Analysis of residential “karaan” in historical village of “Kandovan”with livelihood approach

Lives of people in rural areas are highly depended on the dynamic economy and continuous production processes; therefore, the sustainable livelihood and secure economic play an essential role in rural areas.  Human habitation had developed from the nomadic way and expanded due to the presence of agriculture, animal husbandry, and related activities. Not only do economy and manufacturing system represent the function of these areas but also, they can be deemed as an underlying reason in the texture, forms, and landscape of the residential dwellings. In fact, the agricultural revolution and breeding livestock have made a significant impact on the lifestyle. Therefore, fundamental changes have been made in human activities and behaviors. Human communities were formed since agriculture requires permanent presence of a human in the place and animal husbandry needs to look for postures for feeding the livestock. In fact, due to these improvements in human’s lifestyle, they could not meet their needs through the sheer search for residential areas. Therefore, interfering in the environment to adapt it to new demands found other dimensions. Following this, thereby implementing the novel techniques, the standards of lifestyle were improved and the idea of providing a stable place has begun as if it led to improving the quality of habitation and livelihood. Thus, the beginning of the formation of “housing” coexisted with a period in which the human being was seeking to follow a production system. The difference in the forms of the houses has its root in the distinctions of the way of life and the production system. Rural residential areas represent the daily life of people with a variety of activities. With this in mind, besides a concise review of the root reasons of the creation of Kandovan village in the Osku County, this paper describes the relationships between the economic structures, manufacturing system, and production of livelihood spaces in the village. This village, one of the most famous communities in Iran, It is located in Azerbaijan region, and historically, it’s about 700 years old. Kandovan lies on the northern slopes of Mount Sahand and is famous for its rock-cut architecture which was created by the volcanic interactions of this mountain. Secondary resources and direct observations through field research were the two critical methodological steps for this paper based on phenomenology and qualitative approaches. The results represent that livelihood has important role in composition and formation of space of Karaan houses. Living spaces are shaped in responding to functions .These homes likewise the other houses have different parts such as living room, kitchen, storage and warehouse and utility system. All production - livelihoods activities related to livestock, agriculture, and other service activities, even other social and cultural activities, all have done at Karaans’ space. Nowadays, beacause of the Extensive changes in lifestyles and human activities, the environmental and human capacities, must be rehabilitated and utilized. For this purpose, the physical and functional characteristics of these Karans livelihood activities must be considered.