معماری ایرانی

Problem statement: 

Architecture, as a work of art, can evoke both concrete and abstract meanings for humans, thus establishing a profound connection with their emotions. “Transcendence1“ is an emotional concept that has been discussed in the theories of Western architectural theorists, and some travelogue writers have also mentioned their perception of this meaning in historical buildings of Iran2. This concept is particularly evident in certain dome structures and the interior halls of traditional Iranian buildings, spanning a range of sacred buildings like mosques and tombs to everyday structures such as Timchehs and baths.

The aim of this research is to explore how the meaning of “transcendence” manifests in some Iranian architectural buildings and to provide a framework that can be utilized by designers and students to understand the emergence of the meaning of transcendence.

This study is qualitative, employing a descriptive and analytical method based on logical reasoning and the analysis of selected samples through a formalist critique approach.

Architecture that embodies the meaning of transcendence creates a space for mental concentration and places individuals within that space. In this environment, the uplifting force, liberation from the emotional weight of matter, and connection to the infinite are mentally evoked, thus preparing the context for the experience of transcendence in humans.

Studies of the historical course of architectural developments show that many residential buildings of the tradition period in the pre-Islamic and modern periods witness the use of proportions and modules (European and Iranian), which play an essential role in expressing spatial organization and presenting a shape pattern. The system of components and the whole in the use of spaces and functional hierarchies will have a constructive effect on unity and integration and coordination system. The main problem in this research is the incompatibility of the geometric system in the traditional and modern periods and the changes in the spatial hierarchy system and the elimination of functions. The necessity and importance of researching the reading of plans in historic buildings with residential use in terms of shape pattern and geometric order is a witness of transformation in the contemporary period compared to the traditional period. In this research, an attempt will be made to explain the effective indicators of the geometric system of Iranian architecture and its use as a formative model in the dimensions of spaces.

The research method in this article is interpretive-historical, analogical and inductive, and the data analysis approach is library-type, and the research variables are quantitative and qualitative, and the research tools are objective. Is.

The results of the research show that following the geometric proportions in the studied buildings from the Qajar and Pahlavi periods, in order of importance, followed the Iranian golden ratio (Iranian golden rectangle) and the European golden ratio, and the geometry of the mold was rectangular and spatially organized. It has followed the linear orientation.

Stiffeners, known as khashkhāshi in Farsi, are structural elements positioned within the interspace of double-shell domes. While prior studies have focused on stiffeners in onion-shaped double-shell domes, limited research has examined their role in pyramidal or cone-shaped double-shell domes, referred to as rok domes in Farsi. This article addresses this gap by (1) providing a comprehensive definition of stiffeners in detached double-shell rok domes through an analysis of their morphology and (2) identifying their structural role within this dome type. The historical city of Kashan was selected for this study due to the significant number and variety of rok dome cases. Ten cases, located both within and beyond Kashan's historical city walls, were chosen for examination. In the initial phase, six examples documented in monographic research, which allow for direct field observation and demonstrate a variety of khashkhāshi combinations and designs, were selected. Subsequently, data on the architectural design and structural characteristics of khashkhāshi in these selected cases were gathered through direct observation, field surveys, and supplementary library and archival research. In the third stage, a three-dimensional model of the stiffener structures was created using advanced architectural drawings to facilitate comparative analysis. Finally, applying a descriptive-analytical method, the study compares khashkhāshi designs based on quantity, position, dimensions, shape, and construction techniques. This approach introduces a revised definition of khashkhāshi in rok domes, highlighting three distinct structural forms that fulfill varied roles. Unlike onion-shaped double-shell domes, where khashkhāshi often function as buttresses, rok domes predominantly function as stiffeners for the dome's neck and outer shell. These findings enhance the understanding of khashkhāshi structural behavior, specifically in rok double-shell domes, and are not directly applicable to the analysis of individual cases.

In traditional Iranian architecture, numerous elements are responsible for both function and aesthetic refinement. One such example is the door, which serves as an interface between the interior and exterior, often conveying messages and cultural traits. Doors, as a part of the traditional architectural heritage of Iran, are full of cultural significance.

The entrance door is one of the first architectural elements of traditional Iranian houses that addresses the onlooker. The focus of this research is on the analysis and categorization of the door knockers in Hamedan, particularly in the historic areas of the city. The purpose of this study is to investigate the function of these knockers and to explore the hidden cultural meanings within their forms and decorations.

