Journal of Researches in Islamic Architecture

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Ethical teachings are an important part of the teachings of the religion of Islam and Ethical concepts are among the abstract concepts which are defined differently by different people and then Everyone, in their own way, manifest those in architecture and we’ll get different votes.
The ongoing research addresses the issue of how a value accepted in Islam (contentment) can be assessed in architecture in order to evaluate its status, predict its future, and to achieve its planning.
In response to this question, indexing is proposed that has a long history in social science. This method involves the following steps: first nominal definition of concept (by semantics) be done and definitions to be elected and then architectural dimensions should be determined. In the next step Islamic criteria based on Islamic concept should be recognized. Then Indicators are determined and finally the items sets and concepts, dimensions, criteria, indicators and items are weighted by Delphi Technique and Analytic Hierarchy process (AHP).
Proof of the efficiency of this method has been done by performing a process of indexing on contentment and so we got a questionnaire with 216 items. By answering it is possible to understand the extent to which the concept of contentment is manifested in the desired architecture and what should be considered in order to achieve a contentmenal architecture. Of course, given the method's deductibility, it is evident that access to the objective is relative and there is no claim to the comprehensiveness of the method.
The method used in this research is a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods. Data collection in the qualitative part is based on the library method (collecting available documentary data) and field (interview, questionnaire) and in the small part, it is a field survey (questionnaire). In the analysis of data in the qualitative section, the method of semantics and rational reasoning and in the quantitative part of the Delphi method and hierarchical analysis have been used.
Results of indexing of contentment showed that among the dimensions of architecture, effective individuals are important and among the effective individual, architecture have the greatest importance. Adaptation of the architecture to the shape of the lives of users; Understanding the effective individual from the cultural, social and economic environment; Respect for nature in the process of architecture; Understanding the architect from the physical, geographical and climatic environment; Avoiding economic disaster in architecture are the most important items in realizing a contentmental architecture.

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Statement of Problem: To improve the identity of residential architecture, it is required to enhance the semantic dimensions in the design. To do this, the principles of traditional residential architecture in hot-dry climates, as one of the richest physical-spatial models for Iranian houses, must be applied. On the other hand, one of the best strategies for giving meaning to works is to use signs by examining users' mental image. However, nowadays, semantic concepts such as users' perception or mental image are less considered or ignored in the residential architecture due to factors such as economy or superficiality in design. This is due to the ignorance of the user-environment relationship at the educational and executive levels of design. Therefore, there is a need for finding a practical approach to semantics by extracting the signs existing in traditional houses. To meet this need, the present study seeks to answer the question "What is the role of signs in the semantic aspects of traditional Persian houses in hot-dry climate?" Since the use of successful traditional architectural models is another way for enhancing the identity of residential architecture, it seems necessary to find and use them in contemporary housing in accordance with the current situation. The research background mainly focuses on finding physical patterns or semantic principles in Iranian houses from non-semiotic perspectives, so obviously, there is a need for research on the extraction of patterns using semiotics to match the design with the users' reading.
Research aim: The design performed "only to satisfy the building function", cannot meet such affairs as identity. So, it must meet the perceptual needs to manifest identity in architecture, and this will be possibly achieved if the design is performed through a semantic process. To this end, the present research seeks to find out how the categories of signs match with the components affecting mental image in traditional houses in the hot-dry climate. Since the present study looks for the effect of signs on meaning in traditional housing design, "sign" is an independent variable, and "meaning in housing design" is a dependent variable. Accordingly, the research hypothesis is as follows: "Using the categories of signs has played a role in the meaning of traditional residential architecture in the hot-dry climate". The present study aims to extract the principles of semantics from the semiotic perspective to use in contemporary residential architecture to pay more attention to the identity and semantic dimensions of today's living environments.
Research Method: the present research is a qualitative study in which applied examples of traditional residential architecture in the hot-dry climate are studied using "document mining" and "qualitative content analysis". In the "data analysis" section, the matching of the components affecting the mental image with the categories of signs is evaluated by examining the examples of traditional Persian houses in the hot-dry climate. Accordingly, the relationships between the categories of signs, including "index", "symbol", and "icon", and the "spatial", "human" and "temporal" components affecting mental image are analyzed. It should be noted that the case studies are selected based on two criteria: 1. having spatial and physical richness, and 2. having a design in which one can observe the matching of the categories of signs with the components affecting perception. The authors attempt to select those cases having the features observed in most of the traditional Persian houses in the hot-arid climate. In the selected samples of traditional Persian houses in the hot-dry climate, any analyzable relationship between the categories of signs and factors affecting mental image is analyzed. It should be noted that it was attempted to select those components common to most traditional houses in the hot-dry climate.
 
Conclusion: The results indicate that in traditional houses in the hot-dry climate, "icon", "index", and "symbol" have been used as a means to express meanings by being matched with human, environmental and temporal components affecting users' mental image in accordance with their cultural context. Moreover, the results show the matching of the environmental components with the categories of "icon", "index" and "symbol". The temporal components affecting the users' reading show their highest degree of matching with the category of "icon". The "icon" and "symbol" categories also have the highest degree of matching with the human components affecting the users' reading. Therefore, one of the effective strategies for providing a semantic-oriented residential design is to use the components of "function", "body", "scale", "historical background", "individual experience", "social event", "physiological and psychological factors", "individual and social behaviors" of users and also attention to "components affecting the sense of belonging to place and community" in the form of different categories of signs in the design. Therefore, using different categories of signs, which match with the factors affecting the users' mental image, considering the temporal, spatial and human context of the design can be a way to consider meaning and identity in today's housing designs.

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