International Journal of

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Early design decisions made on building configuration and spatial design affect seismic behavior of buildings. Therefore introducing design guidelines and empirical methods implemented to assess seismic behavior of buildings have been proposed as an appropriate approach. Such concept helps architects to take into the consideration that how their preliminary design decisions influence downstream structural results. In previous efforts guidelines for seismic assessment of irregular buildings configuration and also torsional effect of interior walls-layout have been introduced. While seismic effects of the adjacency in spatial units and associated structural systems are almost ignored. This paper tries to show how spatial layout and specifically adjacency of spatial units affect the seismic behavior of a building when (1) the roofing systems are non-uniform and (2) specific spatial units correspond to the specific types of roofs with specific seismic behavior. The paper focuses on masonry buildings with curved roofing systems. To develop guidelines and empirical methods, we selected conventional masonry residential buildings implemented in central arid and semi-arid zones of Iran, traditionally, as case study. Two approaches have been proposed in the form of seismic guidelines and empirical methods. First, a method is introduced to show how adjacency of spatial units and associated vaults with different seismic vulnerability can affect the vulnerability of whole structure according to the effect of “successive damage”. An empirical method is also proposed to estimate the value and shape of distribution of lateral forces on load-bearing walls transferred by adjacent curved roofs, since lateral forces increase seismic vulnerability of load-bearing walls

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Urban planning has received tremendous public attention in the last few years. Energy cost, environmental issues, traffic congestion and the feeling of lack of belonging in the cities are among the factors that have contributed to the development of pedestrian areas. These public spaces provide opportunities for shopping, entertainment, eating facilities and gatherings where people can experience urban life as pedestrians. Over decades, the concept of pedestrianisation has become part of social urban life in the developed countries. However, developing countries such as Iran have just recently paid attention to pedestrianisation and walking as a mode of transportation. The historic core of Tehran, the capital of Iran, embraces significant tangible and intangible values. For a long time, enhancing the mobility in the area has been the important concern of the urban developers; pedestrianisation is their recently solution to this issue in this site. To study and evaluate this project, a literature and field research have been performed through investigating the valid documentations and using questionnaires and interviews with the locals and visitors. Taking advantage of the Historic Urban Landscape approach, the results of the field and bibliographic research have been evaluated and recommendations have been made for improving the pedestrian-oriented areas in the historic context. The findings of this research show that converting a street to a pedestrian zone does not mean to simply ban the vehicles from entering the site. On the contrary, there are essential bases in the site such as multifunctional places, human-scale dimensions or activities during the whole day and night that should be taken into consideration to provide a suitable space for pedestrians including citizens and tourists. Pedestrian zones include different functions such as residential, social, cultural, tourists, physical, economic, etc. on various dimensions and scales which affect the whole city design and management. Moreover, these spaces should be supported by variety of facilities like parking lots, public transportation and equipment for people with disabilities. Assessing the impacts of pedestrianisation in Tehran Grand Bazaar can pave the way for future studies with the aim of conserving unique features of the historic sites within an urban development process.

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Students’ residence halls have been studied repeatedly during the last decades from various perspectives (eg satisfaction). However, our knowledge is very limited in terms of students’ emotions towards various residence hall interior and exterior spaces. Besides, very little study exists on the impact of homelike furniture on students’ emotions. The question driving this research is whether the replacement of institutional furniture with home like furniture affects students’ emotional states towards their residence hall? The research follows a mixed, multi-staged methodology. Stage one used structured interviews of students about what might make a residence hall similar to home environments. This second stage evaluates students’ emotions toward their current residence halls (with institutional furniture) and modified images of the same place with homelike furniture. We used SAM to evaluate students’ emotional reactions in terms of valence, arousal, and dominance. The findings of the study suggests that home like residence halls significantly affect students’ positive emotions. The most positive emotions (valence, arousal, and dominance) were reported on kitchenette, corridor, and yard spaces and no significant differences were found on in-room décor.

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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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