International Journal of Architectural Engineering & Urban Planning
Volume:30 Issue: 1, Jun 2020

Even though the positive influences of nature on human health have been known for many decades, few studies have been carried out exclusively about the psychological benefits of exposure to water and sky as natural blue elements in built environments. Hence, close-ended questionnaire along with structured interviews (with open-ended questions) are applied to investigate the main question of this study: what are the effects of blue elements’ exposure on psychological restoration of university students? 81 students of architecture, urban design, and painting with graduate and post graduate degrees are considered as the participants and the main central courtyards of two traditional dwellings, which currently are used as educational environments, are selected as the case studies in the hot-arid climate of Yazd, Iran. The results of the close-ended questionnaire show that among natural elements, water has the most significant influence on fascination and being away (two components contributing to restoration). Besides, although in comparison to water, the sky has less effective influence on fascination and being away in the studied environments, it is as important as green elements in fostering fascination and being away. Through content analysis of structured interviews, it is revealed that not only is water the most preferred and important natural element of both courtyards but also students’ pleasantness, refreshment, and relaxation from stress are mainly due to water exposure. In conclusion, the study tries to highlight that in addition to green elements, it is essential to consider blue elements. Besides, some design strategies based on their exposure in educational environments have been recommended in order to foster the psychological restoration of university students.

There are studies about interlocal relations of local governance, but it would be unique to explain these in urban management mechanisms of unitary country in Middle East, like Iran. One of the important issues for the city's urban management system is its state actors’ interrelations and probable challenges of this process, which mentioned by terms like inter-local, intergovernmental, or inter-organizational relations and is the main issue of this article. Present study aims to find the main challenges in the iranian multi-level intergovernmental relations, especially in local-level urban management of small cities. After a review of conflicts among local actors in iranian town’s administration, the contradictory components are summarized in the propositions. In order to better explain findings and utilize the opinions of local decision makers of Natanz city (the study case in Iran), the importance of existing conflicts and challenges was measured via questionnaire and interview. Through factor analysis method, such propositions as lack of updated plans and programs (prepared at national level but for local level), and the unbalanced proportion between scope of duties and authority at local level, are among the most important concerns of them.

Students’ residence halls have been studied repeatedly during the last decades from various perspectives (eg satisfaction). However, our knowledge is very limited in terms of students’ emotions towards various residence hall interior and exterior spaces. Besides, very little study exists on the impact of homelike furniture on students’ emotions. The question driving this research is whether the replacement of institutional furniture with home like furniture affects students’ emotional states towards their residence hall? The research follows a mixed, multi-staged methodology. Stage one used structured interviews of students about what might make a residence hall similar to home environments. This second stage evaluates students’ emotions toward their current residence halls (with institutional furniture) and modified images of the same place with homelike furniture. We used SAM to evaluate students’ emotional reactions in terms of valence, arousal, and dominance. The findings of the study suggests that home like residence halls significantly affect students’ positive emotions. The most positive emotions (valence, arousal, and dominance) were reported on kitchenette, corridor, and yard spaces and no significant differences were found on in-room décor.

Historical fabrics are known as a national heritage and treasure which are full of spiritual and human concepts. However, we are witnessing that many of these historic districts are being forgotten, abandoned and destructed as the emotional relationship between human and its residing place is fading out. Sense of place is a concept which focuses on the emotional and internal relation between people and their environment. Sense of place consists of three dimensions, namely: place identity, place dependence and place attachment. This research is trying to identify the most significant components regarding the sense of place. It is assumed that by improving these components, a higher level of sense of place is achieved in historic fabrics. These components could also help urban designers and architects that contribute to the historic fabric of the city. Qualitative content analysis methodology was used to elicit the sense of place components from 175 studies. Screening of the systematic reviews and extraction of information on included studies was performed using a validated framework. Finally, the Delphi method is used to find the most related components of the sense of place in historic districts. The results for the physical factors show that the most important attributes are “valuable landmarks and fabric”, “form and physical characteristics”, “communal spaces and public gathering places”, and “visual harmony and unity of the facades”. The results for the set of activity factors show that experts were generally reliable in their responses. The mean value for “events in place” is 4.94, which indicates that experts perceived this attribute as the most influential determinant. Other important attributes are “social activities and interactions”, “proper roads and pathways”, “legibility and identification”, “land use and functional diversity”, and “accessibility and permeability”. In the meaning category, “vitality and happiness” is the most important attribute to evaluate the sense of place in the historical fabrics. “History and originality of the place” is then ranked second, and “aesthetic, beauty and arrangement” third. In the individual-social category, “memories and experiences of place” scored the highest followed by “cultural, religious and ritual ceremonies”, “mental imagery of the place”, and “awareness of historical values of places” (mean value of 4.24).

