International Journal of

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The concept of redevelopment is accompanied by actions and forecasts to improve the quality of the physical-spatial environment inthe cities, that is by the emergence of new facilities and conditions, improving the spatial environment is achieved. This requirement occurs when the coherence, coordination and the performance of the urban area is diminishing and is not responsive to the requirements of that area. The brownfields are amongst the inefficient urban areas and require redevelopment, which mostly include Deteriorated buildings accompanied by environmental contamination. The main issue of the present study is the lack of a compiled and appropriate roadmap to redeveloping the brownfields in Iran. Accordingly this article is seeking to introduce and present the defining indicators of brownfields, adapt these indicators to Iran's condition and achieve the redevelopment roadmap of these lands in Iran. In this regard, the codification of this article has been done by the descriptive-analytical method. Results of the study show that the main problem of Iran's planning system is the lack of a regulatory and legal description of brownfields on one hand, and absence of a compiled roadmap to lead urban development into the zone and use the capable potentials and opportunities for redevelopment

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Using the results of the assessment of desirability from the viewpoint of employees and the computer analysis of space syntax, the desirability factors of work desk arrangement in office space have been analyzed in the present study. Firstly a pictorial questionnaire was distributed among 113 employees in two offices of Tabriz city to obtain the desirable sitting places in the room (considering the position of the door of room, the angle of the sitting and the position of the desk of colleague). Next, using the space syntax software, the factors which affect the preferences of employees were analyzed. In this regard, indices such as Isovist, integration and distance from the door were studied. The results show the impact of these indices on the preferences of employees. The significance and impact of the indices have not been similar and in some cases, "distance from the door" has had the highest impact and the "isovist" has had more impact than "integration". In relation to the selection of the sitting place, this research has also demonstrated the impact of organizational and cultural factors on the preferences of employees. Such as the difference between the spatial value of various parts of the room in terms of distance from the door and the position of the door in different cultures, the difference between the results obtained from female respondents and the male respondents in relation to the index of "isovist from outside", as well as the difference between the choices of individuals with different occupational ranks.

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Disconnection with nature and history as a result of modernist approaches occurred in the early twentieth century has led to great consequences. Climate change, environmental problems and energy and resources crises have posed numerous challenges to contemporary architects across the globe. The present paper focuses on the issue of passive thermoregulation strategies in vernacular and biomimetic architecture - two approaches in architecture that connect architecture to nature and history -which can offer solutions for environmental crisis. The main objective of this study is to highlight the similarities and differences between vernacular and biomimetic architecture based on passive thermoregulation criterion. So the main question is: what are the common features of biomimetic and vernacular architecture in their use of passive thermoregulatory mechanisms. In this study, the comparative method is used to point out the similarities and differences that can be found between some case studies of vernacular and biomimetic architecture. First, some examples of biomimetic architecture are selected using desk studies and, then, their approach to heat regulation are analyzed using descriptive-analytical research methodology. The results show that while vernacular architecture has a static nature and is depended on low-tech and biomimetic architecture has a dynamic (kinetic), intelligence and interactive nature which relies on high-tech and new materials, their approaches to thermoregulation are similar in some ways. While different in form, they are both based on controlling solar radiation through shading, dissipating heat through convective and evaporative cooling systems, and using the sun as a renewable source of energy.