سمیه قدیم زاده

Historical-cultural places carry a significance that extends beyond their physical attributes; they embody social relationships and values that are important in defining their meaning. Considering this, they require conservation alongside attention to interdisciplinary approaches. Meanwhile, a major obstacle to meaning-based conservation is the communication gap and the conflict of interest among various beneficiaries, indicating a lack of social capital regarding conservation. This article aims to shed light on the process of utilizing social capital as an interdisciplinary phenomenon that can effectively preserve historical and cultural places. The study was done using a descriptive-analytical approach based on library and documentary sources. The findings reveal that the untapped communicative potential of historical and cultural places can be utilized to enhance social structures and reinforce social capital for the purpose of conservation. This method is achievable in urban neighborhoods and when interdisciplinary techniques are applied. In line with the proposed framework, improving the cognitive component of social capital and the network of shared environmental meanings, which includes emotional, cultural, social, and functional categories, result in the development and progression of social values. These include a sense of belonging, commitment, cooperation, and influence, all of which have the potential to stimulate social capital for conservation and cyclically enhance the place-based communication context. In this respect, actions such as promoting cultural awareness, preserving the sensory appeal and memorable aspects of the environment, upholding traditions, enhancing the quality of spaces for social interaction, and supporting local businesses are compulsory.

According to Islamic mystical reflections, the beauty of God is considered the foundation of the universe's creation, resulting in an inseparable link between beauty and creation. The present study aims to analyze human artistic endeavors in light of the divine creation concept, drawing from the mystical belief that 'humans are an image of Him.' This study seeks to introduce an appropriate approach to manifesting beauty in artwork and exploring the role of the artist in this context. Employing a descriptive, analytical, and interpretative methodology, we draw from Qur'anic teachings, Islamic mysticism, and theosophy sources to investigate the various levels of God's creation and the relationship between creation and the act of speech in the universe, humans, and the Qur'an (as His perfect manifestations). Furthermore, we consider the human existential faculties to analyze and explain the quality of beauty manifestation in artwork. To illustrate this, we study Isfahan's Hasht Behesht garden from this perspective. Through this study, we establish that the artistic act of humans, at the level of the heart (intellect), is connected to the beauty of the word-like and esoteric essence of the work. At the level of sensation, it corresponds to the beauty of the book-like and the exoteric form. Therefore, the stronger the relationship between these two facets, brought forth by the power of the artist's imagination, the more beauty emerges in the aforementioned work. However, lasting beauty consistently originates from the word-like aspect of the artwork, which is in relation to God, representing the beauty of God.

The relationship between tradition and modernity is a wide-ranging issue that has been addressed in many fields, including architecture as a significant realm of cultural identity manifestation. As a 20th century intellectual school, which claims to revive the tradition and save humanity, traditionalism has been able to take effective steps in understanding the concepts of past architecture. However, it has failed to institutionalize the effective application of non-temporal traditional perspectives in contemporary architecture. In seeking reasons for it, this article tries, through a descriptive-analytical method and referring to the writings of traditionalists and other related texts, to achieve knowledge about the practical results and the role of traditionalist thought and discourse in contemporary architecture. Findings indicate that the detachment of the traditional thought from the everyday language, in addition to the traditionalists' approach to history and human beings as well as the lack of attention to internal critique, not only made it difficult to apply the principles of traditionalism in practice but also affected the emergence of the challenge of tradition in the contemporary architecture. Consequently, as for identity-seeking through traditionalism, it is necessary to rethink the extreme differentiation and demarcations that have taken the concepts of tradition out of the context of life. In architecture, more attention to the structural perspective instead of mere semantic or formal perspectives, awareness of the non-traditional perspective, and avoidance of excessive pragmatism can help the realization of original and identity-oriented architecture.

Elegance is a broad and universal concept with great importance in art and architecture. However, there is a lack of theoretical understanding about the nature and manifestations of elegance in architecture.Research

The aim of this study is to recognize the place and use of elegance in the design of architectural works as an artistic theme. Using a descriptive-analytical method, the authors tried to identify the concept and types of elegance and trace its uses in Iranian-Islamic architecture.Research

In the first step, scholars’ views on the elegance concept from two perspectives of philosophy of art and engineering design were investigated. Then a model of perceptual elegance was developed using the concept of matter (mass) and the physical and perceptual characteristics were studied. In the next step, by exploring different texts for the various possibilities of applying elegance to architecture and matching with the prepared model, its types were identified, and they were examined in the two cases of Soltaniyeh Dome and Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque.