In the architecture of the mosque, the light entering into the dome is a functional necessity and due to the structure, the weight of the dome and its one or more shells has caused limitations in any kind of skylights to be encumbered. The research main question is that due to the mechanism of the dome parts, how the creation and the entering of skylights to the dome were done. The research method is a combination of both quantitative and qualitative methods. Initially, based on library studies, researcher's opinions were investigated and by analyzing 14 types of mosques from the Seljuk to the Qajar era in Iran, analyzes on how to create skylights through the dome were accomplished. This research answer two essential questions which are what principles had been followed for locating skylight in the dome? Moreover, how did light enter through the dome, in one-shell and two-shell domes? The findings show that in the one-shell domes, the position of the skylight is variable. In detached two-shell domes, the skylights are placed merely in 45° areas and are not limited in terms of numbers. Conclusions state that one-shell domes had a restriction to the number of skylights, in comparison to the two-shell domes. In detached two-shell domes, lighting was possible until the 22.5° area and considering no limitations, there has been no skylight in the area between 67.5° to 90° apart from a few exceptions.

Designing the maternity ward of hospitals is crucial due to the special conditions of mothers before, during, and after birth. Numerous environmental factors affect mothers, and it calls for an evidence-based design of these spaces. Although many investigations have drawn their attention to the issue, there is a paucity of research in terms of the significance of the birth environment factors. Therefore, the specific question of the research is that to what extent each of these factors is significant? In order to answer this question, the researchers devised a questionnaire based on which the most prominent variables could be ascertained. The questionnaire contained four main domains, including fear cascade, facilities, aesthetics and support, and the researchers distributed them among mothers in four hospitals in Golestan province, Iran. Six influential spaces affecting mothers, including communication space, hospitalization room, nursing station, neonatal room, operation room and external space, were investigated in this regard. Using the descriptive-analytical method and SPSS software, the research hypotheses were tested, and the Friedman test was employed to rank the domains and their variables. The findings demonstrated the significance of the aesthetic domain and such variables as the nursing station, natural light in corridors, and view to the doctor room. The study offered fresh insights into the design of a peaceful maternity ward.

Historic contexts remind us of an era when cities were built based on the needs, goals, and preferences of their inhabitants. In other words, the mental world of both the builders and the inhabitants was closely interrelated. But by ignoring citizens' memories and interests and their mental needs, today's interventions with rapid developments within historic contexts have led to amnesia and the destruction of cities' identities. Hence, architecture as a major part of the urban fabric experiences disruption not only within the urban context but also through the collective memory of the inhabitants of the texture. Since identity is an important criterion of endogenous developments, in addition to clarifying the importance of collective memory in infill architecture design approach in historic contexts in the conducted analyses, this paper has sought to answer this question “Given the different approaches in terms of their innovation in infill architecture, how can one explain the architectural approach in infill spaces by referring to collective memory?” The research methodology is case study. By collecting data through library and digital resources, this paper concentrates on the process of architectural approach in historic contexts as well as identification of historic contexts. Then, through an interview with the older inhabitants of Imamzadeh Yahya neighborhood, their shared memories were identified. Then, the result was distributed as a questionnaire among the Imamzadeh Yahya locals. By analyzing the results through Spss software, the collective memory was identified within the historic context and the criteria for infill design were extracted. According to the results, the architecture in historic contexts depends on the land use, the proximity to valuable units, shared intangible events, etc. that can all be extracted from collective memory of texture. The obtained indices can be invoked in architectural design within historic contexts to enhance their physical identity.

This study aimed at evaluating the conformity of Isfahan urban development plans with the comprehensive model of human Islamic needs. This study, in terms of objective, is practical and, in terms of methodology, it is a descriptive-analytical research. The most important data collecting tool used in this study is the bibliographic method. The results showed that the processes of preparing, testing and approving the urban development plans in Isfahan are largely incompatible with the comprehensive model from all three dimensions of the content, structure, and process. Regarding the content, they are based on the Western one-dimensional anthropology, which needs to be revised and supplemented. In terms of the structure, they neglect the levels of priority and the relevance between human needs. Therefore, there should always be a preference of allocation of land and per capita in accordance with changing nature of the city, and the needs and content principles of the Islamic-Iranian city should be prioritized based on the requirements in appropriate and inappropriate times. In terms of process, they are implemented in a linear mode and in three stages of identification, analysis, and presenting proposals, which causes lack of dynamism, irreversibility and the stiffness and ultimately the failure to fully realize them or disregard them and make decisions for gaining interests regardless them. Making corrections in these three parts of urban planning, its compatibility with the foundations of Islamic vision can be attainable

