer affecting the architectural housing of the Jews and Zoroastrians is derived from their traditions and religious beliefs.

Saqqa-nefar is a two-storey timber or partially-timber structure used during Ashura event, which is celebrated each year on the anniversary of martyrdom of Imam Hussein and his supporters. The main ceremony is held in another building called Takiyeh. A Saqqa-nefar is usually erected in front of the Takiyeh in commemoration of Abolfazl, Imam Hussein’s heroic brother. Younger generation thus sits in the Saqqa-nefar while the elderly prefer the Takiyeh. The first floor of Saqqa-nefar is open on four sides, while the ground floor may be partially closed depending on its location. These structures demonstrate a synthesis of vernacular architecture of Northern Iran with that of Shiite religious rituals.

To express religious and mythic themes and overcome gaps between conscious and unconscious part of his mind, human being needs symbol and symbolization. Symbols appear in different forms such as dreams, folk tales, myths, natural objects and arts. In architecture, the application of symbols is the strongest and the most expressive from of all arts. Today, symbolic language, in architecture, has become the same as impartial and negative terms and the wittnessing relationships denoting the definition not only is not a factor to improve its interactions in space but also has changed to self-alienation. This article is trying to answer the question whether it is possible to express the concept of ascension emanated through architectural framework through finding archetypal semantic commonalities existing in the human ego and which consists of three sources as the universal myths, symbol and dream? This concept is the only one model in archetypal concepts therefore with finding the remaining concepts derived from the archetypes can be reached the pattern language in architecture to upgrade the human interaction with architectural space and designers and architects could use this language as a timeless and eternal way and apply other factors affected by context and styles of architecture as spatiotemporal ones.

This research experimentally analyzes the issue of Sociopetaloid of architecture space. Sociopetal represents spaces where people come together or stay away from each other, and when they stay away from each other it is also called sociofugal. The research methodology was primarily compiled by presenting a pattern with a theoretical standpoint regarding the Sociopetaloid of space using hypothesis testing with a case study with the aid of polling, first on-site presence technique, then a cognition map tool and a questionnaire.7 public spaces were selected amongst 3 distinguished independent the university of science and technology(IUST) faculty buildings for the case study. The data underwent correlative analysis using the SPSS statistical software and meaningful relations were determined between the variables affecting Sociopetaloid. The following main results were achieved in this research: • The psychological-social factors of users directly influenced the Sociopetaloid of the public architecture space and were considered as an establisher. • Physical-spatial factors influence Sociopetaloid. This influence has two types; one with "direct affordance" and another with "indirect affordance". • Sociopetaloid of public space is achieved with proper synthesis of the spatial- physical elements of architecture and psychological-social elements of users. This Sociopetaloid increases with a high synomorphy between the space physic and interpersonal behaviors.

According to Islamic teachings, human being moves towards perfection if conditions conducive to His/her calmness are realized at home. According to this view, 'house' represents 'family' and a Muslim's home is regarded as Sacred and private. There is an inherent tendency in human being towards privacy, the most important of which is realized at home. Therefore, if privacy is trespassed at home, it may no longer serve as a home. As traditional houses have assumed a more architectural manifestation due to religious principles (Shariah), identifying these principles and converting them into housing rules and regulations are among the major concerns of urban planners. This study introduces, analyzes, and compares privacy and hospitality pattern in the nomad's tents and permanent dwellings through a combined method. In this paper, some of the behavioral patterns related to the privacy, as mentioned in Holy Quran’s verses, are introduced. The evidence also comes from religious texts showing that nomads’, Muslims’ and Zoroastrians’ tents in Kerman have been influenced by religious beliefs. The findings of this study stress the need for privacy and shows that there is a direct relationship between the concept of family in a culture and the scale of privacy and territory.

In people-environment relationship lived-experience is likely to be a significant component of place meaning known as phenomenological works that attribute to understanding unconcealed environmental properties and meanings. In this article a group of selected persons was conducted to find out the emotional dimensions of a place named Shavadan. Shavadan found as a sophisticated underground space of Iranian houses in Dezful. It looks like – but really it is not - a segregated part from the whole configuration of a house. This place with 5-15 meters depth has been excavated completely under the ground with access to a series of stairs mostly from the courtyard. This study regards to human well-being and his demands and focuses on the non-physical human needs that mostly are not responded. The main problem is that while human live in architectural contemporary modern places, the answers to his emotional demands are totally incomplete. There are different places throughout Iranian traditional architecture in which dwellers positively might be influenced in interaction with whole space. Throughout the variety of indigenous house typology in Iran, searching a variety of indoor residential spaces, mostly the private types, and the case study was selected in Dezful city for its existing residents and special distinctive properties of Shavadan that cannot be easily found in modern buildings. Shavadan which means a dark place is used during hot summer days. It has been excavated completely under the ground with access to a series of stairs mostly from the courtyard. There is a peculiar feature where the walls and roof are exactly in the form of buried/ dug ground but not an ordinary ground, which looks like an integrated screen of stony texture. Geologically, Dezful’s earth is sedimentary rock, called conglomerate. Consequently, among the verities of living spaces, at the time of long hot summer days, even the total shadowed parts of semi-open space “Iwan” are uncomfortable, and there fore the residents move to Shavadan till the heat intensity would drop at about sunset. Concerning the non-physical aspects of Shavadan, the person’s image of being in a living space, taps into a personal experience, never studied before to understand its nature. To learn about such kind of place that is meaningful to people, a phenomenological study and 20 semi-structured interviews conducted to find ant the human experiences in the mentioned place. Here, the research questions are based on two matters of what people do experience in interaction with place and how they experience it. Two groups of people participated for interviews inside Shavadan the first group had no experience, so they perceived the place for the first time; and the second one the local people experience it they lived in the place, experienced it and communicated with it by their occupation of the space. The feelings and emotions of the member of two mentioned groups were conveyed through their non-physical interaction with the environment. The qualitative thematic analysis reveals phenomena such as distinctiveness, tranquility, relief as well as thoughtfulness, etc.

Culture is the principal element in forming houses and it also plays an important role in social sustainability. In this way, it will become so important to survey in vernacular culture in order to recognize behavioral patterns of divers religions and nations. Nevertheless, the impressive factors of culture in a human made environment such as the one in city of Kerman, which has diversity in cultures and residential districts belong to Muslims, Zoroastrians, and Jewish people, have been ignored partly. So, planners have been faced with problems in codifying and organizing guidelines for designing and renovation approaches in these districts. In this paper, the matter of privacy and hospitality in Islamic culture and impacts of that on the formation of houses will be discussed through the sacred text of Quran by using the combining research method, logical reasoning and ethnography. Furthermore, it refers to the Torah and Avesta and demonstrates that the first impressive layer on the architecture of Kerman houses initiates from Islamic culture, as a predominant one there, in some principals such as privacy, neighborhood rights, and hospitality. Moreover, it shows that the second impressive layer initiates from Zoroastrian and Jewish religious beliefs and traditions formed the architecture of their houses. Therefore, their trends for security, life, needs and regarding religious rites should be considered in the future guidelines in renovation of these residential districts. Meanwhile, further studies could search for approaches & methods of converting the theoretical results of this paper into the guidelines & design principles.