مجله صفه
پیاپی 96 (بهار 1401)

Assistant Professor, Faculty of Architecture and Urban Planning, Art University of Tehran
The issue of human body has always been a concern throughout the history, having gone through various interpretations, and manifesting itself in architecture in a variety of ways. Today, we criticise the one-dimensional approach of designers to the body, particularly the emphasis on its objectivity, which seems to be influenced by the anthropomorphic views that attribute the human characteristics including human body to all areas of human thought and action including architecture.
The present study intends to analytically reread the undeniable relationship between body and architecture, as discussed in philosophy, sociology, art, and architecture. An investigation is, therefore, made about various narratives, together with an analysis of prevalent interpretations of the body – from the ‘objective body’ to the ‘phenomenal body’ – and how they are evolved. The results show that the confrontation of architectural thought with the objectifying of the body has led to the phenomenological ‘embodiment’. However, despite shifts in the interpretation of the body through lived experience, the body continues to be viewed anthropomorphically, and translated into the geometric, the formal and the numerical.

Widely interpreted through different architectural discourses, form has emerged as a dynamic and slippery concept. Aiming at a rethinking of the concept in contemporary architectural discourse, the present paper explains theoretical bases and conceptual framework of considering form as an affordance. In order to do so, the paper starts with exploring some transforming influences on the contemporary concept of form, and moves on to introduce affordance as an interpretation of form corresponding the above influences. It then expands on the concept of affordance in order to explain some conceptual evolutions of its presence in the architectural discourse.
The paper ascertains a key role for the concept of meaning in rethinking form, and that with the introduction of affordance in architecture’s conceptual constellation comes a clarification of the meaning, providing responses to two key problems of meaning, namely, interactions between the subject and the object, and having a holistic view. This will result in a new understanding of the physical and the functional, aspect of architecture making way to go beyond their perceived schism. It is owing to drawing up new concepts of affordance, and the arousal of new concerns and considerations in architectural thought. Attempts are made here, therefore, to introduce concepts of action field, affordance layers, affordance domain, affordance quality, and affordance polarity, each reflecting the recent developments in architectural thought encountering the concept of affordance.

Ever since its initiation, the Faculty of Fine Arts has undergone a variety of transformations in terms of both the educational structure and the underlying thoughts. The present paper compares the system in periods before and after 1967 up to the Cultural Revolution. The main question of this research is: ‘what was the fundamental principles and educational methods of each period?’ The research method is interpretative-historical, followed by a comparative analysis.
The comparison is based on general educational approaches, contents including induction, design, theories and the final project, and procedures including those concerning studios, lecturers and assessments. It appears that whilst enjoying many strengths, the first period has suffered crucial flaws such as those of ungrounded content with little connection with the country’s local, historical and national characteristics. Similarly, the second period has enjoyed its own strengths and suffered damages caused by the lack of an integrated, disciplined educational system. The research proposes, therefore, to appropriately adopt features of the first period and adjust it with the content-related necessities of the second.

Hospitalisation can cause more stress than the illness itself. Given their importance, therefore, therapeutic spaces should be able to provide a completely relaxed environment. In this respect, colour plays a key role in understanding the environment, acquiring the information and offering a sense of orientation, helping occupants to better communicate with the environment. The present study focuses on the effects of colour in patient room interiors on the emotional states of the residents, considering individual characteristics as a mediating factor. A five-factor NEO personality model is used to identify personality traits, measuring traits such as neuroticism, extraversion, openness to experience, agreeableness, and conscientiousness. Space modelling method is used together with library studies in order to collect data. SPSS software and Pearson correlation research method were used to analyse the data and measure the relationship between the variables and analyse the results. Simple and multivariate linear regression statistical tests were used to determine the relationship and the intensity and direction of the relationship between independent and dependent variables. The results showed that light green is among the colours patients felt most comfortable, relaxed and pleased with. This colour also shows a significant relationship in the analyses of regression and correlation with neurotic personality, meaning that individuals with neurotic personality who had the traits such as anxiety, depression, nervousness, and vulnerability identified it as a suitable colour for evoking a sense of relaxation.

Hand-carved (‘Dastkand’ in Persian) architecture is a specific genre formed in some parts of Iran and other regions in the foothills, without using any crafted materials and only by digging into geological formations. A highlight of Iranian architecture, it has managed to reach the status of a magnificent art, and hence the importance of studying its spatial arrangements including certain settlements built this way. The present study investigates the spatial arrangements of houses in Kandovan and Meymand villages. It also investigates influential spatial features of their layouts and compare them. Descriptive-analytical methods and simulation and logical reasoning have been used here. Also, library studies and on-site observation methods have been used as complementaries.Five houses in Meymand and Kandovan each were randomly selected for this study, and Space Syntax software was used to analyse the plans of the two villages. According to results, the spatial syntax of the Kandovan and Meymand are very different, with the houses of Kandovan village having higher connection and interconnection and better performance. Also, Kandovan houses, like their more traditional Iranian counterparts, enjoy better articulation of private and semi-private realms due to their higher depth of space.

The present paper poses the claim that the use of the term ‘paradigm shift’ in relation to the evolution of planning theory in general on one hand, and explaining the theoretical development of planning in Iran on the other, lacks scientific accuracy, and that from this perspective the validity of indigenous theories such as the ‘strategic-structural’ theory must be re-examined. A review of the nature and content of the terms ‘paradigm’ and ‘paradigm shift’, and exploring their possibilities to explain the fundamental changes in planning theory will be first steps in making the case for the above claim. The distinction between ‘theory development’ and ‘paradigm shift’ and addressing the essential differences between the two, has led this research towards developmental methodology, so that in addition to explaining elements of planning theories whose evolutionary course results in a new generation of theories, the underlying and structural conditions of this transition are also examined. Finally, the continuum of transformation of planning theories will be introduced in its general sense in temporal and spatial contexts, based on which the development of a pathology of theorising planning in Iran from the perspective of the internal logics planning theories is made possible. Based on this pathology, the point can be made that rather than paying attention to new, modern planning approaches – such as strategic planning or communication planning – it is necessary to rethink Iran’s planning system within the requirements of its Institutional context, and try to make changes in institutions and institutionalise planning.

One of the most innovative structural technologies in Iranian Islamic architecture is the detached double-shell onion dome consisting of the outer shell, inner shell, drum, and usually stiffeners. Stiffeners, called khashkhāshi in Persian, are brick structural elements constructed between the two shells. Design varieties, complicated constructional features, and the inaccessibility of the space between the two shells, have hindered a comprehensive study and documentation of these elements. This, together with the lack of a comprehensive definition in the literature, has directed the aim of this article towards understanding the essence and the structural role of this unique element by surveying an extensive range of structural forms of kashkhāshi’s, eight of which chosen here to represent the distinct designs and groupings of these elements. Required data is collected through surveys and direct observations of selected examples, the archival study of their historical and restoration documents, and examining the limited secondary scholarship. The dimensions, numbers, profile shapes, and locations of this selection are then compared using descriptive-analytical methods, descriptive-classification techniques, and three-dimensional modellings of samples. A comprehensive and grounded definition for the khashkhāshi is proposed as a result. Consequently, these elements are classified under three groups:
Those comprised of relatively thin and short walls located within the swelling part of the outer shell, representing a minimal design approach. This group stiffens the outer shell against deformation and bending through increasing its thickness;
Those extending along the profile of the outer shell to improve its bending resistance;
The horizontal extension of the first group, containing thin and tall walls of khashkhāshi playing three distinct functional roles: increasing the bending stiffness of the outer-shell, reducing the drum's buckling, and improving the bending stiffness of the inner-shell.