ثمینه صابری

The physical and functional structure of the Panjeh-Shah neighborhood, as one of Kashan's oldest districts, has not been previously studied; this neighborhood developed in a notable area east of Meidan-Kohneh quarter, west of Tamghachi-ha quarter and north of the bazaar, featuring distinctive elements such as the Panjeh-Shah shrine. This article endeavors to establish a theoretical framework and model for studying the Panjeh-Shah neighborhood. Accordingly, previous studies regarding urban structure and its transformations, as well as international charters and documents, have been comprehensively examined. The research methodology is historical-interpretive, focusing on the analysis of visual documents, historical texts, and field surveys. The detailed study of neighborhood characteristics is particularly based on maps derived from images from the 1950s and 2010s. The neighborhood has been studied along four axes: main passages and neighborhood centers, historical fabric in 1950s imagery, distinctive elements and their functional roles, and adjacent neighborhoods and their notable features, examining both its original form and subsequent transformations. The research demonstrates how the construction of streets such as Baba-Afzal and Bab-al-Havaej has extensively altered the neighborhood's historical structure. Without studying the aforementioned maps, understanding the neighborhood's historical form, passages, centers, buildings, fabric, and its integration and continuity with the city would be impossible; meanwhile, portions of the neighborhood center such as the Panjeh-Shah shrine and water reservoir, sections of the neighborhood fabric south of Panjeh-Shah passage and around Shisheh thoroughfare, as well as the bazaar and its physical-functional characteristics in the southern part of the neighborhood remain intact and retain their significance and value.

The historical Bazaar of Kashan includes 11 mosques. These mosques along other buildings and places form the basic elements of Bazaar structure. Besides, these historical mosques play a significant role in the identity formation of the bazaar. Hence, shedding light on the given mosques, including their patterns, formation, and positions can provide accurate knowledge of the Bazaar and will be helpful. Like other historical elements in this city, these mosques have also undergone changes; that is, some parts have been destroyed, and others have been reconstructed. Regarding this background, the present study aims at figuring out the patterns, the assemblage of the principal elements, and the space of these mosques. In other words, the main objective is to identify and categorize these mosques inside the Bazaar of Kashan. In this respect, the following questions were addressed: what are the main spaces in these mosques? What changes and transformation have these mosques had undergone? How many types do they have in terms of spatial organization? Using a descriptive-historical method along with field surveys, the researcher has tried to compare the designs and compositions of these mosques. The surveys revealed that these mosques were mostly hypostyle ones; none had chambers and domes, while in the city of Kashan some grand mosques such as Jame Mosque, Mir-Emad Mosque, and Wazir Mosque included two key spaces, i.e., chambers and domes. This study also demonstrated that these mosques could be split into two types; that is, hypostyle mosques without and with courtyards. Furthermore, the hypostyle ones with courtyards could be put into two groups: those with courtyards and spatial identity and those in which courtyards had no special design or position, yet they contained open spaces without a shape or an identity.

The integrity of an urban area is closely connected with its perception as a coherent whole. Maintaining the tangible and intangible structures of this coherent whole guarantees integrity in a historic area. The concept and significance of integrity are amply noted as key components in conservation frameworks. For example, the Venice Charter states that “The sites of monuments must be the object of special care in order to safeguard their integrity.” Even so, no specific procedure has been developed to evaluate and quantify integrity in historic urban areas in Iran. Lack of integrity is among the main damages in historic urban areas. Against this background, the present study aims to shed light on major criteria for integrity evaluation in historical urban areas. For this purpose, the primary criteria were developed based on conservation frameworks. The initial model was put to test in an urban quarter comprising the Sultan Amir Ahmad neighborhood and its surroundings. Accordingly, the preliminary findings were applied to a real but damaged historic urban area, and the relevant criteria were cleared. The descriptive-analytical approach was adopted in this research and historical texts, documents, field studies, and historical photos were utilized for data collection. Moreover, the primary and almost-integrated condition of the studied historical urban area was reconstructed based on aerial images of 1956 as well as information on past land uses and people's lives and occupations. The initial model for integrity evaluation was created through the analysis of manuscripts, e.g., the Nairobi Recommendation (1976), the Washington Charter (1987), the Declaration of San Antonio (1996), and the Valletta Principles (2011). The findings reveal how the changes and transformations have affected urban macro patterns, urban fabric, buildings and their formal appearance, the relationship between an area and its surroundings, functions, spirit of place, place identity, traditional techniques, and cultural traditions of historic cities, and ultimately, the integrity of a historic urban area.

The Paghapan neighborhood has been considered over the years due to its connection with the Bazaar of Kashan, Mir Neshaneh tomb, and Mohtasham-e Kashan's tomb. Today, this neighborhood, like other historic neighborhoods, has transformations. These changes have occurred for various reasons, such as the construction of Mohtasham Street, new buildings, and its development. This article seeks to find the answers to the questions of what changes these events have caused in the Paghapan neighborhood; and how these changes have damaged this neighborhood's fabric and function and ultimately affected its Authenticity. The present study method is descriptive-analytical, and library resources and field studies have been used to obtain information. This study aims to identify the Paghapan neighborhood's characteristics and show the destructive effects of unplanned urban developments on this neighborhood's originality. The studies conducted in this article to identify the Paghapan neighborhood characteristics are based on the Washington Charter and show what changes and damages this neighborhood's characteristics, which can be identified from its last original form, have suffered compared to the current situation. On the other hand, to evaluate the Paghapan neighborhood's Authenticity, this neighborhood's characteristics have been judged based on the Nara document and the declaration of San Antonio. The results of this study show that the originality of Paghapan neighborhood is mostly damaged in the northern part of this neighborhood, and also the study on the area of ​​destruction of this neighborhood shows that today about half of its original body has been destroyed. This has also affected the neighborhood's functioning, and parts of it have been left in ruins and without use. Continuation of this harmful process will lead to the complete disappearance of the original features of the Paghapan neighborhood, and it will be impossible to recognize and read its original form from the existing conditions.

Tamghachiha is one of the historic neighborhoods of Kashan, which has a special place in the historic urban area because of being located next to essential elements of the city such as Suq Gate and Bazaar, as well as the existence of valuable buildings. This neighborhood has been damaged due to urban changes such as urban development, new constructions, and especially the construction of Bab al-Havaej street. Therefore, this article struggles to answer following questions. What changes were made to this neighborhood because of the construction of the aforementioned street and its following consequences. What is the extent of these changes and what secondary damages did they have, especially to the authenticity and integrity of this urban region? The method of this research is descriptive-analectic and the data were mostly collected through library and field research. The purpose of this study was to analyze the destructive effects of the aforementioned urban development on Tamghachiha neighborhood. The conducted study, which is based on the charter of urban conservation, show that the integrity and the authenticity of this historic neighborhood have been destroyed. This destruction is particularly evident by comparing the current situation of the region with the last genuine recorded aerial photos. This comparison shows how changes in the composition of elements that form an urban area, as well as changes in the features that represent the identity of a historical region, have ultimately affected and severely undermined the neighborhood authenticity. Accordingly, with the destruction of its original values, the neighborhood these days lack the eminent qualities which forged its identity. In addition, this study shows that because of the changes made to this neighborhood due to the construction of Bab al-Havaej street, undermined the integrity of this urban region in such a way that the neighborhood has lost its situation in the urban area and has become isolated.