نشریه مطالعات معماری ایران
سال یازدهم شماره 22 (پاییز و زمستان 1401)

This research aims to identify and assess the authenticity of the Square Kufic (mo‘aqqeli) inscriptions on the portal of the Masjed-e Jame‘-e ʿAbbasi of Isfahan. There are several Square Kufic inscriptions on the portal of this mosque, yet the historical authenticity of none has ever been studied. This research was done in three steps: First, we completely photographed the portal of this building. Then we made a panoramic image out of the photos from the facade, identified 46 Square Kufic inscriptions, and marked their place on the mentioned panoramic image. Then, we produced a two-dimensional map of that image and showed the current location of all the Square Kufic inscriptions of the portal on this map. In the second step, we identified the historical photos of the portal of this mosque and organized them in chronological order. Then, we overlaid these historical photos on the produced map and identified which Kufic inscriptions were damaged or collapsed and later restored. By doing so, we showed which of these inscriptions were still in place before the restoration of 1937-1938, and so, are more likely to be authentic and which of them are definitely not. In the third step, we compared the condition of the inscriptions which remained intact on the portal’s facade until the restoration of 1937-38, as recorded in historical photos, with their present condition and showed which ones are definitely authentic and which ones are not. This research shows that out of 46 Square Kufic inscriptions on the portal of this mosque, 34 inscriptions are historically authentic, 11 inscriptions were definitely lost before the restoration works of 1937-38 and therefore are not authentic. Moreover, the historical authenticity of one inscription is only probable.

Despite the challenges and significance of the field, the behavior of masonry structures has not been sufficiently addressed in structural education of architecture curricula. For this purpose, this paper reflects the results of a four-year action research in the praxis paradigm which was done through several educational cycles. This study concentrates on the education of masonry structures in the introductory levels of architecture curricula. It explores how the behavior of masonry structures can be instructed to architecture students and how to develop an education model.  The study takes an experimental approach using the kinematic study of rigid block models in the framework of the theory of plasticity and limit state analysis. It considers the effects of settlement and earthquake as instability factors by a displacement-based approach. It was shown that some basic concepts and problems of limit state analysis such as yielding, creating plastic hinges, and the relation of the location of plastic hinges with the geometrical proportions of a structure could be taught by the kinematic study of rigid block models. The proposed educational model is based on students’ experiments on physical models and the instructor’s stage-by-stage queries with a focus on observation. As a result, the proposed education model can be utilized by instructors to improve education in this field.

The integrity of an urban area is closely connected with its perception as a coherent whole. Maintaining the tangible and intangible structures of this coherent whole guarantees integrity in a historic area. The concept and significance of integrity are amply noted as key components in conservation frameworks. For example, the Venice Charter states that “The sites of monuments must be the object of special care in order to safeguard their integrity.” Even so, no specific procedure has been developed to evaluate and quantify integrity in historic urban areas in Iran. Lack of integrity is among the main damages in historic urban areas. Against this background, the present study aims to shed light on major criteria for integrity evaluation in historical urban areas. For this purpose, the primary criteria were developed based on conservation frameworks. The initial model was put to test in an urban quarter comprising the Sultan Amir Ahmad neighborhood and its surroundings. Accordingly, the preliminary findings were applied to a real but damaged historic urban area, and the relevant criteria were cleared. The descriptive-analytical approach was adopted in this research and historical texts, documents, field studies, and historical photos were utilized for data collection. Moreover, the primary and almost-integrated condition of the studied historical urban area was reconstructed based on aerial images of 1956 as well as information on past land uses and people's lives and occupations. The initial model for integrity evaluation was created through the analysis of manuscripts, e.g., the Nairobi Recommendation (1976), the Washington Charter (1987), the Declaration of San Antonio (1996), and the Valletta Principles (2011). The findings reveal how the changes and transformations have affected urban macro patterns, urban fabric, buildings and their formal appearance, the relationship between an area and its surroundings, functions, spirit of place, place identity, traditional techniques, and cultural traditions of historic cities, and ultimately, the integrity of a historic urban area.

The Garden of Cheshmeh ‘Ali Damghan, with an area of ​​about 1.2 hectares, is a unique example of the remaining historical water gardens in Iran. It is located northwest of Damghan near permanent springs. In recent decades, the historical structure of the garden suffered from the destruction of its surrounding embankments, architectural structures, and ecological systems, resulting in the deformation of its original composition. Noting the significance of this garden and its spatial structure throughout the history of Persian garden-building to reconstruct the structure of the historical garden in the Qajar period, this paper attempts to study its different aspects. Using the historical method and a descriptive-analytical approach, this paper examines original text and pictorial documents from the Qajar period and tries to delineate the garden’s historical structure by documenting all available evidence and analyzing and comparing primary data with the current condition of the garden. According to research findings, in 1783, Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar built the first building in the garden near the spring. The reason for choosing this place was the proximity of Cheshmeh ‘Ali to Astar-abad [home of the Qajar tribe] and the protected nature of the region. In 1802, during the expedition to Khorasan, Fath-‘Ali Shah Qajar stayed in the Agha-Mohammad-Khani building and subsequently ordered to carry out repairs in this building, maintain the reservoir, and build the main pavilion, a mosque, ramparts, and towers. He bequeathed the complex to Hazrat-e Vali-e ‘Asr (pbuh). Later, when Nasser ad-Din Shah resided in the garden on his two trips to Khorasan (1866 and 1883), he ordered more repairs in the complex. According to the pictures of ‘Abdullah Khan Qajar, the garden then had brick embankments (three meters high) and five circular towers (five-and-a-half meters high), and the inner (northern) area of the main pavilion was separated from the southern pool with a paneled wall. After the death of Nasser al-Din Shah in 1896, the garden of Cheshmeh ‘Ali, like many other works of the Qajar period, fell into neglect and underwent physical destruction.

