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Showing 5 results for Traditional Houses
Redefining Design Patterns of Islamic Desirable Contemporary Housing through Qualitative Evaluation of Traditional Homes
Maziar Asefi, Elnaz Imani ,
Volume 4, Issue 2 (9-2016)
Abstract

Qualitative aspects of housing always considered as the most critical planning tools and have gained great interest in recent housing research. Housing areas in order to provide social development, involved the environment around in addition to residential units. This paper tries to assess the quality of traditional houses, describe and analyze them to achieve the criteria to devise guidelines in the next step which are effective for increasing the quality of contemporary housing. Iranian traditional houses have a kind of internal spaces structure on the basis of religious and traditional ideas of Iranian families.These houses have manifested native-traditional models of the past history of Iran which have originated from individual and collective cultures of the people, who have been formed, have grown, have been manifested and have reached perfection. Study of Iranian contemporary architecture indicates that it has been changed with regard to its rich and meaningful history during the time. Roots of the principles governing the traditional houses can be found in Iranian thoughts and culture. Any building which is constructed aims at fulfillment of some living needs. Traditional houses are not only a shelter. Residence indicates meaningful link with the place which can include all of the different levels of private and general life environment. This link is an effort to find identity and to have attachment feeling toward a place while our modern houses couldn’t have fulfilled the most primary needs of residence i.e. tranquility and physical relaxation and generally inspired quality expectations. In this regard, to reach the aim through qualitative approach and case study strategy, this value of the Iranian traditional housing was investigated.
This study was carried out by qualitative method and in order to final assess of the data, AHP method was used. The analytic hierarchy process (AHP) is a structural technique to organizing and analyzing complex decisions, based on mathematics and psychology. Rather than prescribing a «correct» decision, the AHP helps decision makers find one that best suits their goal and their understanding of the problem. It provides a comprehensive and rational framework for structuring a decision problem, for representing and quantifying its elements, for relating those elements to overall goals, and for evaluating alternative solutions. Therefore the method of collecting data was based on lists for interview techniques, observation, investigate the features of place and space, measuring attitudes and by searching the literature and documents and maps about the subject. So at first multiple systems of residential environment quality assessment were studied and then a model to assess the quality of housing for this paper was developed. In the second step through the main factors of the model, 5 criteria have been determined to assess the quality of housing.In the next stage parameters derived from the lists in relation to each criterion were analyzed compared to the data of other criteria and the overall impact of research factors in reciprocating reviews and alternatives obtained in relation to the main criteria have been introduced in traditional houses. Then by analyzing and interpreting of these alternatives and considering the effects of lifestyle, human needs and conditions of contemporary society strategies to improve the quality aspects of contemporary housing have been proposed. The term lifestyle can denote the interests, opinions and behavioral orientations of an individual, group, or culture. The term refers to a combination of determining intangible or tangible factors. Tangible factors relate specifically to demographic variables, i.e. an individual›s demographic profile, whereas intangible factors concern the psychological aspects of an individual such as personal values, preferences, and outlooks. Therefore, a lifestyle is a means of forming a sense of self and to create cultural symbols that resonate with personal identity. Not all aspects of a lifestyle are voluntary. Surrounding social and technical systems can constrain the lifestyle choices available to the individual and the symbols she/he is able to project to others and the self.According to the results of the research there is a significant relation between the quality of traditional houses, human, the architecture and the past lifestyle that emanates from traditions and original values. The evaluation showed that in order of importance the criteria of human needs, environmental, physical, functional and structural qualities have contributed in this meaningful relation and among them the first three criteria are more effective. Although in general comparison the coordinated presence of all proposed criteria resulted in lasting quality. Recognizing the traditional strategies and perception the Persian culture and life style can help modern architects to design suitable contemporary house design. People really need a house that response all its duties, not only merely be a shelter.Hence the main orientations for the development of housing in the qualitative aspects should be provided with development of long-term, medium-term and short-term goals. Providing desirable housing according to the physical and spiritual needs of Iranian families is one of long-term goals that must be met in the future.


