نشریه باغ نظر
سال بیست و دوم شماره 144 (خرداد 1404)

 Architectural education in contemporary Iran faces significant challenges due to outdated teaching methods that fail to align with the demands of the postmodern era. Current educational systems remain tied to rigid, standardized approaches from the modern period, limiting their ability to adapt to new sociocultural realities.

This research investigates the essential characteristics and needs of architectural education in the postmodern context, proposing innovative objectives for nurturing architects in modern Iran. The study combines reflective analysis, descriptive methods, and the author’s firsthand teaching experiences in Atelier 3 at the University of Tehran over 12 semesters (2017–2023), alongside reviews of academic literature and library resources.

Key findings suggest that architectural education must move away from uniform standardization toward flexible, diverse teaching models. This shift requires rethinking -not dismantling- existing structures. Alongside specialized objectives (knowledge, technical skills, and insight), the study advocates for profound objectives in education -economic literacy, social responsibility, cognitive development, and mental health- proposing a blended pathway for progress. Crucially, educators must evolve from being mere knowledge providers to facilitators of collaborative, student-centered learning environments. Such a shift enables postmodern architectural educators to inspire students’ holistic professional and personal development.

 Interviews with stakeholders in the construction industry highlight the ethical challenges faced by actors in the industry. On the one hand, the non-governmental public sector, alongside the private sector, represents two major players in the country’s construction industry. Ethical challenges arise in a system composed of the private sector, municipalities, the Iranian Construction Engineering Organization, the National Land and Property Registration Organization, the Iranian National Tax Administration, and non-governmental public institutions, creating a three-player environment that influences the ethical decisions of actors. Previous research appears to have overlooked the actors’ understanding of ethics and the phenomenon of ethical challenges, treating them not as a focused phenomenon from the builders’ perspective, and failing to adequately address their causes, constituent elements, and consequences.

This study focuses on describing the moral understanding of key construction industry actors and examining the ethical challenges builders face in interactions with key organizations involved in the construction industry.

Since exploring the ethical challenges faced by builders in the construction industry is a novel topic, and the characteristics of ethical issues depend on the context and actors involved, this study employs a qualitative research approach and uses grounded theory methodology.

Based on the analysis of the research findings, the understanding of ethics by the actors is quite general. The results indicate that the majority of actors in the construction industry adopt a result-oriented approach to ethics. Among the ethical challenges faced by builders, unconventional payments in municipalities and unconventional payments in the Iranian Construction Engineering Organization are identified as the most significant challenges. The key factors contributing to these ethical challenges include contradictory and interpretable laws, the lucrative nature of the construction business, inflation, inefficiency in the supervisory system, corruption within key organizations, and the lack of tracking for unconventional payments. The main barriers to unethical behavior include personal ethics, the effectiveness of supervisory institutions, and the strategies used by actors in unethical practices such as exploiting laws that lead to different outcomes and justifying actions with religious and ethical reasoning.

 To date, many studies concerning the façades of commercial centers have tended to focus either on aesthetic dimensions or on performance-based criteria—particularly environmental sustainability. Consequently, a notable research gap persists in Iran regarding integrative approaches that simultaneously examine both technical aspects (such as thermal transmittance, green cladding, and solar radiation control) and perceptual-cultural dimensions (including urban users’ expectations and compatibility with local identity).

Addressing this gap, the present study adopts a mixed-method approach—quantitative and qualitative to explore how visual and environmental features of commercial building façades influence the preferences and perceptual experiences of users in the Tehran metropolis.

In the initial phase, energy simulations and analysis of physical data (including thermal and daylighting indices) were conducted to evaluate the environmental performance of four selected commercial complexes. Subsequently, qualitative data were gathered through semi-structured interviews and perceptual questionnaires to assess user preferences concerning aesthetic and cultural dimensions.

The results indicate that façades which simultaneously reduce energy consumption and exhibit strong visual presence along with discernible cultural cues are significantly more effective in eliciting positive emotional responses and encouraging user engagement. Unlike most previous studies—often limited to either aesthetic or technical aspects—this research introduces an integrated mixed-method framework that systematically demonstrates the interrelation between environmental parameters and users’ psychological reception. This framework offers a strategic model for designing façades that fulfill both ecological goals and perceptual satisfaction among the target community.

