Journal of Researches in Islamic Architecture

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Discussions derived from epistemology and its sub-branches are of the most important theoretical grounds affecting theoretical basis of art schools in particular architecture styles. During recent decades, two approaches of epistemology have been reciprocally shaped to know how one can paraphrase the meaning of physical environment. In the first approach, the audience and his knowledge are main foundations in the process of perception and cognition of environmental meaning. However, there is audience meaning nobility in this approach and therefore, all meanings are considered convincing and neither can be granted as final meaning of environment. So it can be called "Audience-Oriented" approach. While the second approach, has a perceptible reality in the final meaning of environment that should be received during a firm process. Accordingly, it is not impossible to discover the intention of environment architect by reviewing his work and (only the meaning which accords with this intention is considered convincing) the only meaning that accords with this intention is considered convincing. So, this approach can be called "Author-Oriented". In addition to comparative analogy between two above-said (these two) approaches, this study clarifies a third one that makes its cognitive base on Islamic (thoughts) teachings. According to this new approach, the main foundation of the process of environmental meaning paraphrase is the physical environment (or text) and so it can be called "Text-Oriented". In order to explain and collate the triple approaches, the present study (this research) uses archival research while enjoying, simultaneously, the logical argumentation research to arrange data resulted from archival studies.

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The issue of non-observance of privacy in contemporary Iranian clothes and buildings is one of the most important cultural issues in the country due to its lack of proportion to the Islamic culture of Iran, it has brought various cultural and social consequences in contemporary Iranian society; in particular, there are some verses in the holly Qur'an referring to the issue of veiling for women, Like these verses: “O Prophet, tell your wives, your daughters and the believing women to draw their veils close to them, so it is likelier they will be known, and not hurt. Allah is the Forgiver, the Most Merciful” (Ahzab/59). “And say to the believing women, that they lower their gaze cast down their eyes and guard their chastity, and do not reveal their adornment except that which is outward (face and hands); and let them draw their veils over their neck, and not reveal their adornment except to their husbands, or their fathers, or their husbands' fathers, or their sons, or their husbands' sons, or their brothers, or their brothers' sons, or their sisters' sons, or their women, or what their right hands own, or such male attendants having no sexual desire, or children who have not yet attained knowledge of women's private parts; nor let them stamp their feet, so that their hidden ornament is known. And, O believers turn to Allah all together, in order that you prosper” (Noor/31).
This research using the historical interpretation method and with reference to documentary sources deals with this question that historically, in the recent centuries of Iran, is there a meaningful relationship between veil abandonment in clothing (especially women's clothing) and privacy abandonment in building (especially residential buildings)?
According to the findings of this research and in response to the above question, it is concluded that in the contemporary history of Iran, veil abandonment and privacy abandonment actions in clothes and buildings are rooted in a common vision which the intellectual school of liberalism, as one of the most important aspects of modernization and modernity, emphasizing the absolute freedom of the individual is the indicator of this insight. In the Pahlavi era, the manifestation of this liberalism in clothing has been interpreted as the discovery of the veil and the absolute freedom of women in dress and veil, as its expression in architecture has been interpreted as extravagance and privacy abandonment of buildings (spatial liberation). In addition to the common insight, the most important aspects of veil abandonment and privacy abandonment in Iranian clothing and buildings is eternality and extension of the government to the people during the Pahlavi era which the evidence of this claim is presented in this study.

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Islamic texts have significant capacities in various fields of human knowledge. Among the issues raised in these religious texts is architecture and its features that on this basis, till now, some researches have been done on the Islamic architecture.
One of the main problems which have been considered during recent decades (especially in the field of urban development) is development pattern which can be classified into two main patterns: horizontal development pattern and vertical development pattern. But due to various problems, in recent decades, in most cities especially in metropolises, vertical development pattern has spread increasingly. According to the above descriptions, in this research this problem is studied from the perspective of Islamic teachings (especially Shiite jurisprudence) and so, the main problem that is investigated in this article is desirability or non-desirability of residential buildings vertical development in Islamic city.
          The research method which is used in this article is a compound method. In this way, according to the features of the various stages of this research, for gathering data, archival research method is used meanwhile logical-argumentative research and qualitative content analysis in analysis step and judgment of data has been used. In this way, propositions (especially the jurisprudential hadiths) that directly or indirectly are related to the problem of this research have been extensively investigated using qualitative content analysis method and then, using the resultant of propositions analysis by logical-argumentative method, the research findings are concluded.
According to these findings, because of various Islamic reasons (such as visual dominance and some of Imams traditions like star sightings and etc.) apartment and vertical development pattern is not desirable in Islamic cities especially for residential buildings.

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One of the important principles of Islamic architecture and urban planning is the neighborhood-centeredness which lack of attention to this important principle has caused various problems in the physical social system of contemporary cities in Iran, including increasing the traffic load of the city due to trans-local traffic and environmental issues resulting from it and so on.
Resolving these issues requires reviving the principle of neighborhood-centeredness in contemporary cities, but the premise of this is to explain what the neighborhood is from Islamic perspective which part of this issue is related to explaining the numerical characteristics of the neighborhood and especially its area.
In this research, using the logical-argumentative research and citing religious texts and sources, an attempt has been made to deduce the optimal pattern of neighborhood architecture based on its maximum desired size from Islamic perspective.
According to the findings of this study, a desirable neighborhood from Islamic perspective is a neighborhood with the center of the mosque with a maximum of 160 houses on four sides of the mosque (up to 40 on each side) and with a maximum area of 200000 square meters.