Urbanization, land prices, and construction costs have diminished the size of housing interiors. These extreme reductions make home seekers prefer open and large spaces. Users express their tendency towards size-related qualities of space like airiness and spaciousness explicitly when negotiating to rent or purchase housing. Through a qualitative research method, this study aims to investigate the physical attributes of housing affecting the perceived spaciousness and airiness, semantic analysis of the two qualities, and establishment of an operational spatial arrangement for spacious housing. Participants of this study included 40 residents of 22 apartments in Tehran, Iran. The results of the study show that increased area, light, visual permeability, and furniture qualities had the most effect on both spaciousness and airiness. For spatial arrangement, results showed that the more the spaces merge, the more spaciousness is perceived. Since spaciousness falls under the formal/denotative meanings of environment whereas airiness belongs to symbolic/connotative meanings of environment, the two qualities should be differently measured in environmental evaluation.

Our understanding of contemporary architecture and its relation to the past has formed historically against the backdrop of a complex network of various individuals and other contextual factors. A prominent figure representative of such an understanding is Vartan Hovanessian. His decades-long activities included diverse fields such as criticism and authorship, corporate activity, and architectural design. This article answers the question of his intellectual position regarding the relationship between the architecture of his time and that of the past. It examines the network of thoughts, individuals, events, interactions, and other factors to draw a comprehensive picture that goes beyond a scholarly monograph of the architect. The research mainly relies on primary sources especially his articles, using the historical method to construct a narrative of his intellectual positions on the relation of past and present architecture during the three decades of his professional activity in Iran. This research shows that “the past” appears in Hovanessian’s thinking in two distinct ways: the “distant past” and the “recent past”. The “distant past” in all of his writings includes all historical periods of Iranian architecture up to its peak, i.e., the Safavid era, while the “recent past” starts a few decades before the publication of his first articles. However, the works and the time frame he suggests for the architecture of the “recent past” vary in the articles he published during the 1320s and 1340s SH. His different intellectual positions towards the past in each period can be explained in relation to modern architecture and to his perspective of the future as manifested in the European and Western ideals of modernism.

Iranian cities witnessed a growing enthusiasm for the construction of public buildings during the fifteenth century. These constructions were called the  beqāʿ al-khair (houses of charity). The patronage of construction and repairing the  beqāʿ al-khair during this century was not only by the central government but also by other individuals. This caused a significant increase in the number of the beqāʿ in both urban and suburban areas. The economic ends for this type of building has been studied previously, but there were other purposes as well. The present paper aims to show why there was a surge in building them during the fifteenth century and how they affected Iranian cities. Through a historical approach and analysis and discussion of evidence from primary sources (such as histories, local histories, endowment deeds, and tadhkirahs), the study shows that the beqāʿ al-khair were often unsustainable foundations, and that, in most cases, their period of prosperity did not last beyond the lifetime of their founders. Nevertheless, they embodied the prosperity of the city and the justice of their rulers. Despite their short-lived prospering period, the beqāʿ al-khair were important institutions in that they were deemed as symbols indicating the flourishing of a city, and the justice of its rulers. It is argued that the reason for this significance should be sought in the role of the  beqāʿ in the social and economic life of the cities. The  beqāʿ financially supported three different classes: the patrons (sponsors), the ‘ulama (scholars), and the poor. The construction of these buildings was probably aimed to fulfill a combination of material and spiritual ends. The extent of their influence on Iranian cities was such that one cannot fully comprehend the structure of a fifteenth-century city without knowing of its  beqāʿ al-khair.

