Dimming Light in Safavid Era ArchitectureCase Examples: Houses, Mansions and Mosques in Isfahan

In the duality of darkness and light, the contribution of darkness, especially in literary sources, has been largely overlooked, while in practice, especially in the architecture of the ancients, the presence of darkness in many spaces has been prevalent in many spaces. In some cases, this presence has been devised to meet the climatic conditions and in order to provide physical comfort, and in others to provide psychological comfort. This research basically seeks to find the answer to the question: Which uses of deliberate dimming of light have been used more to match the spaces with the mental conditions of the users? In this research, while using the analytical descriptive method based on library and field data, computer simulation technique has been used to elaborate on how light can be managed. The aim of the present study is to pay attention to some uses of light dimming, to decipher the lighting knowledge of architects, and to monitor the light reduction measures for the creation of suitable spaces in line with usage in Iranian-Islamic architecture. In order to review, 10 buildings from three forms of use, including mosque, palace-building and house, belonging to the Safavid era in Isfahan city, which were built based on the needs of people in religious communities, government and livelihood affairs, were selected and the general form, the position and the proportions of the openings were modeled using Rhino software. Their illuminance was simulated by Diva plug-in with Daysim computing engine in summer and winter solstice and the average illuminance was extracted in terms of lux and then classified according to the use and application of buildings. The findings show that houses in winter solstice have less light than mansions and palaces, whereas the two types are in close proximity in the summer solstice. Compared to mansions, palaces and houses, the main spaces in mosques have less light throughout the year, and the use of dim light in this form of use is deliberate, intelligent and is designed to increase the qualitative richness of the space and synchronization with the mood and spiritual-emotional demands of the users.