The Sociological Perspective on the Architecture of Historic Houses in Kashan

The objective of the present study is to investigate the cultural, artistic, climatic, aesthetic, and historic characteristics of historic houses in Kashan area. The area owns specific rules in architecture and enjoys special construction, particularly in residential buildings. On the other hand, historical studies can identify the thought and ideological framework and re-identify the dominant discourse of each period. This is because every historical epoch is defined according to its own characteristics. The fundamental points in these studies are the knowledge gaps and intellectual, cultural, and discourse shifts resulting in shifting of and displacement in levels of analysis. Attention paid to the combination of discourse integrity (the representation of discourse integrity in the architecture of Kashan) and attention given to functionalist theory that emphasizes the role of each element in the general construction of each phenomenon and its particular function can well demonstrate how these two apparently disparate theories have combined in constructing these houses. Generally, the propositions governing the traditional architecture of Kashan, formed according to discourse of Hijab (veil), along with the internal construction of houses with respect to climatic and natural conditions and the function of internal elements have given birth to a specific phrase called “the historical houses of Kashan”, which has attracted the attention of many domestic and foreign individuals. From cultural viewpoint, the distinction between gynoecium and Andaron, and demonstration of masculine authority and acceptance of patriarchy by the household are among important points emphasizing the reason for the separate positioning of men and women in the house. Moreover, existence of special houses in a special part of city led to the concentration of aristocrats in a special place which provided them with special advantages. The human being’s physiological response to temperature, for example, defines the optimality of weather or climate for him. Thus, traditional architecture strategies to modulate the temperature are reflected perfectly in these houses. Traditional architecture in Kashan has been designed for air adjustment mostly based on cryogenics and has been planned to provide comfort and inner peace according to the bio-climatic conditions. The present article includes a description of Kashan’s historical houses and its local architecture and the internal structure of the houses. The article proceeds to state the theoretical framework of the study and recognize the historical phenomena based on the discovery of the truth hidden in them. This will in turn illustrate the emergence of new discourse in the history of Iran, i.e., discourse of modernity and its special feature of this era everywhere, including Iranian architecture. This research enjoys a field study based on direct observation and historical analysis of houses using Michel Foucault's theory of discourse integrity and functional theory with emphasis on Parsons (AGIL). The results of the present study demonstrate natural human response to Kashan geography with dry climate along with his reaction to the sovereignty of discourse in each period. The dominant discourse values combined with natural conditions and creativity in artistic structure have provided a suitable ground for the construction of houses.