فصلنامه هویت شهر
پیاپی 25 (بهار 1395)

In the fifteenth century, the Safavids converted to Shi’ism and established Shi’a (The second largest denominationof Islam, after Sunni) as the official religion of their empire. The Islamic concept of the Ideal City, formed accordingto the Garden of Eden, was taken into consideration in the Safavid period. Gardens as parables of Heaven wereoften used as composing elements in urban design. This idea resulted in the formation of a powerful method of cityplanning that drew its conclusions from Shi’a ideology about the human place in the physical world and the Islamicconcept of the Ideal City. Urban designers used the ideas of Heaven in small and large-scale gardens and usedheavenly features as composition elements to create the city. Thus, the city was formed as an image of Heaven.It was a suitable place for people as surrogates of God in the world.No doubt, Safavid era should be considered as the most shinny period in the history of Iranian urbanization andArchitecture. Thus, in various ways, the factors that have been implicated in its development are reviewed anddiscussed. The teachings of Isfahan school are influenced by the intellectual wisdom of Shiism and they are themost effective factors which cause the dignity and progress of Safavid art and architecture comparing other eras.Ruling of the Safavid dynasty and legitimizing the Shiism, Indeed, Shia Safavids recovered from the previous stateand then it became a majority from a minority. Therefore, evaluation of Safavid Shiite teachings and Isfahan schoolin garden-constructing and urban development is essential in this study. Emphasizing on the basic elements ofconfiguring the physical identity and its effective role, the first part of this article deals with Islamic Iranian traditionof Safavid era. In other sections of this article, the relationships of urbanization and garden-constructing in theSafavid era and the rise of an Idea called as Garden City(Bagh-shar)and the factors involved in shaping them willbe explained.By studying about existent historic gardens, Persian Gardens are divided into different types. The way people usespecial physical and functional features could also be used as a scale of this division. It seems Iranian gardenerartist during different historical periods, tried increasing the relationship between human, nature and function.Isfahan as the most famous and magnificent of the historic Garden City is examined and the style of using elementsof the Persian garden landscaping in its urban structure would be explained. The purpose of this paper is toexamine the relationship between religious beliefs and the Shi'a Safavids in the shaping and emergence of the ideathe Garden City by the Safavids. Using an analytical-descriptive method of research, this paper tries to assess thequalitative data by means of an inductive method. Data collecting is realized using a library method. The resultsof this paper indicate the quality of relating the idea of the Safavid Persian Garden City and the pattern of Iraniangarden influenced by Islamic beliefs of Shiite Muslims in shaping it.... Key words: Shiism, Safavid, Isfahan School, Garden City, Isfahan

The concept of identity is one of the most complex issues in the humanities such that its roots can be tracedon the philosophy, psychology and sociology. The application of this concept in the field of architecture wasexpanded after World War II, in the 50's and after the outbreak of the criticism of modern architecture. Despiteextensive discussions that have taken place, this concept is still a matter of concern, especially in developingcountries. Vernacular architecture in these countries is a symbol of cultural identity in contrast with the pressuresof globalization and Invasion of Western Civilization. The main question of this study is the recognition of theconcept and effective principles of identity in architecture that is done through the analysis of the viewpointsof theorists.The views of theorists with the concept of identity and architecture can be seen in two total forms. The first oneis a process that architecture is considered as a symbol of self or society and in the second form, building’sidentity is known as the features or meanings of built environment. Anyway, the identity of built environmenthas deep relation with human identity and is considered as a pa rt of an individual's personality.Definition of architecture as identity, associated with concepts such as personalization, territory or senseof belonging. In contrast, analyzing the Identity in a building is a challenging issue that theorists have useddifferent terms to describe it. They have used from different terms like character of space, sense of place,meaning of built environment or physical features. A number of theories have considered identity as a part ofmeaning or sense of place, while some others have defined meaning or sense of place as a part of identity.Although these terms have different meaning, but all of them have mentioned some special features of builtenvironment that make meaning, cause uniqueness and distinguish a place from the other environment.Therefore, in this study the concept of meaning has used as the identity of built environment and the distinctionsbetween definitions are explained as the levels of meaning. Accordingly, four levels of meaning have defined,including basic meaning and form, functional meaning, symbolic and reference meaning, emotional andsentimental meaning. Perception of identity and meaning occurs by common significance and the level ofmeaning is related to the level of connection between the human and built environment and is defined in theprocess of interaction between these two elements.The interactive process is defined in a communication model between architect, built environment and user.Base on this model and theorist’s viewpoints, some principles have defined like oneness, continuity, innovation

