مجله صفه
پیاپی 102 (پاییز 1402)

In the past three decades new cognitive sciences viewpoints have highlighted the influential role of the body in cognitive processes; a role long neglected by the dominance of mind-body dualism in cognitive and intellectual domains such as architectural thought, despite the seminal role of the body for discovery and cognition of the world. Such cognition is experienced through interactions between objective micro-worlds such as that of architecture, and the third-person and first-person (lived) bodies. Has this body and its cognitive role always been neglected in the history of architectural thought? To answer this question the present paper tries to investigate this role and its influence in the history of formation and evolution of architectural theories in the West. Using logical reasoning and a descriptive-analytical approach, parts of Western history of architecture are rethought, due to its close associations with the Western philosophy in the formation of this history.The results show that different ideas about the body can be identified in history, ranging from corporeality to embodiment. It is then anticipated that the embodiment, the cognitive role of the body and the above viewpoints will gradually influence architectural theories leading it towards notions of "close relationship between the first-person body and architecture".

The physicality of historical houses in Iran have always been affected by various factors of their context, e.g., cultural factors, religious beliefs, rituals, religious approaches, social security and climate comfort, all of which affecting the quality of indoor spaces and formal characteristics in various ways. The orientation of the house, materials and consumables, decorations, hierarchy, geometry, scale, light and illumination are among these characteristics. This paper compares and evaluates the influence of cultural and climatic factors on the architecture of historical houses of the Qajar era in the cold-mountainous and hot-dry climates of Iran. The research method is descriptive-analytical-comparative, through library and field studies. To do so, four Qajar houses with central courtyard and block forms were selected in the key cities of the above climates to compare their contrasting forms, and the way physical and spatial components are affected by different factors. The comparison shows that the form, hierarchies, orientation and use of natural materials are among the indicators influenced by cultural factors in both climates. In the hot and dry climate, the cultural factor most effective on the scale of the house and the functions of the spaces, with materials, compositions, façade and ornaments having also benefited from the climate, while in the cold and mountainous climate, the scale and function having fruitfully been affected from the climate.

The rapid growth of urbanisation in contemporary era has increased the human need for open space. One of the most important principles of open space design is to pay attention to thermal comfort in order to improve the quality of space and satisfy users. Numerous factors affect the thermal comfort quality of open spaces including shading; one of the most important ones. This study investigates the effect of shade on students' thermal comfort at Shahrood University of Technology in Iran during the hot season. For this purpose, field studies were conducted including the measurement of major climatic parameters, as well as the evaluation of the thermal perception of students by using thermal comfort questionnaires at four types of location in campus (under plants shade, building shade, horizontal shading (canopy), and sunlight) simultaneously. The Physiologically Equivalent Temperature (PET) is used here as a thermal comfort index. The neutral PET value of 21.9 °C and the maximum value in the PET comfort range of 26.9 °C are obtained for this study. The results show that there is a significant relationship between the location and the thermal comfort. The plants shade creates an acceptable thermal environment with more than 80% user satisfaction. After that, the canopy and the building shade also provide environmental satisfaction for the majority of people, while the most uncomfortable condition is in the sunlight position. Shaded locations decrease the PET value and thermal stress on sunny days and increase comfort levels as well as comfort hours during the day. Therefore, it can be concluded that creating shade and blocking direct solar radiation using vegetation or building elements can significantly improve outdoor thermal comfort during the hot season.

Evacuation modelling is a tool for measuring the performance of building design for safe evacuation of occupants during emergencies such as fires. The first evacuation modelling efforts date back to the mid-70s. To date, a wide range of evacuation models have been developed, with numerous problems having been studied in various scientific disciplines. In the present study, a database of 152 original papers was developed through a systematic search in the field of evacuation modelling, and their data was used to answer three key questions. The first question was that of the role of architectural design in the entire body of research. Architectural design issues are one of the five fields in evacuation modelling research being considered in a variety of scales in the design process. The second question was that of important elements of evacuation modelling. This was answered by data analysis. From the perspective of variables and their relationship, it was found that several elements have been considered as independent variables in evacuation modelling, with their design features being considered as measures to explain other dependent parameters. The third question was that of the relationship between architectural elements and other modelling parameters. When a modelling is aimed at evaluation of a design, the results can cause significant changes in the original design.Modelling methods are also relevant to the levels of design development. In early stages, macroscopic modelling can lead to the rejection or acceptance of a design alternative or schema, or demonstrate whether or not the design conforms to the required performance criteria. In more advanced stages, microscopic modelling is applied as a tool to make fine tunings of dimensions, configuration details and layouts of columns and furniture. The results showed that the swarm intelligence-based methods are the emerging field among microscopic models that can result in lower computational cost and more accurate results.

Public spaces play a key role in citizens’ participation in improving the urban environment. There are a series of factors and criteria including social interactions, environmental health, identity and the sense of belonging, safety and security, public trust, prosperity and local economic development, suitable access, variety of urban services and the quality of life all play important roles. Associated with the main question of this paper are assessments of capacities, resources, drives, and constraints of a given district, and hence the necessity of their analysis. An analysis of qualitative and quantitative criteria and indices can lead to a realisation of key factors of social actions. The main aim here is to offer an explanation for the role of public spaces in social participation. Tehran’s Kooy-e Nasr (Guisha) district is chosen for this study – typically facing above-mentioned challenges – and its public spaces were studied based on selected indices, using questionnaires and semi-structured interviews under Aronson content analysis model and the SWOT method. The results show that community participation is most associated with variety of services in public spaces. There are also noticeable correlations between the sense of belonging and active presence in public spaces, and social interactions. These results can play a significant part in district development planning to fulfil public demand for community participation.

The Qajari Tehran was the capital and the foremost centre for important state ceremonies: opportunities for the general public to attend the king's presence on various national, religious, and other occasions, which included celebrations, mourning, Nowruz rituals, farewell ceremonies or welcoming the king, etc. However, the structure of this city was not the same in the entire Qajar era. In the Nasseri period, for instance, new forms of urban elements and spaces such as streets and squares were introduced. Nasserieh street was one of the new urban spaces on the eastern side of the royal citadel, and became a new venue for state and sometimes non-state ceremonies, allowing closer communication between the king and the people. Focusing on urban rituals, this article examines the role of Nasserieh street in public, but also mostly state events of the Nasseri period, and compare it with previous periods, to then answer these questions: 1) as an urban space mediating between the citadel and city structure, what status did Nasserieh street have in holding ceremonies? 2- What innovative role did Nasserieh street played in enhancing the communication between the king and the people? For this purpose, and adopting a qualitative approach and interpretative-historical method, the primary and secondary sources were studied and the existing visual documents were examined, focusing on the public and mostly state ceremonies. The results indicate the heralding of a new era in king-people communication marked by an increased presence of the king in everyday urban life, which was largely derived from changes in the relationship between the state and the nation and the state's new approaches in seeking legitimacy.