Journal of Researches in Islamic Architecture

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If one looks with the eye of discernment upon the extremely varied manifestations of Islamic art over vast expanses of space and time, the question arises as to the source of the unifying principles of this art. What is the origin of this art and the nature of this unifying principle whose dazzling effect can hardly be denied? The question of the origin of Islamic art and the nature of the forces and principles which brought this art into being must therefore be related to the world view of Islam itself, to the Islamic revelation, one of whose radiations is directly the sacred art of Islam and indirectly the whole of Islamic art.
there is an inner nexus between Islamic architecture and Islamic cosmology and angelology. The Islamic cosmos is based on the emphasis upon God as the Unique Origin of all beings, on the hierarchy of existence which relies upon the One and is ordered by His Command, on the levels of existence which relate matter to the subtle world, the subtle world to the angelic, the angelic to the archangelic, the archangelic to the Spirit or al-ruh and the Spirit to God's primordial creative act. This cosmos is based on order and harmony which is more than the result of the direct manifestation of the One in the many.
By examining the past works of architecture and urbanization, we can see the traces of the manifestation of the imaginary universe in the artwork. One of the examples for these works are Safavid dynasty monuments, such as Imam's mosque in Isfahan, which is an example of the application and expression of the other world in architecture.
Iranian-Islamic culture and knowledge are a rich treasure of the principles and Criterions in all social, economic, cultural and other fields of life. By Looking at Islamic history and civilization, we can always find the reflection of religious and cultural ideas in all aspects of life, including architecture and urbanization. However, one of the issues that is less contemplated in contemporary urbanism, which has led to an identity crisis in the present era, is to provide an opportunity to combine the art of designing urban spaces with Islamic spirituality and art. this kind of art can illustrate the example of the other world by revealing the signs of world of imagination on earth and always point out the beliefs of the people. Hence, the present study aims to derive the applied principles from among these theories. at first we have discussed and categorized theories related to the subject of perception, the imaginary world and the imagination. these theories have been brought up from the point of view of the Islamic Philosophers and Theorists. then it has been examined how these principles are applied in the Iranian-Islamic urban design. The present paper has a qualitative approach and the research is based on "interpretiveism" paradigm. The research method is "analytical-comparative" and it tries to transform fundamental ideas into applied theories. In this regard, in order to clarify the subject, the Qibla Square of Mashhad has also been selected as a case study and finally, a design framework has been developed. The research results show that the universe of imagination and its manifestations have always been considered in the views of great Philosophers; and its appearance in urban spaces can be expressed as different kind of elements, which most notably are light and geometry. For this purpose, one of the most important principles in the world of imagination is "duality", which is based on the four principles of "light and darkness", "inside and outside", "motion and motionless" and "symmetry and asymmetry". These principles are presented in a comparative manner with urban qualities in the form of "hierarchy, unity while plurality, emphasis, contrast, parity, balance, proportions, integrity, and inclusiveness, etc", as well as the solutions below each.

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Due to the construction process and the emergence of new technologies in the construction industry, the use of vernacular architectural patterns is less common in today›s buildings. However, in order to maintain identity and preserve the vernacular architecture, it is important to know the features of the native architecture. Rehabilitation of indigenous buildings of an area requires recognizing, analyzing and presenting the appropriate model of an area and the texture of its neighborhoods and building types. The major objective of this study is to understanding the vernacular architectural and structures to recognition the typology of buildings, the pattern of local and traditional texture of the Masheh neighborhood of Kish Island in order to revive the local identity of the region. This research will first have a descriptive-analytical view, a review of key issues related to indigenous architecture, urban context and typology in architecture. Then, while analyzing and explaining, the research method of the case study has been used to identify and evaluate the Masheh neighborhood. Finally, according to the obtained findings and results from the physical analysis and typological studies of vernacular houses, the most effective indigenous factors of this neighborhood were identified. Effective physical factors included the network of passages, the system of mass and space, granulation and segmentation, spatial organization, height, and geometry. The results of the research based on typology examined the texture of the Masheh neighborhood in four general categories that can be considered by architects and urban planners in constructions based on the indigenous identity of the region.

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One of the most important issues and human needs in the field of architectural design is "housing". From the past to the present, there have always been different principles for housing design that have been used due to the user’s needs. The set of needs and lifestyles of humans has shown that some characteristics are the same in all designed houses. These important features had been collected in many scholarly and professional architectural references that had been addressed as principles, criteria and indicators of housing design and had been used by designers and researchers who works in this field. Therefore, various references can be found that, each had studied hosing topic from a specific point of view. Some of these sources list the general characteristics of an appropriate and desirable house, and others introduce specific principles for its design. In this article, while reviewing those references, we would rank those principles on the basis of importance. The main question is how these principles can be ranked and consider in design in base on their importance. Therefore, our goal is surveying the scholarly and professional architectural references about housing to analyze and evaluate the principles of residential architecture. Results of this research collected from data analyses and data description, which obtain from the references and based on logical reasoning. Therefore, the main method is determining quantitative valuation for qualitative data, and housing design criteria in scholarly and professional architectural references had been ranked in such a way that their importance is defined. so, the general approach of the research was selected as a quantitative comparison and then data collection, classification and analysis were performed based on first step. Finally, the research results represent and rank housing design criteria based on the priority of their importance in form of tables and charts.