«Quality of life« is an important concept and most thinkers in the past have been considered it. Although somephilosophers such as Plato, Aristotle, Epicurus, Descartes, Habermas, Rawls and others have talked about thequality of human life, but this concept as a matter of scientific research can be found only in social, economic,health and psychological studies since 1930s and in architecture and urban studies since 1960s.The «Quality of life« approach arose in the wake of criticism of the early twentieth century events and continued untilthe recent century, with a specific nature in each period. The main origins of them are appearance of «Standard ofLiving« term; change the «Standard« to «Quality« and the «Quality of Life Movement«. These phrases exemplifycontinued attempts to represent human reality and welfare in objective terms and to rationalize collective decisionmaking; but the passage from one to the other shows a shift in public discourse from individual life to communityand even to global subjects.In fact, this shift from standard to quality denotes a widening of our perspective on human being and life, a moreholistic and comprehensive approach to architecture and urban planning. So the phrase «Quality of Life« givesvoice to our concern with the nonmaterial dimension of wellbeing, beyond the basic needs of the individual.The purpose of this article is to understand the different approaches of this concept in any time and paying attentionto the evolution of that in the contemporary era to solve the problems ahead efficiently. Also, it determines thedimensions and the nature of the takes to be undertaken.This article explores what the evolution of Quality of Life approach tells us about architecture and urbanism andabout built environment in general since 1930s. Therefore, the strategy in this article is the study of history,issues and factors affecting the appearance of «Quality of Life« approach and explanation its evolution in thecontemporary architecture and urbanism. Also the method is explaining past events, analyze, and explore therelationship between them to recognize the nature of this approach.To this end, the paper contains four main parts: The first part is an introduction of the «quality of life« concept andits development process. The second part, as a literature review, is devoted for viewing the architectural and urbanquality of life factors in the appearance of this thought. The third part will discuss the evolution of «Quality of Life«concept in the modern period and in the fourth part as a result we will face with the status of this approach at theend of this century and the further developments.Regarding the evolution of the «quality of life« thought in the second half of the last century until now, the future of thisapproach in architecture and urbanism can be pursued in the globalization studies. With more surveys in this field, thisidea can be seen in the environmental different aspects and can be applied in the implementation of this idea.... Keywords: Quality, Quality of Life, Standard of Living, Architecture, Urbanism

Today, due to increasing the population of large cities such as Tehran, the demand for housing, has been increased.The imbalance between supply and demand of housing has increased the price of housing which caused citizens tolive in small apartments. This issue reduces the quality of life in these homes. The quality of the human environmenthas an enormous effect on his health. Most research in the field of health psychology has shown that, there is a directrelationship between the quality of the residential environment and social harms such as suicide, mental disorders,drug addiction and criminality. One of these qualitative factors is the quality of daylight. Being exposed to adequatedaylight has an enormous effect on the health of body and the human spirit. Due to the high density and compressibilityof buildings and also aerosols and air pollution that cause low access to daylight, attention to the appropriate use ofdaylight in the cities such as Tehran is more critical. On the other hand, in tall apartments, residents have not accessto some open spaces such as yard and during the day, they live in closed space of apartment. Therefore, the designof windows as the only source of daylight are very important. So, the conditions of suitable daylight in residential areasand the way to create it, are considered in this article.The study area of this article is small apartments in Tehran. Because of the high price of housing in Tehran, theseapartments are considered by many citizens. Regarding to the limitation in access to the yard and outdoor living space,attention to improvement of environmental quality, especially attention to daylight is more important.The determining standard characteristics of daylight in residential areas is one part of this research. In this field withstudying credible sources and standards, required data is collected. The most important index is a daylight factor thatis equal to the average daylight in interior space in the proportion to outdoor daylight. Appropriate daylight factor forbedroom, work and study rooms, living room and kitchen respectively is equal to 1%, 5%, 2.5% and 2%. Identifyingthe common spaces of small apartments in Tehran and theirs area, is the next step. For this purpose a number ofsmall residential apartments in the various parts of Tehran were selected and the different dimensions of theirs spaceswere investigated. Finally, to determine the proper size of windows, the daylight simulation and calculation software(DIALUX) has been used. In this software, Tehran's geographic information (latitude and longitude) and the status ofair pollution in Tehran and the data related to glass of window (common windows that used in this apartments ) suchas transparency coefficient and the reflection coefficient of glass, were imported and according to the standard daylightfactor of bedroom, living room and kitchen, for each of these spaces,the calculations have been performed and theoptimal window size for each of these spaces in proportion to the internal surface area is presented.... Keywords: Daylight, Health of Body and Spirit, Residential Apartments, Tehran