The quality of unity of opposites in the visual enhancement of Yazd Traditional Houses
Miss Maryam Soleimani, Dr Isa Hojat, Dr Parisa Hashempour,
Volume 9, Issue 1 (5-2021)
Abstract
Complexity and conflict are some of the strategies to increase visual diversity, which is less considered today in the context of extensive construction and adherence to the universal, inclusive model. This issue has led to long-term boredom in contemporary homes. However, the factors of contradiction and complexity are seen in the visual diversity of traditional architecture. In this way, the set of opposites as a strategy for creating some visual difference is one of the essential items that can reduce architectural space's uniformity. In this regard, since the utilization of the contrasting phenomena has some different consequences in architecture space organization (from positive to destructive impact) so, it must be evaluated in a valuable physical environment where this concept of conflict is well traceable. One of the most useful settings can be considered to be a case study for assessing the utilization of the opposite phenomena, is the traditional architecture in Iran. This architecture is full of exemplars that can be useful for learning architectural design. In this research, because of the undeniable quality of traditional houses in Yazd, these houses selected as research case studies. What follows in this discussion is a qualitative assessment of the traditional homes for finding the kind of the opposite phenomena and the process application to use them. In this study, the research method is based on grounded theory, and the field information was collected in two sections: open interviews and observations. The results of this research show that Structural and visual elements of the traditional houses in Yazd consist of the positive association of conflicting elements that you can experience in different situations. The results of this study indicated that the physical and spatial structure of traditional houses in Yazd had provided conditions where one can experience a positive association of opposites in different situations. In this process, it was found that the types of opposites that can be classified into four types of sensory, perceptual, visual, and symbolic contrasts increase the best understanding of the phenomenon, respectively, balance the totality of space, increase diversity and increase the semantic load of space.
Geometric and proportional analysis in the structure of central courtyards and seasonal rooms in the Vernacular Architecture of the cold climate (case study: Ardabil Qajar houses)
Ph.d. Candidate Mahsa Javadi Nodeh, Dr Azadeh Shahcheraghi, Dr Alireza Andalib,
Volume 10, Issue 1 (3-2022)
Abstract
Appropriate structural and physical design has been one of the climatic strategies of traditional houses in interacting with nature. Over many years, these houses have tested various types of designs and have now reached a stable structure and have obtained some reproducible principles. This way, not only have they affected the health of the users directly and positively, but also, they have prevented energy wastage, rectified the unhealthy conditions in internal spaces, reduced environmental crises, etc. These principles, however, have been disregarded in the structural aspects of spaces in the modern architecture. Bearing this in mind, the present study aimed to recognize the geometric and proportional patters as well as the standards being employed in the structures of central courtyard, winter halls, and the seasonal rooms designed based on the cold climate. The connections between various spaces were also investigated based on their structural features so that by comparing climatic criteria, we can get to a sustainable designing pattern based on the structural patterns. We can also recognize the most common nature-friendly spatial ratios in this region and make use of them to meet the needs of the modern era. In the current study, 12 traditional houses belonging to Qajar era were investigated. In so doing, the needed information was collected from the spaces affected by the cold climate via field observations and the obtained data were classified. Then using computational methods, logical reasoning, and qualitative as well as quantitative analyses, a series of geometric proportions and spatial relations were detected. The results of the analyses regarding the most common ratios, dimensions, and areas were indicative of the high compatibility of spatial patterns with the cold climate. More specifically, some spaces that are used for similar purposes in special seasons of the year have similar proportions and shapes. The differentiation between the spaces has only been limited to winter and summer. The details of the structures designed for winter have been attended to relatively more. Therefore, the structural patterns employed in the past can be used for designing buildings in the modern era. By doing so, we will be able to reduce most of the energy wastage.
