A Historical Study of Architecture and Urban Planning in Kashan, Based on the Conceptual Structure of Lefebvrian Trialectics

Now, space is like a productive commodity that often enters into the exchange process. With bonds being broken between space and time, space has become abstract and imperfect. The study of space from Lefebvre's point of view, in relation to time and place, has added a new dimension to such studies. This research seeks to study the architecture and urban planning of Kashan throughout history by using the conceptual structure of Lefebvrian Trialectics. This research is a library-based study and has collected its data through a descriptive-interpretive method. Content analysis and categorization of findings were used to complete the findings. 72 historical documents were selected and studied according to different criteria. The findings have showed that the historical architecture and urban planning of Kashan has been formed by indigenous ideas and in harmony with the city’s nature and culture. The order of mass and space, the orientation of buildings and the city, the construction of passages, and the circular geometry of the city have been the characteristics of the perceived space in Kashan throughout the history. In the conceived space, historical organizations of political power were first created to divide and manage water resources. Later, due to the important role of Kashan in regard to water resources, this city became more powerful during the growth process compared with the biological complexes around the city. Economic-political organizations were also formed in order to reduce the volume of agricultural activities and to create industrial-commercial hubs, which before the Pahlavi era, had been placed in the main direction of Bazar. In the field of lived space of Kashan, the research findings have showed that cultural-religious rituals have played a significant role in the living space of the people. The art of the people in Kashan has been very much based on nature, and even the influence of nature can be seen in Kashan’s popular literature.