heshmatollah motadayyen

Taking advantages of geometry is one of the main attributes of the Iranian-Islamic architecture and refl ects the mathematical profi ciency of the Iranian scholars. Iranian garden among the remains of perspective architecture of the world is endowed with diverse forms of geometric effects, which serve as the main characteristics of these gardens. The realization of geometry in architecture can be said to have its roots in the mysterious concepts and meanings that in turn are rooted in popular beliefs. Further, functionalism is another feature displayed by Iranian gardens, which has always been focused by the architects. Though the geometry and function in Iranian gardens have already been discussed, the key remaining question in this regard concerns the possible relationship between function and geometry. The present work explores the above hypothesis and identifi es the relationship between geometry and function, with nine selected gardens of Shiraz as its cases. The analysis suggests that geometrical design of Iranian gardens and the case of Shiraz Gardens has been in correlation with function of the gardens throughout the history. The results show that strengthening the particular function and defi ning the required function were among the reasons that accounted for employment of geometrical elements such as hierarchy, centrality, symmetry, etc in Shiraz gardens. Designing surrounding wall, streets, hierarchy and platforms, decorative elements, palace and Iwan all can be explained on the basis of this standpoint so that the designing process of the gardens is not confi ned to geometrical forms. Rather, the geometry was a function of function and interacted with it.

The subject dealt with in this study is the effects of water on human relaxation. Human is an intricate complex of soul, mind and body. Just as the body needs nutrition, the mind and soul likewise require elements to provide them with relaxation. In urban life where high buildings and crowded streets and machines prevail, the artistic and aesthetic effects are the best resort for the exhausted and tranquility seeking mind of human. The justifi cation for this study comes from the importance of giving attention to water as the most essential and life endowing element during human life. One of these elements is water, which relieves human soul both in its fl owing and static forms. This is an obvious fact that in most cultures and civilizations water served as the major element in their genesis. The need of human soul for the nature, in order to enjoy its beauty and its relieving aspect is a subject matter that has been emphasized following the outburst of diffi culties resulting from modern life and reduced contacts of human with the natural environment. The present work will review the virtual and symbolic meanings of water among the Iranians. The necessity for this analysis comes from the role played by these meanings in giving sense to the life and consequently in proper use of water, and meanings that have been forgotten nowadays. In other words, this study, without any claim as to thorough explanation of the subject, attempts to study the role of water in refi ning the environment and mental relaxation. The data were collected through available documents and fi eld study. The results show that using water in architectural structures has infl uence on our fi ve senses, and generally results in human relaxation.