 Recent developments in installation art have transformed the concept of space from a mere display backdrop into a dynamic and interactive element. Within this context, Shirin Abedinirad’s works, through the use of mirrors and reflections, propose an innovative approach to redefining space. However, the way these elements influence spatial perception and audience participation has remained underexplored. This study aims to address this research gap by investigating the role of mirrors and reflections in Shirin Abedinirad’s installations and analyzing their impact on the transformation of spatial concepts, audience interaction, and the construction of meaning.

The objective of this research is to examine the role of mirrors and reflections in Shirin Abedinirad’s installations and to analyze their effects on redefining spatial concepts, audience engagement, and the formation of meaning. This investigation is grounded in the artistic theories of Kaprow, Licht, Celant, and Johnston, while also considering institutional critiques and the social context of art.

This study adopts a descriptive-analytical approach, drawing upon literature, direct observation, and analysis of selected works by Abedinirad. The theoretical framework draws on the artistic theories of Kaprow, Licht, Celant, and Johnston to explore the interplay between space, light, and mirrors. Additionally, institutional critiques and the social context of art are incorporated into the analysis.

The findings reveal that the use of mirrors in these installations not only reconfigures the physical and perceptual boundaries of space but also transforms the audience from passive observers into active participants in the process of interpreting the artwork. Drawing on Kaprow’s theories of audience participation and Licht’s perspectives on spatial dynamism, it is concluded that Abedinirad’s works convert space from a static backdrop into a fluid, multi-layered environment. This characteristic fosters an interactive experience while simultaneously providing a platform for critiquing social and institutional structures.

 Body and architecture have always influenced each other. Today, human beings are exposed to vast social changes due to the growth of technology and globalization, facing an intelligent world that is becoming smarter every day and awes them with its complexities. What will the future of humans look like in this new world shaped by technology, of which artificial intelligence is an example? And what changes does architecture undergo under the influence of new physical features of the human body?

It seems that the future body will be formed at the intersection of biology and digital technologies; a hybrid body – part human, part tools and technology – called the cyborg. The present study aims to answer the question ‘What will the architecture of the present century look like?’ by examining the physical characteristics of contemporary and future human beings, and it concludes by presenting some recommendations for the architecture of the future.

This study employed a library research methodology involving a review of the ways architecture can be influenced by the physiological characteristics of the body, the concept of communication, and the communication areas between the human body and its internal and external parts. The analysis started by categorizing these cases while discussing the examples of architecture inspired by the body.Then, the same process was followed for the new body, and the future implications of the study were scrutinized. 

The development of the scope of impact of the building by digital tools, the use of deep neural networks to make the building intelligent, and the use of fluids to communicate messages at the surface and depth of the building are among the suggestions presented as biomimetic architecture.

 Considering the recent social, cultural, and political developments and the emergence of socially engaged art, contemporary art can be seen as a form of social and political action within society. This research aims to recognize and analyze selected works by artists from Gilan that in some way reflect political approaches, seeking to answer the question: Based on Goffman’s perspective, what political approaches are reflected in the works of contemporary Gilanian artists?

The goal of this study is to identify examples of the reflection of political approaches as a form of social action in the works of artists from Gilan. The significance of this research lies in the fact that studying the actions of contemporary local artists can generate knowledge about how they interact and engage with their society.

This research is fundamental in terms of its objective and qualitative in nature, using qualitative content analysis as the main method. Data was collected through a combination of library and field research. To identify instances of Goffman’s political patterns, approximately 266 artworks were selected and examined from among the total works of 13 artists whose work demonstrated political tendencies.

Findings indicate that contemporary artists from Gilan have long played the role of political actors through their works, expressing their own and their audience’s concerns as a reaction to the political conditions of their time. Among the selected works, in addition to reflections on political themes and various individual and collective experiences, elements such as hero-making and the depiction of national figures like Mirza Kuchak Khan Jangali are observed. Most of the contemporary Gilan artists studied have acted as artist-citizens, reflecting the political circumstances of Gilan’s historical periods through reciprocal engagement.