International Journal of

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Thermal mass is the material's ability to store heat and release it after an amount of time and concrete is considered one of the best thermal mass material. Since concrete has been used widely in many building constructions, by considering the capability of concrete in terms of thermal mass, it is worthwhile to use this ability of concrete in order to build buildings more healthy and comfortable for an increase in the occupants’ performance. Ventilated Hollow Core Slab (VHCS) is one of the efficient ways to provide adequate thermal mass within buildings. The present study aimed to assess the thermal performance of VHCS; and its effect on the occupant's thermal comfort of a college building located in Luton, England, using a VHCS system as the exposed thermal mass. Various techniques have been used over two weeks and the recorded data were analyzed. Based on the findings from the review of existing literature in the field and the integrated approach outlined in this paper, results indicate that the application of VHCS as a thermal mass in university buildings decrease not only the daily temperature fluctuation but also the number of times with extreme heat or colds. Results also show the influence of the system on the level of habitants’ thermal comfort; though, this influence could be varied hinge on physical and psychological factors.
 

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The present study is an attempt to find out processual and functional aspects of privacy regulation in a dialectical investigation. For this purpose, 180 samples are selected from among mothers of families in Mashhad, Iran using random sampling. In this study, "meaning structure" method has been applied. Samples participated in Laddering Interview. Analyses are set in Content-Goal Table. Based on this table, the initial questionnaire is designed and implemented after being finalized. 8 factors are obtained by factor analysis. Considering the compression variance, in the intended houses, these factors account for 87 percent of the hidden regulation of meaning structure in the privacy achievement and function processes. In general, we can conclude that these means have proper validity and reliability, and they can be properly used for studying "privacy" in the intended social housing. It is suggested to analyze the relationships among the privacy factors in order to present the regulation model of privacy aspects

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Different approaches and methods are used in the architecture design process that logical and intuitional methods are the most common ones. The role of knowledge in each method is different.  Investigating aspects of knowledge demonstrated the hierarchy from data to wisdom and the interaction of explicit and tacit types, subjective and objective sources, and analytical and exploratory ways of processing knowledge. Logical methods rely more on explicit and objective knowledge with analysis, while intuitive methods rely more on tacit and subjective knowledge that processed by exploratory ways. To investigate the difference between the two methods, we conducted a survey that involved architecture students in two groups of logical and intuitive methods. Results demonstrated that they have different opinions about the role of each type of knowledge, the importance of knowledge in each step of the design process, and the role of sources of information in their design process. We concluded that an integrative method that considers different aspects and integrated interactions of all aspects of knowledge is needed..
 

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Despite negative perspectives on their consequences, gated communities continue to spread in cities due to structural reasons such as globalization and economic neo-liberalism. Hence, there is a need to seek for a way of achieving a balance and make these communities livable. Due to agreement with economic market perspectives, livability principles might offer a solution for mediating the social consequences of gated communities. This survey aimed to examine the physical factors influencing social livability of gated communities and identify the degree of their prominence. To collect the data, four gated communities in Tehran were selected through cluster sampling. An analysis of 258 questionnaires and our observation of the physical features of the gated communities indicated five physical features affecting social livability of gated communities. The results showed that mixed uses had the biggest effect on the social livability of gated communities followed by mixed housing, accessibility, walkability and sociability respectively. Although it might be impossible to put a halt to the expansion of gated communities in the short run, attempts can be made to attract different classes of people to these communities through mixing different uses and prevent from the fragmentation of gated communities. Well-connected and walkable streets help many daily activities occur within walking distance promoting the security of the neighborhood. Designing sociable public places where everyone is welcomed without any type of exclusion or limitation increases social bonds within gated communities which in turn promotes resident’s sense of community.

