Study of Design and Motives in the Orosies of Tabriz Qajar Houses in the Context of Architectural Developments (Case Study: Salmasi, Qadaki, Mashrouteh, Heydarzadeh and Amirnezam Houses)

The main part of the residential historical context of Tabriz is the common architecture of the Qajar era which a style was expanded that Orosi was one of its widespread elements. Because at the beginning of the Qajar dynasty, during the earthquake of 1780, most of the urban fabric was destroyed, except for a few large historical buildings such as Ark-e Alisha and the Blue Mosque. There are two phases in Qajar architecture: first phase starts from late Safavid and continued to middle Qajar with some changes in details and elements based on time requests and fashion. Many traditions in Persian architecture were preserved and applied in this phase. The second phase sees many architectural elements coming from the West due to courtier knowledge of the West culture. Orosi is one of the important ornamental and applied elements in Persian traditional architecture, especially in Qajar era (1725-1925) which was fading at the end of Qajar. The paper concerns with the study and investigation of five Orosies of Tabriz Qajar traditional houses: Salmasi, Mashrouteh, Qadaki, Heydarzadeh, and Amirnezam. Salmasi house remained from early Qajar (1796-1848), Mashrouteh and Qadaki houses from middle Qajar (1848-1896) and Heydarzadeh and Amirnezam houses from late Qajar (1896-1925). Orosi was used in the reception hall (Tanabi) of these houses. Study and analysis of design and motives in Orosies with a comparative method helps to achieve the basic geometric and ornamental principles of Qajar Orosies in Tabriz and their alterations reasons. This research based on two questions: What are the reasons for the creations and process of changes in the Orosies designs of Qajar houses in Tabriz? What are the characteristic systems, regular patterns and principles in the design of these Orosies? The results showed that the variety of motives in Orosies decreased during the Qajar period, their decorative elements were reduced and the designs of Orosies became simpler. One of the main reasons for this is the changes in the architectural styles and the use of western elements in the architectural design, as well as the addition of new elements to the facade of Qajar buildings.