Journal of Researches in Islamic Architecture

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Natural light has been an important element in Iranian architecture and shaping the interior spaces of monuments. During different historical periods, the presence of light in various Architectural works, In addition to the functional aspect, has always been under focus from spiritual religious aspects. The incentive to turn to the light during worshiping God has existed in different religions and still exists. Daylight had have a special place and value in Islam and the Islamic worldview. With the emerge of Islam, usage and application of light in architecture increased especially in mosques as the most important monuments of Islamic architecture In mosques, daylight in addition to functional aspect is considered as a mystical symbol and a sign of God's presence that raises the human sense of reverence and humility in front of God. To this end, for centuries, Iranian architectures have been trying to use traditional architectural elements and daylighting solutions to better deploy the natural light in their designs. This study attempts to investigate and evaluate the application of light-catching elements in Iranian mosques, particularly in mosques and mosque–schools from Qajar period. We use a descriptive and analytical research method and our study is mainly on the basis of resources and the literature available in Iranian libraries. After describing the theoretical foundations of our research, we analyze a number of common light-catching elements in selected mosques. Although a multitude number of studies have been done on the concepts of light and its role and function in the traditional architectural monuments, particularly mosques and homes, little study has been done on light-catching elements in mosques of a specific period as done in this research. Structural elements which have been used in Iranian traditional architecture for utilizing daylight are studied from two directions. In the first direction, light-catching elements often have the task of transmitting light into the interior space. In the second direction, light controlling elements adjust the entered light into the building (similar to canopies). The subject of this research is in line with the first direction. We only study light-catching elements and we chose among them common elements such as door and window, Shabak, Horno, Rozan and Roshandan. Although these elements are different in term of material, type and location of application in the building, all of them are used for light-catching even though some of them have also ventilation application. We chose 10 mosques and mosque-schools of Qajar period in Tehran. The examined mosques and mosque-schools in this research were selected based on the following criteria: first, all the selected mosques and mosque-schools are located in old and valuable region of the city and they are tourists attraction. They have architectural values and are well-known among people and experts. Secondly, the building of selected samples reflect prominent features of Qajar’s architecture. Also the sufficient information (including maps and images) are available for these monuments. We chose 5 mosques and 5 mosque-schools among Qajar’s architectural works. Then, the usage and the application rate of light-catching elements in these buildings are evaluated quantitatively and qualitatively by the use of maps and the available visual data. Quantitative analysis is based on the approximate numbers of elements used in these mosques which have been extracted from the available images and maps. To qualitatively evaluate the application rate of various methods of light-catching in these mosques, we specify four levels of usage: "insignificant","low","medium" and "high". We provide the results of quantitative as well as qualitative analysis in this paper. Our analytical studies indicate that although door and window, Shabak, Horno, Rozan and Roshandan had been considered as innovative lighting elements inside mosques of Qajar period, architectures of this period still mainly utilized door and windows as the main lighting elements. Next to doors and windows, Rozan stands at the second place, Horno in the third place, and then Shabak and Roshandan. The utilization rate of doors and windows among considered mosques and mosque–schools has been similar. Nevertheless, the usage of Horno as a lighting element in mosques has been more than mosque–schools, Rozan and Shabak have been used more in mosque –schools rather than mosques. Roshandan has been barely used in the mosque-schools, and only few samples could be found within some mosques of this period.

