نشریه مکتب احیاء
پیاپی 3 (تابستان 1403)

The world is grappling with climatic, environmental, social, and civilizational crises. Conserving natural sources, ecosystems, and cultural legacy as a major cornerstone of sustainable development reinforces natural identity and cultural values and plays a key role in the management of nonrenewable resources. The conservation covers a wide range of elements such as mountains, forests, valleys, rivers, farms, historical monuments, archeological sites, places of common interest and contemporary heritage, industrial heritage, urban greenery areas, and cultural landscapes. These elements, as natural and cultural assets of societies, not only preserve their cultural-historical identity but also function as leverage in sustainability development and serve common interests.  The necessity of conservancy, restoration, and revival of places is well established. The major concern is why the principles of conservation and revival of historical places are confined to themselves and have not been generalized to modern developments. The shortened lifespan of new buildings, early expiration of new buildings, and excessive destruction of old and new buildings have inflicted a burden on the environment. The destruction of buildings means the loss of resources and saved energies, resumption of the cycle of resource extraction, and energy consumption, which results in more destruction. This means today’s world needs maintenance, conservation, and restoration of historical heritage and man-made and natural environments more than ever. It also highlights reconsidering current approaches in architecture, house construction, and urban planning. It is time to have a guideline for planning and making policies for sustainable development in different areas such as architecture, urban planning, environmental planning, land use planning, and housing based on the principles of conservation, restoration, and revitalization in global conventions and national and international charters. Such principles highlight the respect for the environment, natural settings, and cultural and social contexts in which they have been shaped. They also encourage the least intervention and maximum efficiency. However, the principles require reversibility and flexibility of plans and place importance on sustainability, integrity, and comprehensiveness. They also underscore originality, simplicity, readability, and the use of vernacular materials and techniques compatible with the environment, respecting the structures and lived experiences of the past for the use of the present and future generations. Additionally, they stress the continuity and management of changes and protect public interests. With the implementation of such principles, it is likely to strike a stable balance between the needs of the present and future generations, preventing the loss of resources and hoping for the preservation of cultural identity, environment, and sustainable development. It is expected the officials who are in charge of the protection of cultural and natural heritage consider this issue not just as a civil responsibility but as a strategic necessity and adopt suitable policies to protect cultural and natural heritage. To address this issue, several measures can be taken, for instance, establishing laws and regulations, allocating sufficient budgets for the restoration and maintenance of places and contemporary historical landscapes, considering assets with low efficiency and performance, raising the awareness of people, and encouraging them to participate in the protection of the heritage and natural as well as man-made environments.

As historical resorts, caravanserais played a role in welcoming and accommodating travelers. The route of Silk Road passed through numerous routes, cities, and deserts, and without caravanserais, it would have been unimaginable to pass through these arid and barren oases. The region of Iran is also one of these. It is not an exception and has diverse climate and environmental conditions, and the existence of caravanserais in these crossings was vital so that we see the establishment of countless caravanserais in this geographical area. The central region of Iran has been very important in the distant past due to the presence of cities and Rey town. For that reason, it has been the central focus of passages and roads. That explains why countless caravanserais used to be built in its vicinity. This research is based on a comparative study of suburban Sangi and Haj Kamal caravanserais in Robat Karim, in terms of the architectural form in the southwest of Tehran province. These two caravanserais have different styles from each other. The main focus of the present research is on the reinterpretation of the architecture of the aforementioned caravanserais. This is the first research that has investigated the physical characteristics of caravanserais in the Robat Karim region so that their hidden values can be known. This comparative study will ultimately lead to more optimal restoration and retrieval of the lost and damaged parts of the caravanserai. The research method of the present study is based on library studies, field research, comparative study, and interpretation and analysis of the gathered data. The purpose of this article is to introduce and recognize the studied caravanserais. This research attempts to review and examine tangible heritage aspects of Iranian caravansarai in the region of Robat Karim.

