Surveying the Tools and Methods of Creating Privacy in the Zinat-ol Mulk Traditional House in Shiraz (Based on the Quran Verses and Islamic Hadiths)

Privacy is known as one of the most basic features of Islamic architecture. Home is the most private places for the person so it is essential to provide confidentiality and privacy in it. Islam, Quran Verses and Hadiths of Prophet Mohammad and imams have focused on creating privacy in the houses. In this way, the privacy has been the basic principle on traditional architectures of Iran especially in housing.

Creating privacy is necessary point for people and providing this principle in the home is more important than the other places. Privacy In traditional architecture of Iran has created in both audio and visual kind. This principle has been used in traditional architecture of Iran before Islam but in Islamic architecture has been emphasized it more than before. Quran verses and Hadiths of imams and Prophet Mohammad are the most important references of Islam. So this article has reviewed these references to find the ways of creating privacy in the house.

This article is tried to define and understand these objects: the meaning of privacy, reviewing the factors that create privacy in Zinatol Mulk historical house as a distinguished building in Shiraz city, recognizing the confidentiality principle in organizing spaces of this house and introduce the special strategies that used in making privacy. So the privacy principle, Quran verse and Islamic hadiths are reviewed at the first part of the article. This part is used by library resources, articles and internet sites. After that, checking the case study is done with using interview and direct observation from the Zinatol Mulk building. So at first part of article a brief introduction of Zinatol Mulk house has been said then the elements that create privacy in Zinatol Mulk house are reviewed in both audio and visual type.

By studying the Quran verses and hadiths can be said that Islam insists on creating privacy especially at home into both audio and visual kind. So providing the privacy is necessary in Islamic architecture. Although this principle was used in Iranian buildings about 6000 years ago in the courtyard houses but the most use is in Islamic architecture. Therefore the successful case study in traditional architecture of Iran has been reviewed to understand the privacy principle. Zinatol Mulk house in Shiraz city was selected for evaluation. Zinatol Mulk house was chosen because of two reasons, first because Shiraz residential architecture is unique and it has productive and rich houses in its traditional architecture and second because this house is one of the most distinguished historical houses in Shiraz. The results also show the special features of confidentiality in this house. The factors that make visual and audio privacy in this house are divided into 4 main methods. These methods are location, proportions, introversion and the hierarchy. Each of these methods have special role in creating privacy in this house.

Audio and visual privacy will be appeared as the introversion, hierarchy, location and proportions principles in the framework of the building. Each of this principles use special ways to provide the confidentiality. The privacy has important role in in Zinatol Mulk house design. So the architecture has emphasized on making privacy in this house. Therefore the hierarchy is much stronger and has more steps than the other houses.

By Checking the Quran Verses and Islamic hadiths that related to privacy and Compliance them with the architectural of Zinatol Mulk house (a distinguished case study in Shiraz city), it obtain that creating confidentiality in the main spaces of this building are as below:
Entry spaces in this House:
The privacy in the entry space has been created by these factors: existence of high walls around the buildings, losing the height of the corridor than the vestibule, the lack of windows in the exterior elevation, retreat the entrance to the alley, increasing the thickness of the around walls and entrance space.

Privacy in the yard has been provided by these elements: using high walls around the building and in second floor to block the neighbor’s view on the yard, separation of two inside and outside yards and communicate them through an underground connection between Narangestan Qavam and Zinatol Mulk buildings, creating a separate yard for the toilet.

The factors that make privacy in the rooms are: locating the entrance perpendicular to the main axis of the yard, using larger and more windows in the gusts room (Shah Neshin) and smaller windows in living room (3 doors room and 5 doors room), recessing the windows of 3 doors room and 5 doors room, locating the 3 doors rooms apart from the public spaces of Home, providing the entrance spaces and patio in front of the rooms, communication between the rooms by the doors, increasing the thickness of walls in more private rooms, lack of openness in the closet room, creating the space hierarchy in the entrance of all the rooms.