The aspects of manifestation of elegance can be classified into at least three levels: at the macro level, the work may have elegance of geometry in the sense of formation process and system, spatial arrangement, placement, and orientation of elements; at the semi-macro level, we have elegance of structure and elegance of form of elements and organs; and at micro level, we may observe elegance of shell materials in terms of color, type and texture, and elegance of details in terms of connections and borders. Given the breadth and variety of its applications, the place of elegance in architecture goes beyond the expression of a particular style. The methods used by Iranian architects of the past to achieve physical elegance in its different varieties can offer inspirations for today’s Iranian architecture.

Domed buildings and, in particular, domed squares are among the most important visual elements in the public view of the cities. Despite the importance of the domed square in Iranian architecture, there has not been much studying related to the aesthetic evaluation, through the mental approach for these buildings. Due to the fact that domed structures are associated with the historical memory and identity of the people, it is important to identify the factors that have the greatest impact on their aesthetic preferences. The purpose of this study is to identify the factors of aesthetic desirability of a domed square from the viewpoint of students in two groups of artistic and non-artistic disciplines and is trying to answer the question of “which factors contribute to the preferences of the people for the form of domed buildings?” Another question is about the impact of arts education on these preferences. The research is conducted based on a qualitative approach. The data is obtained via using Q-sort technique and semi-structured interviewing tool. The participants are consisted of 46 students (23 art disciplines and 23 non-art disciplines students). They were selected from students of Tabriz University and Tabriz Islamic Art University via the convenience sampling method, and the sample size was determined by data saturation. In order to provide visual stimuli, at first, 16 domed buildings (with curved domes) were selected in various shapes from the famous and historical mausoleums as mentioned in the resources related to Iranian -Islamic architecture. Then, their general form that consists of three parts of the dome, the drum, and the base were simulated using AutoCAD software. The buildings’ height was considered to be the same for all of them. Visual stimuli were presented to participants in four categories. After ranking the stimuli in two stages, they were asked to give reasons for their preference for each of the four top selected buildings. Data analysis was performed using the qualitative method of thematic analysis. Eight main themes and 27 subthemes were extracted. Based on the results, the desirability of the form of domed building is clustered around four general concepts including visual richness, size and proportion, simplicity, and style of the building (related to familiarity and novelty). The motion or variety factor that appeared in the form of a polygonal base or drum versus rectangular shape have an important role in the desirability of the form. Also, good proportions were very important for most participants. They compared the three main parts of the buildings in terms of size and chose more natural and balanced proportions. Although the preferences of two groups of art and non-art students were based on almost common themes and, three of the four top choices were shared between them; art students showed a tendency toward simplicity and volumetric purity and at the other hand, the visual richness related to the features of elegance, and complexity was more preferred by non-art students. The results of this research can be helpful for designers of monuments and urban important buildings in terms of predicting preferential factors.

From the aesthetic impression viewpoint, the significance of domed square in Iranian architecture has been noticeable for architects and designers of different eras. The aim of the present study is to recognize the formal, geometrical and proportional features of the Persian domed squares with regard to the visual quality of elegance. For this purpose, the structure, various types and evolution process of domed squares were initially studied. Then, 18 domed buildings were selected among the mausoleums pertaining to the ninth to early twelfth hijra centuries. The geometric characteristics of the elevations of the building were studied using the modeling method and designing geometric analysis tool based on the regular pentagon. The study was limited to general form and the three main parts of the dome, the drum, and the base. The height from the top (dome vertex) to the ground level was assumed to be equal for all buildings. In the second stage, based on the literature review, as well as the analysis of the geometric features, four main indicators were determined to evaluate the physical characteristics in terms of formal elegance, which included the ratio of height to width, the ratio of the dome height to the total height, the ratio of the dome width to the total width and the vertex angle of the dome arch. After determining the indicators, the elevation of each building was studied using them. The results showed that the designs of domed squares pertaining to the era in question consisted of a common framework such that in the most cases the elongation of the dome in height was greater than two parts of the drum and the base, and the upper part (consisted of the dome and the drum) had more than half the total height of the building. Nevertheless, variations were evident, especially in terms of the form and proportions of the upper part in structures of the two periods, such that the elegance of elongation in height amidst the Timurid and early Safavid periods, and the elegance of harmony during the Safavid period has been more emphasized. However, in terms of height and width divisions and the dome vertex angle, there were no major differences between the Timurid and Safavid periods. It can be stated that during the Timurid period, the use of discontinuous double- shell domes became prevalent and architects of the Safavid period continued the same method and created geometric harmonies to adjust the height and move towards square proportions, which is indicative of the desire to create more harmony and balance during this period. Moreover, based on the information obtained from the height to width ratio, the difference between the minimum and maximum values of each sub-indicator is greater in the Timurid era compared to the Safavid era, which suggests a greater diversity in the design of such buildings during the Timurid period. The common geometric pattern and the indicators presented in this paper can be used for the aesthetic assessment of similar domed squares as two complementary methods.