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Today’s housing, as a private realm of human life, has changed in comparison with the past which was made regardless of quality, desirability, and lack of paying attention to the human needs and its psychological consequences; That is to say, residential units have turned into a set of closed spaces and their open and semi-open spaces have been merged into the urban spaces which disrupted their fundamental functions. In such a situation, reviewing and paying special attention to these spaces together with closed spaces in Tehran is really necessary. But this question is proposed that what are the indicators affecting the quality of open and semi-open spaces in contemporary housing? And how much do they affect the quality of these spaces? This research has a mixed (quantitative-qualitative) method which is applied in terms of purpose, and in terms of data collection method it is of descriptive-analytical and survey type. The statistical population includes 380 inhabitants in residential apartments in the Zafaranieh neighborhood of Tehran. After collecting field information through the questionnaire, the indicators affecting open and semi-open spaces, including: functional, behavioral, physical, environmental, social and perceptual-semantic by using statistical analysis software were analyzed. To investigate the significance of relationship between the mean difference of the scores of the effective indicators, the one sample T-test method and intragroup one-way analysis of variance have been used; the results obtained from the research showed that in the open and semi-open spaces of residential apartments in the Zafaranieh neighborhood, the physical, environmental and behavioral indicators with the mean score of 4.17, 3.52 and 3.22, respectively, have somewhat more favorable and more appropriate situation than other indicators, and currently their efficiency ratio is at moderate limit. However, the functional, social and perceptual-semantic indicators with the mean score of 2.68, 2.57 and 2.21, respectively, are in an unfavorable and inappropriate situation, and their efficiency ratio is at weak limit.

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Tourism in the third millennium has become one of the most thriving economic activities around the world, and many developmental planners and policymakers refer to tourism as the main pillar for sustainable development. Tourism is considered as one of the most complicated occupations in numerous countries worldwide and as a multi-aspect activity possessing various positive effects and utilizations. The philosophy behind ecotourism resorts in Iran is to rehabilitate the local society’s culture, aiding the local businesses with minor investment to empower the local and rural community, and create sustainable development in Iran’s tourism cycle. The purpose of the present study is to determine factors impeding the development of ecotourism resorts tourism in Saravan rural heritage museum in Iran. The data were derived from interviews with key informants. For this purpose, the research question is what are the most important challenges for the development of tourism in the Saravan rural heritage museum and what are its sustainable strategies? The research subjects were tourism experts and university lecturers Having examined journalist reviews and executive expert reports, 16 factors were selected as the key challenges for the rural heritage museum.  Next, the Dematel method was used in order to analyze data and rank the factors. The results derived from the Dematel analysis indicates that lack of integrated and effective management of rural heritage museum (1.43), waste recycling and herbal and animal habitat devastation management (0.78), local residents and tourist culture differences (0.65) are the main factors in creating challenges for the rural heritage museum. Eventually, using the journalists’ reviews and the Delphi model, the most effective solutions have been designated and graded utilizing the Shannon entropy model. The results indicate that the most important solutions include effective integrative settling management and planning for local society cooperation, also conducing strategic programs for Saravan rural heritage museum.

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Nowadays, urbanization is growing increasingly and cities are going to be more complicated than ever including local-global duality. On one hand, Cities are not limited to their geographical boundaries. Neoliberal globalization, which has been rapidly expanding since the late 1980s in the economic circle, places the world into a money game and cities into competition with each other. On the other hand, there are some influential forces on a local scale that determine the urban evolutions. Regarding these two global-local factors, non-powerful groups are neglected increasingly from urban transformation and main projects. This article reviews the “everyday life” concept in spaces through Lefebvre’s writings and draws its dimensions and criteria through descriptive- analytical study. How could everyday life be explained in the current architectural and urban transformation? Surely, Urban evolutions could affect everyday life. After that, it reviews the transformation of Valiasr intersection through historical- interpretation study. Valiasr intersection is the most important intersection in Tehran. It is considered as the spatial gap of Tehran, separating the “high status” and the “low status. Recently, an underpass project for pedestrians was built in this intersection. The results show that this urban transformation is mainly defined by administrational- status forces in the absence of social ones which mainly consider the economic- ideological aspects. It reduces social inclusion and social participation. Following that, this important project could not improve the everyday life of Tehran.

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School environments are connected to children perceptions and emotions. The goal of this research is to explore children subjective perceptions of their school environment using “Q-sort methodology” as a unique method for environmental studies. This paper makes two main contributions. First, the research provides a study design to identify children’s perceptions of school environment that propose new information about what children prefer and can be used in the design of school spaces by designers. Second, it evaluates Q-sort methodology for gathering data directly from children concerning about their perceptions and preferences to clarify their perspectives of  the environment based on these objectives. The questions that this paper addresses are: 1- What environmental components in schools do children percieve positively and prefer? And, 2- How can research with children about their place perceptions using Q-sort? According to the purpose of the study, the respondents included 30 children (boys) from the first and second grade of two private primary schools in Kerman. The research, based on q-sort methodology, used interview as a tool for collecting data and discourse analysis for analyzing the data, and exploring the children’s perspectives. The study revealed that children interpreted spaces psychologically and had positive perceptions of and preferences for informal, personal, hiding, cozy, home-like and playground spaces and so on, likely due to affording their psychosocial needs.  The result shows that future school designs should explore strategies that use connections of physical and psychosocial characteristics of child's environments to foster positive experience and perceptions.