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Centralizing ethics in sustainability has led to an evolutionary process towards ethical approach as a holistic approach of sustainable development. This approach, deep in concept, has evolved sustainability and endures the most fundamental relations of human and environment. The most recent definition of ethical sustainability, describes this approach as a complex of human relations, including human relation with contemporaries, human relation with nature and human relation with future generation. Urban spaces, and particularly the plazas, are the grounds of social interactions which present living dynamism through the presence and activity of citizens. This space has been considered as a highly important urban landmark among citizens, and it could be said that residents of a city are usually aware of different city zonings on the basis of their city plazas. What people expect of a plaza is a public space with high diversity and eventful environment which allows the possibility of social interactions. With profound changes occurring in all aspects of current era, most of urban plazas have been affected by market forces. As the result, proper principles have not been applied in the formation of these spaces, which has led to a sharp reduction in the space efficiency and the presence and vitality of people in current urban areas. Therefore, these plazas would not be capable of creating human relationships as the main theme of ethical sustainable architecture. In order to analyze sustainable relations in the plazas of Iranian cities, it is necessary to compare a traditional case study of the Iranian urban plaza with a modern, more contemporary designed plaza of this land, on the basis of ethical sustainability. The aim of this research is to illustrate the triple sustainable relations, in the traditional, historical plaza of Naghsh Jahan in Isfahan, and the contemporary designed plaza of Imam Hossein in Tehran, based comparative analysis. The selected methodology of this research is comparative method. A comparative study is a comprehensive, multidimensional, and systematic process that seeks out differences and similarities in research. This kind of research will take generic patterns from the research environment and by emphasizing it on the differences between objects of research context, will help to seek a better understanding towards the main subject.  In this comparative study, both quantitative and qualitative techniques have been used, yet, qualitative approach is dominant, in which the researcher studies objects in their natural situations and tries to conceptualize or interpret phenomena in terms of the meaning that people give them. In fact this research emphasizes on the social nature of the facts and the importance of human values and relationships with nature, contemporaries and future generations in the research process.
In this research, common patterns of both plazas are driven out of the case studies and their discrepancy reveals the studied comparison in three steps. Related literature is reviewed in the first step, followed by detailed examination of Hanover Principles, as the first established sustainability principles which states ethics as one its main roots, on the basis of sustainable relations. In this step, Hanover Principles are categorized by their capability in realizing each of the trial sustainable relations. Finally, based on their related Hanover Principles, each ethical relation is analyzed separately in the case studies and the findings are compared through a visual diagram. This comparative analysis reveals higher attention on ethical sustainable priorities in the historical plaza of Naghsh Jahan in compare with the comparative plaza of Imam Hosein. Results show that in Imam Hussein Plaza, human relation with nature has been revealed only through plantation of trees in the margin of main plaza. However, in the Isfahan Plaza, the use of semi-open spaces, direct visual connection between the plaza and the sky, besides Suitable orientation, in order to benefit most from sunlight and wind, has played significant role in creating human-natured connections. Human relation with contemporaries in the Naqshe Jahan plaza has been considered in the edges of the plaza, which creates the confinement and separation between the main part of the plaza and the surrounding urban spaces. The use of natural elements in the space and the placement of stores around plaza, has offered comfort for the people who are enjoying the inner core of the plaza. This is while in Imam Hossein plaza, this relation has only been reached through the benches, which are designed and located randomly on the hard flooring of plaza’s inner core. Research results show that considering the use of local materials, use of water and plants in plaza’s inner core as natural resources, locating the functions around the field in accordance to natural lighting and reachability, besides field formation design in accordance to the orientation of sun and the dominant wind, and finally an adjustable design of the plaza for multi-purpose activities, are the priorities which can strongly affect human relationship with future generations. On this basis, it has been concluded in this research that this human relation is completely neglected in the plaza of Imam Hossein.

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This research is a Qur'anic review that examines the effects of ethics on architecture from the Holy Qur'an’s point of view with the goal of introducing logical theoretical principals of ethical architecture. In order to reach the research goal, this research conducts the Induction, deduction and reverse extraction of research’s resulted theoretical concepts based on Aristotle's formal logic. The main question of this article is how theoretical principles of ethical architecture can be extracted from the Holy Qur'an on the grounds of Aristotelian logic? Given the priority of avoiding unethical issues over the acquisition of ethical virtues in the religion of Islam and the architectural position as an arbitrary act of human being that influences the inner attributes of the individual and the surrounding society, unethical issues can be considered as the most important factors in the formation of ethical principles for architecture. The unethical issues mentioned in the Holy Quran determine these principles from the point of view of the Muslim scripture and provides backbone of understanding the principles of ethical architecture. This research studies documents and resources based on a logical reasoning and Interpretative analytical approach. Research findings are validated using semi-structured interview techniques and indicate that experts validate the completeness and adequacy of the resulted theoretical principles and the logical process of this research. Research results include seven theoretical principles for ethical architecture; 1) Architecture should be a remembrance of God. 2) Architecture should be a tool of respect for its consumers and lack self- glorification over them. 3) Architecture should be goal-oriented towards the needs of future generation. 4) Architecture should eliminate social gaps and be a symbol of equality and modesty. 5) Architecture should create balance between human needs, pleasures and desires. 6) Architecture should answer human demands on the grounds of an economical and naturalistic approach. 7) Architecture should include structural strength with the acknowledgment of human lifetime limitations. The result of this research presents a coherent logical extraction of ethical architecture from the Holy Quran, which can be considered in the fields of theory and practice by academics and architects.

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