The theoretical framework of the research is based on typology. The study explores different aspects of phenomena from a typological perspective. The method involved using typology as a tool to understand the cultural significance of knockers. First, typological criteria were established, then knockers from the historic houses of Hamedan were documented through library research, historical studies, and fieldwork observations. Despite the limited number of knockers remaining, detailed documentation and controlled field observations were carried out. The analysis is primarily based on an inductive reasoning approach.

The knockers installed on the wooden doors of houses are a carefully shaped and decorated metal piece used to inform the homeowner of the presence of a stranger or familiar person behind the door. The knocker, also referred to as “Degh-albab,” was influenced by Islamic culture and the observance of modesty, based on maintaining sexual boundaries, and was made separately for men and women. This element was not only decorated according to the formal gender symbols of men and women, but the sound produced by striking the knocker also had a low or high tone corresponding to each gender. As a social convention, each knocker conveyed characteristics of the person standing behind the door. In this way, the door knocker organized cultural behavior concerning the presence of a stranger. In the traditional architecture of Hamedan, maintaining boundaries was considered a cultural necessity. In fact, based on the perception of traditional living, the door, which is regarded as an element defining the inner sanctity of the home, is adorned with another element. By relying on the sound of the knocker to pass through the door, the inner privacy of the home became more concealed, adding another layer to maintaining boundaries.Additionally, other topics of the article explore the craftsmen who created these elements and the location of the male, female, and “stranger’s” knockers. The results of this research showed that carpenters and craftsmen from Hamedan, alongside metalworkers from Esfahan, played a role in creating the form and decorations of the knockers. The size of the knockers, based on the shape of the human hand and related to hand size, did not very much. According to field studies, the knockers installed on the right side were generally shaped like a lion’s head, a clenched fist, or forms symbolizing power and were heavier and more solid compared to those on the left side, producing a deeper sound. However, the knockers on the left side were delicate with forms inspired by a gentle nature, such as angels or a delicate woman’s hand, and when struck, they produced a high-pitched sound, notifying the household of the presence of a woman or a familiar person behind the door. The position of the knockers was at eye level and close to the middle arm of the two wings of the door.In the city’s historical background, knockers were decorated and adorned in various forms. Ring-shaped knockers were made in different shapes, such as hearts, Toranj (a type of geometric pattern), horseshoes, and apples, and were attached to the door by a ring called “Shuleh.” Sometimes, where the Shuleh passed through, two floral arabesques, a dragon’s mouth, or two symmetrical birds were crafted to enhance its beauty. Men’s knockers were often much simpler, sometimes resembling a rectangular cuboid, decorated with engraved intersecting or parallel lines. In examining the decorations of the knockers studied, the Toranj pattern, pomegranate, and sun motifs were repeatedly used in the decoration of Shuleh. For the decoration of women’s knockers (referred to as “Alkeh”), diagonal and parallel lines were engraved on the ring, and some of the knockers were in the shape of pomegranates and Toranj, with some being placed as an inverted Toranj on the Shuleh. However, in all cases, the hollow circular shape was the common form of women’s knockers.With technological advancements, the type of doors has changed, and not only gender but also the identity of the person behind the door is now known to the homeowner. Functionally, there is no longer a need for the knocker to determine whether the person behind the door is a family member or not. However, despite this, many newly constructed houses still have knockers installed, reflecting the continued mental significance of this element. In recent decades, the gender-preserving function of knockers has become irrelevant, with emphasis only on their decorative role. During the Pahlavi era, in some cases, knockers installed on doors were reduced to the simplest form, solely for informing the household of someone’s presence behind the door, but mostly, the doors and knockers were made in pairs.

Among the scholars of Iranian architecture, some believe in a timeless “essence” as “Iranian Architecture” or “Islamic Architecture of Iran”. According to them, the essence has had various manifestations in different points of history. It can also have its contemporary manifestation if we try to identify and realize it, as they believe. Then we will have our own Persian, Islamic, and non-Western architecture in our time. What defines the essence are some “principles of architecture”. The principles differ by the scholars’ viewpoints; however, all of them are timeless principles and rules the observation of which can lead to an Iranian Islamic architecture suitable for Iranians spiritual, psychological, and physical needs and desires. Among the scholars, there are only three comprehensive viewpoints that are compiled and published: 1. Mohammad-Karim Pirnia’s “the Principles of Iranian Architecture”; 2. Ardalan and Bakhtiar’s “the Sense of Unity”; 3. Navaei and Haji-Qassemi’s “Khesht-o-Khiyāl”. A full analysis and critique of the first viewpoint was already published. In this article, we will analyze and criticize the two latter, both of them believe in an essence as “Islamic Architecture of Iran”. Reviewing and internal criticizing each viewpoint starts with explaining its goal and theoretical bases and continues by its principles. Then we will articulate the viewpoint in terms of ontological, epistemological, and practical/normative propositions. This will provide us with a site map of each viewpoint that will make a fair critique possible. The last part of each chapter, entitled “Challenges and Inconsistencies”, will be on an internal criticism on the viewpoint. In the conclusion, we will compare the two views and show that both of them are deeply related to “traditionalism”, and their main difference is due to their focus points: Ardalan and Bakhtiar focus on the symbolic language of architecture, while Navaei and Haji- Qassemi focus on the formal and physical aspects.