The houses of the Qajar period in Rasht are valuable examples of traditional Iranian houses with different spatial configurations from those of other parts of Iran. Visual connectivity is a crucial factor in shaping the concept of domain in residential spaces. Houses have different visual qualities according to their designs and provide different experiences of space. This study aims to investigate the concept of domains by analyzing indicators of visual connectivity of indoor relationships in these houses. The research uses the descriptive-analytical method with logical reasoning of software outputs. In the first step, the houses were divided into four groups according to their designs, and then two samples were selected from each group with a total of eight. For coherence purposes and the comparative study of the samples, three common spaces of the veranda, reception room, and bedroom were analyzed. In the second stage, visual quality indicators including visual connectivity, viewing distances, and intelligibility were extracted from the research literature. In the third stage, visibility graph analysis, axial maps with cones of vision, axial lines, and connectivity and integration diagrams were produced in the Depthmap software. The results show that the visual connectivity values of spaces are different resulting in the creation of perceptual domains and spatial hierarchies. By examining the visibility cone indicators in the houses, it was observed that more adjacency with walls, less spatial complexity because of convexity of shape, and visual and physical accessibility make a space (such as the veranda) more connected with other spaces. On the other hand, lower values of the mentioned indicators create more privacy (such as in the bedrooms). Therefore, the indoor spaces of the extroverted houses of Rasht, while transparent, have visual and spatial boundaries that create a hierarchy of domains.

In recent years, the use of deployable structures has drawn the attention of many architects and engineers due to their flexibility. By providing favorable conditions for spaces and creating dynamics and flexibility in buildings, transformable roofs have been used in many global projects. In this research, the structural mechanisms of transformable roofs are investigated and analyzed. The transformation mechanism of these roofs is classified here into four groups: rigid, membrane, scissor, and umbrella mechanisms. While explaining the processes and the mode of movement in each mechanism, one prominent project is analyzed as an example of each group. Then, 60 examples of transformable roof structures built around the world during the last six decades are briefly analyzed. The results of this study show that transformable roofs are used extensively in stadiums and sports centers. The rigid and membrane mechanisms are the most used mechanisms for transformable roofs and truss and cable structures are the most used systems. These roofs are used to cover spans of more than 300 meters. The span-to-thickness ratio of the roof changes from about 30 to 240, where the highest value is for membrane mechanisms. The cover material for retractable roofs in all four groups includes lightweight materials including Teflon, ETFE, and PVC.

One of the most important international tools for conserving, identifying, and managing humanity's shared heritage is the World Heritage Convention of 1972. This convention is the outcome of years of international efforts to safeguard humanity's shared heritage. Several factors have influenced the processes of the convention over time. These factors aid in understanding the primary purpose of the convention and, eventually, the proper direction for its policies. The present paper presents a descriptive-historical study of the events surrounding the development of the World Heritage Convention through three periods (early twentieth century until World War I, World War I to World War II, and post-World War II until the adoption of the World Heritage Convention in 1972) to identify and explain the factors that influenced it. The findings reveal that conserving humanity's shared heritage has been the basis of all efforts since the convention's adoption. Identification of heritage properties has been at the center of these efforts and has followed three factors: threats, heritage definition, and the link between cultural and natural heritage. According to historical studies, the conservation of this shared heritage is based on three components: each country’s internal conservation structures (including laws and institutions), international conservation bodies, and international financial assistance.

Since authenticity is one of the most fundamental concepts in the philosophy of conservation-restoration and conservation-restoration intervention, it is affected by the type of approach to authenticity. Moreover, authenticity is related to other concepts such as value, integrity, and intention of the artist in the history of conservation. In this article, we study this concept during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries by reviewing and analyzing the history of conservation and restoration and expert views of authenticity to determine different approaches to it through a qualitative research method and content analysis strategy. Different approaches to authenticity, regardless of their historical course, can be classified into three main groups. The first approach considers the authenticity of fixed components in a work—those that persist through time. This persistence gives them value and authenticity and justifies the work for conservation. The second approach considers authenticity with the historicity of the work, which can be called process authenticity. Finally, the third approach is an observer-centered (audience-centered) approach that prioritizes the observer as the basis for judgment about the authenticity of a property.

Known as Momtahin al-Dowlah, Mirza Mahdi Khān Shaqāqi was an engineer and politician of the Qajar era. He has two written works titled Khātirāt-e-Momtahin (Memoirs of Momtahin) and Ma’āsir-i Mahdīeh (admirable works of Mahdī), one of which is his autobiography and the other is a well-known book in the field of foreign policy. His architectural activities and political position besides the contents of his two works provide a great opportunity to get a better understanding of the Qajar era. Although this study is restricted to Shaqāqi’s works and activities and may not be generalizable to the whole society during the Qajar period, it represents the era from a specific viewpoint. The study revolves around architecture and politics, which are two areas of human social life that are manifestations of consciousness and human will. They are interrelated, and studying them can better reveal the state of society. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to investigate the architecture and politics during the life of Momtahin al-Dowlah through his works to get a better understanding of Iranian society during that period. This review is based on the two written works of Mirza Mahdi Khān Shaqāqi. The research method is thematic analysis. The results show the characteristics and conditions of the society during that period; namely innovation and imitation, patriotism and loss of trust and social capital, imitation of the West and dissatisfaction with it, and favor and treason. These characteristics, as a whole, indicate an internal contradiction and conflict from the viewpoint of Momtahin al-Dowlah. The article is arranged in four parts. After the introduction, Momtahin al-Dowlah and his two written works are introduced. In the third part, which is the main part of the article, the content and themes of the two works are discussed and the characteristics that can be extracted from the architectural and political conditions are explained and finally summarized in the fourth part.