Analysis of Privacy Hierarchies in Traditional Houses of Iran Based on The Plan Structure Through Space Syntax Approach

The traditional architecture of Iran, particularly its houses, is influenced by the identity and cultural values of the people of that time. Observation of privacy and its hierarchy in the structure of traditional houses is among the principles of traditional houses in Iran. Analysis and investigation of spatial relations in these buildings regarding privacy help us preserve and create privacy in modern housing. One can employ the space syntax theory to identify spatial ties and use them as an appropriate pattern. This theory allows us to know and analyze the social relationships in a building. To do data analysis in this study, some samples are chosen from among traditional houses of the Qajar Period with different and various plan structures using the quantitative cognition method through space syntax techniques and DepthMap Software. This study employed Visibility Graph Analysis to assess the spatial relations in the building. This analysis has been used to examine the depth index and two visual integrity and connectivity for eight case studies. Furthermore, privacy hierarchy has been analyzed in the structure of case studies by comparing these two indices. The results show that houses having one courtyard or the plan structure is designed in a way that most spaces of the house are arranged around one of the courtyards provide a more regular pattern of privacy hierarchy from public to private spaces rather than the samples having many courtyards that are similar in dimensions and shape. The mentioned case makes it easy for us to comprehend space, so the legibility of the spaces is higher in these case studies. However, privacy in houses with several courtyards is more observed than in houses with one courtyard.