Problem statement: 

It seems that one of the main problems of Iranian architecture today is the inability to express the concepts of Iranian architecture, and what is meant by Iranian architecture, the Architecture relies on and emerges from Iranian-Islamic theosophy , which, in this research, is its unique example, that is, Transcendent theosophy.  Since the recent studies related to the wisdom of Iranian architecture have only been without understanding the deep foundations and spiritual concepts hidden in it, so far the body and forms of Iranian architecture have been given more attention, which is insufficient to preserve the values of Iranianarchitecture. Meanwhile, the relationship between opinion and practice from the perspective of looking at the foundations of Mulla sadra to find and understand these concepts is the problem of this research. That is, how can the influence of Sadra’s ideas play a role in creating a transcendent works?

The aim of the present study is to explain the reasons of excellence in Iranian architecture by relying on the opinions and theoretical principles of Transcendent theosophy. In the meantime, the connection of intellectual elements from the field of Transcendent theosophy to art, and especially, the architectural work that helps to recognize the authenticity of Iranian art, will be highlighted.

The present article is of the fundamental-theoretical research type. In short, it can be said that the strategy of this study is logical reasoning. Its data is mainly obtained through observation and archival studies. Appropriate and relevant solutions have been collected and compiled through information analysis. This research has been done in terms of structuralism, focusing on the influence of philosophical thinking in architecture. Data analysis is also done according to the qualitative analysis method.

It can be said that the missing link in contemporary architecture is the connection between art and the field of the basics of Iranian theosophy, which can lead us to understand the concept of truth. According to the results of the findings, it can be stated that the difference between the present research and the previous researches is the use of three principles: the primacy of existence and the principle of grades of existence and  “substantial motion”(al-harakat al-jawhariyyah)in Iranian architecture and discovering the union between the foundations of transcendent theosophy and Iranian architecture.The results of the present study, based on Mulla Sadra’s opinions, indicate that architecture includes two dimensions of existence and nature.  Nature dimension responding to material needs and its existence dimension is the truth that is hidden in the architectural works themselves. According to the principle of primacy of existence of Mullah Sadra, it can be acknowledged that in architecture, originality will have an existential dimension, and the principle of substantial motion leads to excellence from material to meaning based on spiritual foundations in the form of mysteries.Therefore, using the intellectual foundations of MullaSadra, principles to achieve excellence can be achieved in contemporary Iranian architecture.

Architects use different media to represent and display their ideas. These media include a wide range of architectural volumetric models, hand drawings, verbal allegories, sketches and recently computer modeling. Among these media, hand drawings have always been important in architectural design and have played a pivotal role. This role has become more important in architecture since the Renaissance with the emergence of perspective. Before the spread of such drawings around the 15th to 17th centuries, drawing in architecture was common in previous periods. Until then, drawing was a tool for conversation and media between the employer and the architect. But after that, drawing is a tool for thinking and a tool for pre-designing, modifying and correcting the pre-construction form. It can be said that the methods of representation, image and perception of architecture have always had a reciprocal relationship with our perception of space and also with the spatial organization of architecture.So far, only a few studies have been done on architectural drawings and their relationship with the Iranian architectural organization of space. These few studies have focused more on the typology and classification of drawings left over from Islamic Architecture and have questioned their application in the Iranian architectural space organization. Iranian painters, especially after the Ilkhanate period, have represented architectural and urban spaces in paintings. Compared to the European perspective and tradition of drawings, Iranian painters represented architectural and urban spaces differently. Most of the research in the field of Iranian miniature has dealt with philosophical foundations, especially around the concept of the imaginal world, or the methods of representation in the form of analytical-aesthetic methods. The purpose of this study is to understand the structure of miniature representation. In this regard, it deals with two aspects of the content of representation and the way of representation of miniatures and analyzes them. The emphasis of the article is to find out how Iranian painters have portrayed the world around them.In this research, forty miniatures belonging to the Seljuk, Ilkhanid, Timurid and Safavid periods have been studied. This research can be considered as a historical study that uses an analytical-aesthetic method to discover how architecture is represented in Iranian miniatures. The findings of this study show that Iranian miniatures include three independent systems of architectural, landscape and behavioral representation. These systems overlap to form a miniature. Each of these three systems of representation has its own rules.The findings of this study show that the method of composing the page in a miniature follows three general principles: (a) organizing the general space with clear lines and framing (b) independent spaces and their collage (c) intensive space narration (collage of space units) and high horizon. This research showed that the way of representing the architectural effect in miniature includes (a) isometric or flat display of side surfaces, (b) special rules of displaying the floor and interior surfaces of the porch and (c) simultaneous display of interior and exterior of a building. These findings have been achieved by focusing on the architectural representation system.