This article is derived from the Ph.D. thesis of the author which is about the role of spirituality in the Iranian homeand architecture (here the word home has a double meaning both as an architectural concept and a spiritual one).Proceeding to the topic Meaning and Spirituality both in the broader context of philosophy and wisdom and thenarrower one of art and architecture is preceded by defining some basic concepts like appearance and inwardprinciples and then introducing four cognitive levels according to their epistemological importance (chart one). Tounderstand spirituality, the levels of human awareness and cognition must be explained thoroughly; since theyare human’s intellectual activities at hand. For the very reason that the four cognitive levels are man’s intellectualachievements (intellect either in the form of logos or reason), logos and reasons are explained afterwards andthe relations between these two are shown from several different perspectives (to which the second chart isdedicated). In the first part of this essay and as a theoretical base for discourse, the four cognitive levels andtypes of knowledge, function as a means for the explanation of meaning and spirituality and in the third chart therelation between meaning and spirituality in wisdom and philosophy and on the other hand with logos and reasonis presented.In the second part the professional field of art and architecture is investigated and the spiritual art is defined.Spiritual art is substantially an inward based on reflection and contemplation thus Persian art and subsequentlyPersian architecture is dependent on these activities. Therefore, those intrinsic matters like states of sharia, creedand truth which run through spirituality and spiritual art transmit into Persian art and the architecture, navigating themystic from the world of appearances to that of numinous. This centripetal movement holds man’s being towardsgod. This attitude (being towards god) is proposed to be the sign for presentness of “Aan” (a spiritual momentumor better saying a very special spiritual state). An “aan” which belongs to the mystical world, achieved in revelationsand intuitions of the artist would be then expressed in his art. Moreover, this is a hint showing that the heart ofspiritual art at the same time is simultaneously present and absent. So briefly speaking, a spiritual artist is he whohas an “Aan” in his works. This “Aan” is immediately grasped by the inner eye or intuition of the beholder for it isemanated by the same exact source, to say, heart and soul.At the end of this essay and as a summery, it is concluded that in Persian wisdom, meaning and spirituality areequal and for that exact reason are equal in Persian art and architecture too. That’s why a compulsion to obtain acertain degree of spirituality, for client, architect and beholder is evident as a precondition for achieving harmonywith Persian architecture. Finally, it should be mentioned that an analytical expressive methodology, with qualitybased methods are used in this research.... Keywords: Intellect, Reason, Meaning and Spirituality, Spiritual Art, Iranian Architecture