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Integrating different parts of the curriculum is one of the important challenges in architecture education. Curriculum development has an important role in linking theoretical subjects into practical design studios. This study focuses on an analytical comparison of two architecture curricula in different contexts of Australia and Iran. The purpose is to find the limitations and benefits of each curriculum through educational systems, teaching time for theoretical and practical subjects, and the map of courses and subjects. This paper contributes to the literature of architecture education through analysis of integrating different subjects. This study implements a document analysis method and a comparative case study method. The comparison indicates that although the architecture curriculum in Iran benefits from an extensive education with more subjects, wider content, and triple teaching time, it provides less opportunity for integrating theoretical and practical subjects. Furthermore, course structures at Australian universities benefit from greater flexibility and choice for students to individualise their course through elective subjects. Architecture education is a problem-based and project-based learning, so the results of this research have a wide application in research on higher education. Also, the findings of this study can assist design schools to improve their curricula through linking theory to practice.

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Changing and repurposing existing buildings for their continued use was quite common in the past and buildings deemed to be structurally safe were adapted to meet new functions and needs. In modern conservation theory, Adaptive Reuse is an important means of preserving cultural heritage. The main questions asked is what are the priorities and shortcomings of adaptive reuse theoretical references within interior architecture based on comparative study with Nara Document parameters? The research method in this study is of a qualitative, with logical argument as a strategy. The priorities were studied and then the most important weaknesses and drawbacks of these approaches to Adaptive Reuse were analyzed in a comparative study with the Nara Grid by 32 semi-structured interviews with experts in the fields of Architecture, Interior architecture and conservation. The results show four main Adaptive Reuse priorities extracted from the reviewed literature: Host Space Function, Programmatic Approach to New Use, Technical Requirements and Design-oriented strategies and solutions. These theoretical priorities do not negate each other; in fact, they are rather complementary. However, if one of them gains more importance in the process it can lead to many losses. Of their most important disadvantages, the following are worth mentioning:  A physical outlook and a lack of attention to intangible and soft values, a lack of attention to the meaning and characteristics of functions of the building in the past, ignoring the human presence and its needs, ignoring architectural details and interior architecture, lack of interdisciplinary research, and lack of adequate strategies in line with building values. It seems like the issues mentioned above could be avoided and redeemed through an emphasis in conservation policy on fixed feature spaces, semi-fixed feature spaces, and informal spaces in interior spaces, as well as considering human needs and social sciences in the redesign process, and following each priority and approach in the redesign process accordingly.

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Designers rely much heavily on experience. Previously, it was assumed that particular developmental experiences are correlated with creativity which develops over time and with experience. The aim of this study is to explore whether design expertise definitely improves the creativity of design idea in architectural design. To test the hypothesis, some architectural designers at different levels of expertise, from novice students to expert architects, participated in a design task. The novelty and quality of design ideas were evaluated as the signs of creativity. The results indicated that there are significant relations between design expertise with the quality, but not with the novelty of design ideas. The expert designers preferred to find ideas that have practical solutions to the design problem, but novices looked for original ideas. We concluded that design experience influences the creative ideation, but have different effects on various aspects of design creativity.

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Learning environments have the ability to enhance the quality of education and produce optimal behaviors. The management of educational environments raises the quality of education both physically and psychologically .This research attempts to modify higher educational environments by enhancing creativity, accountability, motivation, self-actualization, and interaction. This study is quantitative and qualitative research done through a descriptive-survey method. Included in the study used for research were published books and articles that resulted in the development of a theoretical framework and the collection of two groups: environmental and human factors. Then, field resources were used. Students of University of Guilan were randomly selected as the statistical population and the sample was modified based on Morgan's Table. Afterwards, environmental and human variables were prioritized by the Delphi method as a result of interviewing several architecture and psychology experts. A closed-ended questionnaire was made, its validity and reliability were examined (Cronbach's alpha), distributed among the target community, entered into SPSS, analyzed by Chi-square and Friedman tests, and lastly the data was extracted. Based on the findings of survey, the impact of environmental and human factors on each other were identified and ten priorities were concluded to be the most effective on the relationship. Finally, with a semi-structured and an open-response interview with several architecture professors, design suggestions were proposed.