This study analyzes the constituent layers and effective factors in the construction of permanent buildings, as well as how to evaluate and classify the types of signs and semiotic and semantic views in, to emulate the original Iranian architecture. A comparative content analysis and a semiotic and semantics approach were used to analyze the data gathered through library and field studies. Different levels of semiotics and the views of theorists in this field were studied, and then a comparative study of the two museums was carried out and the similarities and differences between the basic components of these two buildings were studied. Then, with the initial coding and categorization, while analyzing the concepts, explicit meanings, implicit meanings, and symbolic meanings were extracted. The research findings show that museums are composed of different layers that are in unity and integration with each other and meanings and concepts through five layers with the titles of construction layer, environment, access, physical-functional layer, and landscape. The study shows that the legibility of the architecture of museums is achieved by paying attention to the layers of its structure and making sense of the design according to those layers. The designers of the museums under study have tried to pay attention to the levels and layers that make up museums while paying attention to the desired functional aspects. Reflect the aesthetic concepts of Iranian architecture while paying attention to the needs of users, recreating the concepts of Iranian architecture.

One of the basic concepts in architecture is privacy.Privacy existed before Islam in Iranian architecture.After Islam,according to Iranian Islamic thought,it is observed in the buildings.In the current era,privacy in all fields in Islamic architecture and the emergence of the spatial organization of Iranian cities has suffered or been removed.In the architecture of Iran,according to the Iranian idea of the existence of human existence and its connection with existence,the existential links of man(including the link with nature,man and the creator of existence)lead to the emergence of a level of privacy,which is accompanied by highlighting the characteristics of the definition of privacy.This regard,the goals of this research are to understand the concept of privacy,find out the characteristics of its emergence in Iranian architecture,and provide solutions to restore it to Iranian buildings by making changes in the type of architecture. In the upcoming research,which is a descriptive analytical research,the required information has been collected based on targeted interviews with architecture professors,library and internet sources, and at the end,the conclusion has been reached by logical analysis method.The result of the content analysis shows privacy exists in all aspects of human life,and the presence of privacy in architecture becomes necessary,and the removal of privacy in cities and buildings has many consequences,such as in terms of physical and urban sociology,and a kind of cut and separation between spaces has been created.The sense of belonging to the space and place has been lost and the dignity of the people who live in today's houses is not respected,on the other hand Islamic traditions and Iranian and Islamic cultural foundations have been ignored.

The principles used in traditional Iranian architecture are rooted in the culture and beliefs of the Iranian people for thousands of years. In the national culture of Iran and later, the recommendations of Islam to respect the privacy of individuals and maintain the dignity of women can be seen in abundance. Privacy is one of the main issues in shaping the spatial structure of Iranian architecture. Due to the element of privacy in the form and structure of traditional houses, a sense of calm, security and a sense of belonging is always transmitted from the building to the occupants of the house. The house in Iranian culture is a manifestation of the culture and identity of an Islamic society.The home is not just a shelter for the preservation of the human body, but a place for the manifestation of human values, peace and security that creates a sense of trust in the living environment.But in the contemporary world, with the changes in housing architecture, the existence of such features becomes less apparent.This article examines the privacy of traditional house architecture using the compliments and concepts presented in previous research and with the aim of promoting and disseminating this principle in contemporary housing architecture.

