Clarification of relation between social interaction and improvement of living quality within residential complexes (Case study: Behjat Abad Residential Complex, Kooye No Bonyad & Tehran International Tower)

Among different types of housing, high-rises construction is considered by many architects and urban planners as one of the most common types, especially after the industrial revolution and advancements in engineering techniques. Construction of tall buildings from its beginning as a result of modern architecture, for reasons like speed of construction (industrialization), high density (accommodation of more people) etc. grew considerably, but gradually it caused other types of problems including mere consideration of performance, less human interaction, and etc. on the one hand, today, any lack of attention to social interactions in designing process has been changed into one of the major challenges at residential complexes. On the other hand, we have establishment of residential complexes as an effect of population increase, expensive price of land and also economic benefits in our country which may cause further changes in structure of residential spaces and omission of interacted spaces from Iranian architecture. The results are lack of responding to social necessities of people and a reduction in sense of place. Residential apartments have different aspects that should be consistently considered in all stages of their construction, including planning, studies, design and operation, in order to achieve a desired environment and improvement in quality of life. One of the most important factors in evaluating residential complexes is social sustainability that enhances quality of living. In definition "social sustainability in residential complexes is a situation where residents enjoy living in the residential complexes and neighborhood with other residents and they are satisfied”. In other words, human is a social creature and to meet their needs they have to communicate and interact with others. Therefore, considering psychological - social factors besides other indicators like economic and environmental-physical factors are important  for achieving satisfaction as the main criteria for measuring quality of life. In this paper, using field study and questionnaires, social interaction rates in several residential complexes have been evaluated and its objective is evaluation of socio - cultural indicators in residential complexes, determining the position of design in improving social interactions, explaining the role of social interaction in improvement of living quality and finally presenting strategies in this area. In this context, at first the concept of social interactions in housing area and views of scholars in this field have been reviewed and then position of social interactions in the design process to achieve the criteria for comparison of case samples have been analyzed and then considering the results some strategies have been presented at the conclusion. The results indicate that there is always a direct relationship between the amount of social interaction and higher quality of living environment. Moreover, it can be said that the more social factors are considered in the design process, the more willingness of residents to the social interactions are seen and residents feel more satisfaction with their buildings. Communication and social interaction among residents as one of the most important social factors affecting collective living always increase the sense of belonging and continuity of presence in places.