Reading the Architectural Spatial Organization of the Houses of Mashhad during the Transition Period, Emphasizing the Concept of Privacy

As a result of the tendency of the Qajar and Pahlavi kings toward modernity, the lifestyle of Iranians transformed at an incredible speed. The changes in the way of life affected the architecture of the houses and caused shifts in the direction of the desire for extroversion and reducing the amount of privacy. Therefore, the main goal of this research is to study the effect of the spatial organization of houses in creating privacy. Accordingly, the main question of this research is how the concept of privacy in Mashhad houses has been affected by the characteristics of the spatial organization of houses in the transition period. The research method is based on the Space Syntax. In general, the methods used in the current research are divided into two main categories: documentary and field. The statistical population of study includes the houses built from 1895 to 1941, within the historical context of Mashhad. The results show that the houses of Mashhad during the transition period had an introverted spatial organization, which the level of introversion of the houses was gradually reduced. In general, it can be observed that the political, social, and cultural changes in this city quickly and during a short period were represented in the architecture of the houses. Even the presence of an element as powerful as religion could not practically keep the sanctuary of the holy city away from major social changes and transformations, which were taking place at the country level.