Bodily perception of the Iranian bazaar: explanation of architectural components based on Merleau-Ponty's theories

One of the characteristics of Merleau-Ponty's phenomenology is to pay attention to the place of the body and the role of the body in the process of sensory perception of the world. A photographed image is unreliable evidence of the real quality of the architectural space. Therefore, examining the role of the body, understanding the human position, and his experience of architectural space, provide him with a different perspective on understanding space. In traditional architecture, especially historical bazaars, deep attention has been paid to the presence of man and his perception of the main lines of the bazaar and the surrounding spaces, which, by involving the five senses, has a different understanding of the space compared to the image prepared of that space. The main question of the research is: What are the influential components in bodily perception based on Merleau-Ponty's theories in the Iranian bazaar? The purpose of this research is to investigate the human position and the different types of perception in the presence of humans, emphasizing the theory of Merleau-Ponty's bodily perception. In fact, in this research, by examining Merleau-Ponty's theory and the theories proposed about bodily perception in the architectural space, the influencing factors on the different perceptions of man and the effect of his presence in the architectural space are investigated.

The research method is based on the onion model, where each layer is affected by the other layer. The structure of the research is based on the qualitative method of grounded theory. This research is in the form of qualitative research and a descriptive-analytical research method has been used. The method of collecting information is library and field, and the means of collecting information is by recording observations and interviews.

In the results of this research, which was carried out with an emphasis on Merleau-Ponty's theory based on female perception, the components influencing the presence of man and his different vision, such as depth, distance, movement in architectural space, perspective view, atmosphere of space, change of observer's view and parallax have been obtained.

The findings show that these components show up well in the space of the historical market; the attention of the past architects to the role of man in space, and the engagement of his perception by creating a sense of movement, the horizon of vision and movement depth, rhythm and repetition in the walls and exposure, is deeply felt and the role They have a decisive role in understanding the architectural space and human experience in the Iranian bazaar.