نشریه معماری و شهرسازی پایدار
سال یکم شماره 2 (پاییز و زمستان 1392)

Aesthetics, though based on fixed criteria, may be perceived differently across time and place. This article examines the impact of the components of the aesthetics assessments in urban spaces (pedestrian roads) and the way residents perceive it. First, it studies the theories of aesthetics and the way it has been perceived. Then, through a survey and interviewing different groups of people, assesses the aesthetics impact of case under study. Finally, it concludes that visual aesthetics alone cannot satisfy residents; rather their views should be taken into account.

Walkability of neighborhood is perhaps the most important factor in different patterns of neighborhood development including sustainable regional development, modernism, smartly controlled-growth and public transportation. Without any doubt, the influences of walkability on improving physical and psychological health, and the civic and social life, lead to social sustainability of neighborhoods. Exploring the concepts of sustainability shows that improving the quality of life in order to increase the presence and social and optional activities of people is one of the main strategies of achieving social sustainability. Creating places and making sense of belonging are two main criteria for sustainable neighborhoods. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to investigate the critical criteria for improving walkability of neighborhoods, which lead to social sustainability of neighborhoods. Hence, this article attempts to define the concepts of sustainable neighborhoods and the approach to social sustainability. This study further specifies the critical criteria, which improve the presence and activities of pedestrians. For evaluating the primary model and defining the critical factors, the researchers extend the hypotheses to Chizar neighborhood as the case under study. To this end, the questionnaire was administered to 180 citizens in Chizar. The data, analyzed through correlation, shows that from user's viewpoint, physical criteria such as good design, aesthetical dimensions, path facilities, quality of sidewalks, as well as contextual criteria such as socio-cultural norms influence the presence and social activities of pedestrians.

From among the measures that can be taken in the field of Architecture and Urban Planning with the view of Passive Defense, are the utilization of the spaces in the indexes and the roofs of the buildings, in order to take advantage of the passive defensive regulatory actions. Green roofs – also called Herbal roofs or live roofs – are engineering based products, which makes it possible for herbs to grow on the roof or the index of a building and provide us with their efficiencies. Thus, today, in many countries in the world, specially North American and West European countries, regulations and policies are written for Green Bodies, which in some cities have become laws to be observed in constructions. Now, we can obviously feel this gap in planning for a large city like Tehran. Camouflaging, hiding, deceit, energy saving, consumption management, buildings stability, beauty, shaping, flexibility in shaping, normalization with the environment, natural disaster controlling, saving the environment, controlling the pollution of the streams, higher parks growth rate, psychological modification of the society, weather and sound proofing of the building, lifetime improvisation of roofs and indexes isolation and oxygen production are the benefits of using such technologies in our societies. We will introduce different kinds of green bodies along with their details and social benefits, which belong to the field of Soft Defense and their specific benefits in Passive Defense alongside their roles in a large city like Tehran.

The layer of the building as a separator of the interior and exterior environments plays an important role in thermal behavior of the building. Compared to the other parts of building, the façade has a significant effect in terms of solar heat gain, day lighting, ventilation, infiltration, thermal load control, noise control, design quality and aesthetic dimensions.
New concepts of façade design; turned the building façade to a barrier between the interior and exterior environments. One of these concepts is double skin façade. To assess the performance of double skin façade in the climate of Tehran, an office building is modeled both with and without double skin façade with the building energy simulation program E-QUEST. In these simulations, the effect of façade layering, transparency and orientation on energy demand of HVAC system have been compared and contrasted. The results show that the energy demand of HVAC system reduces about 16 to 20 % by using a double skin façade compared to a single skin façade. However, to improve the energy performance of the façade, one has to consider other important design parameters in façade design such as ventilation, control strategy, shading devices, etc.

Architecture as an art, like science, has been evolving consistently through its historical base is analogous to a living organism and it is placed in a dialectic process. Development of architecture is the result of interaction between technology and history. It is very important to achieve an efficient and advanced architecture design in any time and every era, a concept that has roots in Iranian architecture. Education based on apprenticeship and establishment of elements of traditional architectural basis and ethical principles form the essence of architecture. The existence of antibiosis and complexity in the development of science and technology and consequently in the art and architecture styles determine the quality of the architectural education. The purpose of this study is to examine the essence of architectural education and its changes through the time as a scientific process to clarify new horizons for architectural education and learning. Logical argumentation research strategy and descriptive analytical research method have been adopted as inference mechanism and research method of study. The results show that new horizons of contemporary architecture should be clarified through interaction of "consistency" and "diversity". It is proposed to adapt the teaching methods, which focuses on socio-cultural parameters rooted in sustained and indigenous believes and thoughts.

Application of the concepts of sustainability and sustainable development goals to reduce energy waste and environmental pollution in the architecture led to a discussion called "sustainability" and in recent decades, it has increasingly become an important element in urban planning. Although the focus is more on the development of cities and for some reasons less attention has been paid to the neighborhoods. However, cities cannot be assumed sustainable if their parts (components such as neighborhood) lack stability. Stability criterion for neighborhoods acts as mirrors for the analysis sustainability of cities at higher-level, including aspects of economic, social and environmental factors. In this study, only urban neighborhoods and techniques for establishing environmental sustainability are taken up. The paper tries to come up with principles for designing neighborhoods without which stable neighborhoods are impossibility. These principles include green space design district, the density of the local climate, building design, texture and the climate of (solar wind). These techniques lower energy waste and gives priority to pedestrian access and makes efficient public transport a possibility.