An Analysis of the Role of Social class’s Lifestyle in the Pattern of Housing;Case Study: The late Qajar and Early Pahlavi Houses in Ardabil

Human beings shape the organization, and structure of their settlements, based on their lifestyle. On the other hand, in every environment, differences in social, economic, cultural, and symbolic capitals lead to the formation of different social classes and differences in the way of life. Accordingly, the search for how the pattern and structure of the houses of the upper and middle-classes of Ardabil in the late Qajar and early Pahlavi periods are shaped by the status of the social class of the inhabitants, is the main issue of research.

The importance and necessity of research in regard to different types of housing, especially middle-class houses, irradiation on part of Ardabil›s architectural history, and attention to the role of Non-structural components (culture and society) in residential architecture. The purpose of the present study is to explain the effect of different capital combinations of the middle and the upper classes on lifestyle and to analyze how the structure of houses is influenced by the way of life in the case studies. Research

The research method is descriptive-analytical. After analyzing the spatial dimension of the houses, during a comparative review, the effect of lifestyle on the structure of houses based on capital ratios in the middle and the upper classes has been discussed. Required information is extracted through documentary studies, interviewing, observing, and field studies.

Findings of the study shows that physical and spatial differences in the houses of the upper and middle-classes of Ardabil in the late Qajar and early Pahlavi periods, has been influenced by the amount of their economic capital. Findings of the study shows that the people of Ardabil have been sharing each other with many components of social and cultural capitals. In the meantime, what made class differentiation was the kind of different approaches to these components. As the upper class often acted more deeply and in a sense of differentiation in the face of issues such as status, social relationships, taste, and so on. Physical-Spatial representation of these items can be seen in the entrance, facade, guestroom, service spaces, home furnishings, and the decorations of the upper and middle-class houses.