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During 1950 to 1970, some of the first residential complexes in Tehran were developed to accommodate low and middle-income people.  Although they were among the first residential complexes designed and built in the country, various quantitative and qualitative measures had been considered in their design to satisfy the target residents’ needs and to meet the projects’ goals.  What could be the reason for satisfaction, despite they were among the early experiences of residential complexes design in country?  The main reason for the success of these complexes was due to perfect design considerations; i.e. correct selection of design patterns which are less frequent in recent housing complexes. Some of these design considerations include providing public, semi-public and private open spaces, paying attention to pedestrians, sustainability and respect for the surrounding urban and climatic environment. This paper reviews some examples of early housing complexes in Tehran, including Chaharsad-Dastgah, Narmak, Nazi-Abad, Shahr-Ara, Behjat-Abad, Farah, Kan and Chaharom-e-Aban, to help recognize past achievements and reapply them in designing new housing complexes.

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Architectural training is a part of higher education. One of the most important issues in this context is the judgment and measurement of design students' abilities and achievements. This research aims to answer the question of possibility of a model or method for a purposive and clear judgment, so that in addition to the academic achievements of architecture as a field of study, the level of architectural design for future engineers and designers will be promoted. Reviewing the literature of the context, the two terms "assessment" and "evaluation” are initially clarified. Through these two concepts, the JAAD (Judgment of Academic Architectural Designs) model is introduced and then examined for the judgment of undergraduate architectural designs, considering design of a commercial complex as a sample to arrive at a prototype. It is expected that by using this model, lecturers will be able to achieve more purposive and accurate judgments. In addition, students can take effective steps through purposive designs in order to improve the level of training and learning of architecture, which ultimately results in flourishing architectural achievements in future.

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Throughout cultural history, the architecture of shrines in Iran has been of most significant mythological values.  Due to the buried person's spiritual status, it has been sufficiently taken into account in the creation of sacred space and the manifestation of mystical beliefs. In the present era, due to lack of recognition in strategic research, historical semantics has largely been neglected in the field of religious architecture. The philosophical stand of this research is interpretivism; the approach is qualitative, and the method is logical reasoning. Three empirical, analytical and metaphysical theories have been applied in the research strategy. In the process of formulating theoretical foundations, semiotic and conceptual reasoning have been carried out. In the empirical analysis phase, field data were gathered and physical and conceptual modeling has been implemented. At the stage of the metaphysical theorem, the basis of the arguments is phenomenological. The results of the discussion show that the spatial hierarchy in the building, the diversity of Classical Elements and the hierarchical exposure of the people from the entrance to the tomb, is significant based on the mythological view. In analysis of the building, embodiment of the Classic Elements have been interpreted based on the sensory perceptions of the spaces, conscious travel from outside to inside the building, as well as understanding of the four mystical journeys which are: hierarchical ascending from soil to water, to air and to fire. Finally, it has been argued that mythical representation of birth and death is understandable in the transition among the sequences of spaces.

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Since tectonic and stereotomic theories have neither been used systematically nor dealt with simultaneously for the interpretation of architecture, by explaining the theoretical position of critics and their thoughts, the process of their interaction will be more effective. The main questions asked is it possible to interpret architecture through the interaction of tectonic and stereotomical theories precisely? In this regard, research aimed to read and process the physical dimensions and spatial structure of Iranian architectural works in the post-revolutionary period based on the interaction of approaches of tectonic and stereotomical theories. The approach of the present research in terms of epistemology is interpretive with deductive reasoning strategy. Qualitative research was carried out with the help of library documentation and field studies in this paper. The findings of this study indicate that the approaches of tectonic and stereotomical theories, regardless of the architectural style, have affected the materials, elements, structure, and construction of the body and spatial configuration.  Furthermore, the interaction of the approaches of these two theories and, in other words, the non-algebraic sum of the approaches affected by the two theories on these components in both integrated and non-integrative forms can be perceived and received. Also, the maximum interaction in the selected architectural works was on the construction component, including a combination of symbolic body configuration of tectonic theory along with the symbolic configuration of stereotomical theory.