Before international discussions on the principles of sustainable development began, Iranian architecture had inherently embraced sustainability features. From construction techniques to the respect shown for nature in the selection of urban locations and the development of buildings, these principles were embedded. The main objective of this paper is to uncover the approach to sustainable development embedded in the expansion of historical complexes in Iran. The Shah Nematollah Vali Historical Complex, located in the garden city of Mahan, is an example of the flourishing of Sufi mysticism in the Kerman region from the 14th to the 19th century CE. This research addresses some overlooked issues related to the gradual expansion of the structure by posing two key questions: 1) What stages did the expansion of the complex, in alignment with its function in each period, involve? 2) How have the sustainability features manifested in the development of this complex? The findings, derived from the study of historical sources, examination of inscriptions and decorations, as well as the perspectives of rulers in each period using a descriptive-analytical approach, indicate that the initial core of Shah Nematollah Vali’s mausoleum was constructed shortly after his death as a solitary tower tomb adjacent to his dervish lodge. Due to various factors, both the structure and the person buried within it have attracted the attention of kings, neighboring countries, local rulers, and the public over different eras. One of the outcomes of this attention has been the sustainable development and expansion of the complex, with consideration for its garden city nature, respect for environmental issues, economic factors, and social fabric, along with continuous preservation and restoration efforts. These factors have contributed to the survival of this unique architectural complex to the present day. This study examines the expansion of the structure from the lifetime of Shah Nematollah Vali (14th and 15th centuries CE) until the late Qajar period, as well as the transformations it has undergone up to the present.

Cultural heritage, as a representation of a society's identity and culture, necessitates protection and preservation. Among the various risks that pose a threat to cultural heritage, fire stands out as one of the most significant. Fire poses diverse forms of damage to cultural heritage, making the protection of such heritage against fire a matter of great importance. To develop a fire risk management plan, one of the crucial steps is conducting a fire risk assessment, which differs in their approach when applied to cultural heritage and museums due to their intrinsic value. This article seeks to introduce two fire risk assessment models specific to cultural heritage and museums. Firstly, the CPRAM model quantitatively evaluates fire risk based on four criteria, considering factors such as usage type and accessibility for firefighters. Secondly, the ABC model qualitatively ranks fire risk by considering frequency, value lost in each affected item, and the value pie ratio. By emphasizing the significance of safeguarding cultural heritage and museums from fire, this article underscores the necessity of comprehensive programs and modeling in this particular domain.

The development of dense residential complexes in the world since the 1960s has highlighted the importance of the quality of housing. Given that importance, different indicators have been developed to assess housing satisfaction. As a result, various studies in the sciences have emerged focusing on space and place. The tendency to evaluate the quality of housing in the project named “Mehr Housing,”  the biggest housing project, has been no exception. However, the evaluation of different studies shows that the quality measurement research, which was carried out in the form of conventional methods of environmental studies and based on the definition of predetermined criteria, could not positively contribute to improving the conditions of these residential environments. This article aims to investigate the reasons why available studies have been ineffective and failed to achieve the expected results. The process of critiquing the conducted studies is guided by the belief that the main reason for failure is the research methodology. Based on scrutinizing these studies, it can be concluded that the separation of the studied components, the lack of attention to housing in a holistic form, as well as the limitation of the studies by researchers to a specific aspect that arises from the context of the theoretical field of research, are two main ineffective reasons.

Historical bridges of Iran, as well as other artifacts of traditional societies, in addition to their function, are the place for the crystallization and transfer of implicit concepts in the worldview of its creators. Khaju Bridge had the role of a dam and was a strain among the most beautiful bridges of the Safavid era. For this reason, along with the Isfahan bridges, Khaju Bridge’s structure is different from other bridges. This study attempts to answer the question of how was the construction of the Khaju Bridge at different times. The impetus behind the paper is to reconstruct the original structure of the Khaju Bridge based on data gathered from descriptive and visual documents in different periods and provide a general understanding of the Khaju Bridge from the beginning of its existence to the present time. This research analyzes the images and documents to find out the components of construction. This research was carried out using a comparative study method based on library and field studies. This research is the first attempt which reveal the original image of the Khaju Bridge and its form and shape over time.