Tourism in the third millennium has become one of the most thriving economic activities around the world, and many developmental planners and policymakers refer to tourism as the main pillar for sustainable development. Tourism is considered as one of the most complicated occupations in numerous countries worldwide and as a multi-aspect activity possessing various positive effects and utilizations. The philosophy behind ecotourism resorts in Iran is to rehabilitate the local society’s culture, aiding the local businesses with minor investment to empower the local and rural community, and create sustainable development in Iran’s tourism cycle. The purpose of the present study is to determine factors impeding the development of ecotourism resorts tourism in Saravan rural heritage museum in Iran. The data were derived from interviews with key informants. For this purpose, the research question is what are the most important challenges for the development of tourism in the Saravan rural heritage museum and what are its sustainable strategies? The research subjects were tourism experts and university lecturers Having examined journalist reviews and executive expert reports, 16 factors were selected as the key challenges for the rural heritage museum.  Next, the Dematel method was used in order to analyze data and rank the factors. The results derived from the Dematel analysis indicates that lack of integrated and effective management of rural heritage museum (1.43), waste recycling and herbal and animal habitat devastation management (0.78), local residents and tourist culture differences (0.65) are the main factors in creating challenges for the rural heritage museum. Eventually, using the journalists’ reviews and the Delphi model, the most effective solutions have been designated and graded utilizing the Shannon entropy model. The results indicate that the most important solutions include effective integrative settling management and planning for local society cooperation, also conducing strategic programs for Saravan rural heritage museum.

Rest areas have been built on the freeway to avoid traffic accidents and drowsiness so that road travelers can rest. These supplemental rest areas are very small-sized resting facilities located between the larger regular rest areas, which is a unique design. However, the management of rest areas and their accommodations need to be improved by considering the effective factors involved. In this spirit, the purpose of this research is to study the effect of users’ preferences into planning parameters in rest areas. The study examines several rest areas, their roles and services. Customer satisfaction includes check-in time and purchase, type of service for travelers, intention to use the rest areas service, and satisfaction with the rest areas service.A survey study was carried out among 360 passengers of four rest areas in different locations in Iran. The participants claimed that providing praying room (M= 4.13) is the service most expected from rest areas. They also expected better landscaping of these places in providing shaded spaces (M= 4.13) to mitigate temperatures in hot seasons. The results also show that there is a significant difference between genders in terms of recreational activities (t= 2.81, α= 0.005), landscape amenities (t= 2.01, α= 0.044), welfare services (t= 3.05, α= 0.002), where women prioritized these factors more than men did. The findings of this research can be used in better management, accommodating, and designing of future crossing rest areas according to tourists’ preferences.

Zoning has always been one of the basic tools of land use control available. Zoning is the regulation and restriction of land uses according to a predetermined plan. This paper will present a look at conventional zoning, its origins, the evolution of the zoning, and the scope of zoning types. Regardless of the varieties, most zoning codes can be classified into at least one of the following broad categories: Euclidean zoning, Performance/Impact zoning, Incentive zoning, Form-based zoning and Hybrid Zoning. In this article, a descriptive-analytical method is used to review the existing documents and extract the materials in order to introduce the approach of FBC, its advantages and disadvantages. So, after defining each concept, the Critiques of Euclidean Zoning will be explained and then a new approach of zoning named Form-based Codes will be introduced to develop a better way of zoning in order to select homogenous areas of urban and rural terrain to adopt determined and certain rules of planning.

Today’s housing, as a private realm of human life, has changed in comparison with the past which was made regardless of quality, desirability, and lack of paying attention to the human needs and its psychological consequences; That is to say, residential units have turned into a set of closed spaces and their open and semi-open spaces have been merged into the urban spaces which disrupted their fundamental functions. In such a situation, reviewing and paying special attention to these spaces together with closed spaces in Tehran is really necessary. But this question is proposed that what are the indicators affecting the quality of open and semi-open spaces in contemporary housing? And how much do they affect the quality of these spaces? This research has a mixed (quantitative-qualitative) method which is applied in terms of purpose, and in terms of data collection method it is of descriptive-analytical and survey type. The statistical population includes 380 inhabitants in residential apartments in the Zafaranieh neighborhood of Tehran. After collecting field information through the questionnaire, the indicators affecting open and semi-open spaces, including: functional, behavioral, physical, environmental, social and perceptual-semantic by using statistical analysis software were analyzed. To investigate the significance of relationship between the mean difference of the scores of the effective indicators, the one sample T-test method and intragroup one-way analysis of variance have been used; the results obtained from the research showed that in the open and semi-open spaces of residential apartments in the Zafaranieh neighborhood, the physical, environmental and behavioral indicators with the mean score of 4.17, 3.52 and 3.22, respectively, have somewhat more favorable and more appropriate situation than other indicators, and currently their efficiency ratio is at moderate limit. However, the functional, social and perceptual-semantic indicators with the mean score of 2.68, 2.57 and 2.21, respectively, are in an unfavorable and inappropriate situation, and their efficiency ratio is at weak limit.