Among the scholars of Iranian architecture, some believe in a timeless “essence” as “Iranian Architecture” or “Islamic Architecture of Iran”. According to them, the essence has had various manifestations in different points of history. It can also have its contemporary manifestation if we try to identify and realize it, as they believe. Then we will have our own Persian, Islamic, and non-Western architecture in our time. What defines the essence are some “principles of architecture”. The principles differ by the scholars’ viewpoints; however, all of them are timeless principles and rules the observation of which can lead to an Iranian Islamic architecture suitable for Iranians spiritual, psychological, and physical needs and desires. Among the scholars, there are only three comprehensive viewpoints that are compiled and published: 1. Mohammad-Karim Pirnia’s “the Principles of Iranian Architecture”; 2. Ardalan and Bakhtiar’s “the Sense of Unity”; 3. Navaei and Haji-Qassemi’s “Khesht-o-Khiyāl”. A full analysis and critique of the first viewpoint was already published. In this article, we will analyze and criticize the two latter, both of them believe in an essence as “Islamic Architecture of Iran”. Reviewing and internal criticizing each viewpoint starts with explaining its goal and theoretical bases and continues by its principles. Then we will articulate the viewpoint in terms of ontological, epistemological, and practical/normative propositions. This will provide us with a site map of each viewpoint that will make a fair critique possible. The last part of each chapter, entitled “Challenges and Inconsistencies”, will be on an internal criticism on the viewpoint. In the conclusion, we will compare the two views and show that both of them are deeply related to “traditionalism”, and their main difference is due to their focus points: Ardalan and Bakhtiar focus on the symbolic language of architecture, while Navaei and Haji- Qassemi focus on the formal and physical aspects.

Colored windows are part of the architecture of traditional Iranian buildings in the Islamic period, which act as gates for the passage of single light into space and its division into different colors. The main purpose of research is to create sensitivity in design of colored glass, to express the principle of using color in colored windows of traditional and Islamic buildings, to discover the relationship between color separation and architectural space quality in sustainable lighting system. the other goal is to achieve one of the effective characteristics in creating balance in a permanent building (Nasir Al-Molk Mosque).

The type of research is qualitative-quantitative. The extraction of materials has been done by collecting information from documentary sources and field perception of the pattern and area of Nasir Al-Molk Mosque colored glass.Finally, through the comparative analogy of the proportion of colored glass surfaces with the theoretical basis of the results have been extracted.

In the sample, five types of general coloring and 15 types of partial coloring were analyzed. Blue, turquoise, green (cold colors) and red and yellow (warm colors) are used in colored windows with balance and one in between.

Extraction of the ratio of cold to warm colors close to one in accordance with the principles of Islamic philosophy showed that, the pattern of color distribution in space was not random, and in this regard, there is unity.

Iranian architecture has been studied from different aspects. Shape Grammar is an analytical tool for studying the styles and history of architecture that has the ability to provide a common language and conceptual framework, a coherent and integrated form to study the geographical differences and evolution of Iranian architecture.In this research, the first step to compile this common grammar of Iranian architecture has been taken by compiling a grammar of a specific form related to the traditional houses of Kashan.

Out of 100 heritage houses, 19 samples were selected by random / judgmental sampling method. By analyzing the samples, minimal rules are presented.

The grammar presented in 4 steps produces the formal structure and the spatial relationships between the forms. A valid range of variables and an algebraic expression are presented. Also, with the help of grammar, the spaces in the samples have been typologized. In Kashan houses, the most important spaces, spaces with a width of 5, can be divided into 8 types based on the shape structure. In terms of spatial relationships between components, 6 specific types of relationships between the internal components of each of the previous form structures can be identified, which are described in the findings section.

The proposed grammar can be a coherent structure for the study of Iranian architecture. It can also be used as a suitable tool for typology. Provide the possibility of comparison as well as the relationship between different species and make the studies coherent.

The construction sector accounts for a large portion of the world's energy consumption; in Iran, it’s more than 40% of energy consumption. Office buildings have a relatively unfavorable energy consumption pattern due to impersonal ownership and lack of supervision and needs improvement. The aim of this research is to improve the energy performance of these buildings by using a dynamic double skin façade.

In this research, first the dominant pattern of office buildings in Mashhad has been studied. Since the design is done in Mashhad, which is one of the religious centers of the country, and to create this feeling in users, the pattern used in its second skin is inspired by Islamic patterns of tiles and decorations of the holy shrine of Imam Reza (AS). After analyzing the energy performance of 5 selected patterns with Ladybug and Honeybee plugins, the most optimal pattern is used.

Daylight is one of the most influential parameters in the design of energy efficient buildings. To make the most of this parameter, it is necessary to create facades with maximum transparency. But these facades face challenges such as overheating. Therefore, it’s important to control the amount of daylight entering.

In this research based on highperformance architecture theory, an optimal solution to improve the energy performance of a 5-storey office building in Mashhad by using a dynamic double skin façade with the ability to control the daylight entrance is presented; which results in a reduction in building’s energy consumption by approximately 130,000 kWh per year.