Cultural Consideration in Urban Facade Formation (Emphasize on urban facade formation in Iranian Islamic architecture)

The urban frontages must be seriously taken on organizing the visual structure of city and promoting the quality of urban space with all their diverse physical, functional and symbolic dimensions. Although seeing and reading of the city as a visual object is not accountable for all urban problems, it seems that considering the urban frontages is the basic and essential (but not sufficient) tools for differentiating, orienting and reading the city as a text in line with responding to the different parts of the urban issues and experience of the citizens. As some parts of the large scale visual clues, the urban historical frontages are so important and valuable as national heritage and historical capital of countries in historical viewpoints bridging the past and future, reminding memories and representing social attachments. With refering to intertwined relationship between human behaviour, culture and also urban form, urban frontages can be taken into account as explanation, reflection and manifestation of these relations as well as co-existent traditions. However, parts of these valuable frontages are sometimes threatened by urban mismanagement as a threatening factor in the historical fabrics in order to accommodate traffic leading finally to gradual distressing and demolition. In addition to this, public tastes in some cases, seems to be likely adopted to the western patterns in terms of style, form, technology and material for solutions instead of vernacular alternatives. While it is appropriate to consider transferring knowledge, skills and expertise into the country, there is much in Iranian culture and urban form which does not adapt with western patterns. The main goal of this paper is investigation on the interactive relation of urban frontages and Islamic culture in Iran. In doing so, for this paper, Islamic culture is represented and characterized in three integrated, inter-related and interwoven fields of social life, humane beliefs and historical-geographical features which influence the formation of urban frontages based on which the relationship between urban frontages and socio-cultural values and beliefs are considered. To do this, the paper will be consenterated at the process through which these frontages emerged and the way in which they have been transformed. In doing so, the research applies a descriptive-analytical methodology with reference to a number of traditional and contemporary cases as a frame of reference to come up with a comparison and contrast among them. According to the results of this research, the religious, social and vernacular values were three parts of the most influential factors defining and identifying the historical urban frontages in both architectural and urban scale in the past whereas the lack or loss of attention to the Islamic-Iranian culture along with following the western patterns, styles and materials have resulted in an identity in the case of the contemporary urban frontages. It has been highlighted the significance of considering the socio-cultural background in shaping the identity of urban frontages in this paper, which should increase the awareness of the responsible authorities of urban management to legally adhere to them in both technical and organisational terms.