The Evolution of the Feminine Nature of the Kitchen Space During the Transition to Modernity in the Traditional Houses of Khorramabad
Mozhgan Hadipour Moradi, Dr Masoud Nari Ghomi, Dr Sanaz Rahravi Poodeh, Dr Mariam Ghasemi Sichani,
Volume 13, Issue 3 (10-2025)
Abstract
With the social changes resulting from the "period of transition" and "modernization" in Iran, the "kitchen" was also affected by these changes. The kitchen has always been referred to as a feminine space. In some contemporary cultural analyses in Iran, citing feminist theories, the kitchen and the kitchen and its location at the end of the yard or basement were interpreted as patriarchy and traditional female servitude, which Reza Shahi's modernization has been considered a beginning for its liberation in the modern era. Lifestyle-based readings in social science research, and especially historical ethnography, have provided an opportunity to review these assumptions arising from the literature of the early modern period. Therefore, the present study, using the method of historical ethnography and relying on documentary sources and data analysis in a descriptive-analytical manner, addresses the transformation of the feminine nature of the kitchen space during the period of transition to modernity in one of the micro-cultural contexts of Iran, namely the traditional houses of Khorramabad. The results show that the social interpretation of the kitchen in the historical houses of Khorramabad cannot be interpreted as the low status of women in the society of that time. The existence of various cooking spaces, including open kitchens, semi-open kitchens, Tejgahs in rooms, and a special place for baking bread in the courtyard, created special boundaries and territories for women. These various spaces were also family-social spaces. At the same time, due to the communal nature between the women of the house and some neighboring women, they changed from a private space to a semi-private space. The authoritarian modernization and the achievements of modernity resulting from Reza Shah's policies, despite some development, health, and educational measures, led to the deprivation of the right to choose, the impairment of family and social security, and as a result, many women of the Lor tribe were confined to their homes and distanced from the social space. The houses built during this period, especially in newly built neighborhoods; More introverted than Qajar houses, the reduction of various cooking spaces and their consolidation in the kitchen space, the reduction of the extent of women's use of the spaces in the house, the change in women's privacy and territories, the reduction of semi-private and collective territories, as well as the reduction of social interactions between neighboring women resulting from the increase in emerging social insecurities and the presence of new cultures in the city and the policy of revealing the veil were other results of modernity and innovation in this region.

Investigating the Role of Gender Distinctions in the Design of Traditional Houses in Tabriz during the Qajar and Pahlavi Eras
Sahar Hosseinpour, Yahya Jamali, Azita Belali Oskuyi, Shamim Nottagh, Aref Monadi,
Volume 13, Issue 4 (1-2026)
Abstract
Throughout history, due to gender-based distinctions formed within society, differing needs have been defined for men and women. Architecture, as one of the most impressionable aspects of society, has consequently undergone transformation. Attention to gender—as a social and cultural factor influencing the formation of physical environments and their spatial arrangement—is of particular importance. In exploring the relationship between gender and architecture, the concept of gendered spaces emerges, with examples identifiable in traditional Iranian architecture. In this context, cultural, social, and economic factors have generally shaped the conception of gender and space. Among the most significant elements of traditional architecture are residential houses. This study investigates, analyzes, and compares the physical components of a selection of traditional houses located in the historical fabric of Tabriz from the Qajar and Pahlavi periods, focusing on gender distinctions and the influencing factors. To this end, eight houses from the Qajar-era and eight from the Pahlavi-era were selected as case studies. The research aims to answer the following questions: How were gender distinctions manifested in the design of traditional houses in Tabriz during the Qajar and Pahlavi periods? what are the differences between them? And which spatial elements were most affected by gender differentiation? A qualitative analysis was conducted to address these questions. According to the findings, gender distinctions in the architecture of Qajar-era houses were more significantly influenced by cultural, social, and economic factors. In contrast, in Pahlavi-era houses, the impact of these factors on spatial gender segregation was considerably diminished. Ultimately, these homes exhibited an absence of gender-based spatial division and their architecture moved towards extroversion. Among all architectural elements, in Qajar-period houses, the greatest impact of gender distinction was evident in the spatial definition of two separate courtyards: the outer courtyard and the inner courtyard. In Pahlavi-era houses, although gender distinctions were generally reduced across all spatial components, private rooms, bathrooms, and—in some cases—the kitchen remained the elements most influenced by gender considerations.

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