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This study investigated the role of different indexes in open spaces of residential buildings in Tabriz, Iran. The main objective of the study was to evaluate the indexes with a higher level of effectiveness. Using a quantitative method, both descriptive and analytical data were entered into  SPSS, and structural equation modeling (SEM) was done using Smart PLS software. The case study included open spaces in Tabriz. The sample included 380 inhabitants of Tabriz residential buildings. The indexes were divided into two groups of central indexes and dispersion indexes. The important factor in central indexes was average; meanwhile, variance and standard deviation were the determinative factors in the peripheral indexes. Cultural anthropology of buildings’ open spaces showed that FA in emotional indexes and culture of open spaces grading had the highest level. Perceptional indexes were in the medium level, and physical indexes had the lowest level. Finally, the common classification of indexes included inspirations, memories, dreams, feelings, failure, thrill, ownership, sense of power, safety and security, and disappointment. A special attention should be paid to different dimensions such as cultural anthropology and issues related to human beings in public spaces, which cannot be solved with a single approach. Further studies are required to confirm the findings of this study in other cities and different cultural and societal levels and contexts.

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Architecture lays on the intersection between art and science. However, while the social effects of architecture are coming to the fore, there emerges to be a notion that technological progress in the construction sector demands more scientifically inclined research in the field. This notion can not be segregated from the technical aspect and it is through this notion that architecture can be conceived fully with respect to both art and science. Feltrinelli building in Milan may be a great example to understand how architects reinterpret place, language, and program by way of “authorial gestures”. This article tries to break down Feltrinelli building to its essential elements in order to get a better understanding of how these elements are technical, while they play a significant role in architectural poetry and make a unique whole with a distinguishing character. In order to get into essential elements, we used architectural techniques such as site survey, modeling, photography, and drawings. By the use of these techniques, we can clarify our point that the way architecture is conceived goes beyond mere functions and techniques.

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The importance of using visual social media as the digital learning and inspiration resources in architecture is blatantly obvious. On the contrary, there are still gaps in the position of those platforms in the elements of creativity and performance within design studios. The major research question is how does the architecture students' use of architectural content on Instagram relate to their creativity and design studio performance? The paper aims to determine the relations of defined Instagram usage parameters with creativity indicators and students' grades in studios. After crafting the theoretical framework, the correlational research method was used to define the correlations between variables by Spearman’s correlation coefficient. All 72 students of the Design Studio III course during 2018-2020 at Tabriz Islamic Art University reported their Instagram usage parameters and design grades. Their creativity was measured by Abedi’s version of the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking, and the data were analyzed using SPSS software. Results revealed significant and positive correlations between the students’ performance and the overall score of creativity, fluency, and originality; but, no correlation was found in elaboration and flexibility. Also, there is a significant and positive correlation between Instagram use and flexibility of creativity. However, no significant correlations were reported between Instagram use and their studio performance. Hence, despite enhancing the flexibility, students cannot consider Instagram as a tool to achieve success in studios. Furthermore, the assessment system of the studios in Iran doesn’t cover all aspects of creativity, and it’s crucial to construct a new architecture-oriented creativity test.

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‘Privacy’ in Islamic culture is considered one of the concepts related to the existential dimensions of human beings and one of the most important spiritual needs for self-improvement and a sincere connection with Allah. In this regard, mosques, as places for the Muslims’ collective worship ceremonies, are not only a place for social interaction but also a privacy-focused gathering, they are optimal places for thinking and enjoying some private moments with Allah. Two questions arise that what are the components of creating the privacy in the Architecture of mosques? How do these components result in the creation of this privacy in the mosques? The present study is basic and qualitative research in terms of purpose, which uses both comparative and meta-analysis methods. In this study, while analyzing documentary studies as well as in-depth and open interviews, mosques from Isfahan were selected as a case study. The NVivo software was used to analyze qualitative data. Based upon the conceptual model obtained from the research findings, three types of privacy have been proposed. The first mode is ‘having private moments with oneself’ which is made by the components such as ‘introspection and remembrance’. The second mode is ‘having private moments with Allah’ which is formed via components such as the companionship of light and darkness and the vacuity. Finally, the third mode is ‘the privacy in the public’ which is created due to components such as verbal and non-verbal communication.