Studies on perceived quality of urban environments, look for ways of establishing harmonious relationship betweenpeople and cities. In the contemporary city, this harmony cannot be seen properly in the relationship betweenpeople and elements that are important in urban legibility. Urban landmarks are one kind of those elements thatwe observe a chaotic attendance for them in Iran’s capital, Tehran. The most common definitions of landmarksindicate that they are some recognizable natural or man-made features used for navigation, features that standsout from their near environment and are often visible from long distances. In urban studies as well as in geography,a landmark is furthermore defined as an external point of reference that helps orienting in a familiar or unfamiliarenvironment. Also, it should be noted that we know urban landmarks as significant elements in both urban landscapeand image. They are conceivably the most fundamental pieces of spatial information as they are used for a widecollection of tasks related to the description, understanding of and reasoning about our physical environment. Inthis paper, we propose a conceptual framework for legibility factors of urban landmarks along urban structuralpathways with emphasis on form, function and meaning. In other words, this paper is to answer the question “whichfactors play the most important role in changing an element, building, etc. to an urban landmark along structuralpathways?” Therefore, in this qualitative research, after considering and summarizing the literature review, aconceptual framework based on the ideas of Lynch, Appleyard and Rapoport was developed. Also, people wererequested to specify urban landmarks they know on a simplified map of the street. Then we identified the mostimportant landmarks (along Vali’asr street in Tehran) based on analyzing people's mental maps. After all, mainfactors/ features of the landmarks were extracted and summarized. The important feature of this study is notonly considering urban landmark as a phenomenon consists of the dialectical relationship between the threecomponents (form, function and meaning), but this is also going to propose a typological analysis of the factorsmentioned above and their variables. Reviewing literature on urban landmarks shows that the main emphasis ofrelevant studies is more on formal and visual aspects rather than functional and semantic. So the focus of thepaper on the meaning of landmarks tried to be comprehensive and novel. The results of this study are to be usedprimarily for urban designers, urban planners and architects to understand what features are important for people toidentify an element as a landmark during the time, and help them to decrease the current chaos in urban landscapeespecially in developing countries urban areas. The results show that functional and formal aspects of landmarksplay a more important role, respectively, in the legibility of urban landmarks. Also type of use, intensity of use andvisibility have greatest impact on identifying those elements. On the other hand, we observed that functional, formaland formal-functional landmarks are, respectively, main types in the case study.... Keywords: Urban Landmarks, Semantic Landmarks, Structural Pathways, Mental Map

Public transportation system, especially the subway transit system of metro is one of the main strategies of TODmovement towards achieving sustainable urban transportation. Subway transit system based on this movement, inaddition to reducing traffic and use of personal vehicles, increases human-oriented public spaces. Metro stations canplay an important role in the efficiency and attractiveness of this transportation system. Therefore, public spaces couldbe changed to underground urban spaces by using some strategies. This issue could be more important and essentialin Tehran as the capital, most crowded and the biggest city of Iran. It’s seems that by using public arts in Tehran metrostations, could affect the desirability of them.This study has used an analytical method and is based on quantitative- qualitative approaches. In collecting data surveymethod (questionnaire) had been used and Case studies are Vliasr and Tajrish metro stations. These two stationsare located in memorable parts of Tehran, have special identity, special visual and functional properties. A total of 320questionnaires in Vliasr and Tajrish metro stations are statistical society of this study. Multivariate linear regression,Durbin-Watson exam and comparing quantitative and qualitative results were used as the data analyzing methods.The result shows that using public art in metro stations could excite the curiosity of travelers, attracts more travelersand make a more familiar environment. Therefore, they spend more time in underground spaces of the city. So usingpublic arts in Tehran metro stations could be effective in desirability of them. Among all types of public arts, fixed(54.9% in vali-Asr station and 63.6% in Tajrish station) and motion ones (52.3% in Vali-Asr station and 51.7% in Tajrishstation) are more effective on desirability of Tehran metro stations. Among various cases of public arts “using the mainhall of the station to display photographs and paintings of artists'”,’” Establishment of photography stations with fixedcaptures and elements”,” availability of wall-paintings and wall reliefs ”and “announcing programs of Tehran cinemaand theaters by displaying the posters in station platform” can be more effective in these stations. Although by usingsome common types of public arts in Tehran metro stations could improve the desirability of them, but each stationaccording to its location and design has special identity and atmosphere that seeks to some special and appropriatestrategies. As follows, exhibiting of pictures and caricature of theater running programs, changing displayed arts instation hall according to seasons and special ceremonies, using dynamic and creative textures for pavements, useof peoples portraits or autographs to cover some walls in Vali-Asr station and play classic music in order to calm thepassengers and make distances between platform to gates shorter, decreasing unused spaces and hidden corners by“picture stops” that indorse people to pause and leads to some unplanned interactions, use of soft components suchas water and flowers through creative furniture and by creative methods, motion pictures and advertisements in Tajrishstation and are some of strategies for improve the desirability of these stations.... Keywords: TND, Metro Stations, Public Arts, Vali-asr and Tajrish Metro Stations

Administrative Justice Court due to address complaints and objections of the people pleading with state agents or unitsor regulations officially started its work in 1981. Also urban development higher council of Iran established as the highestlegislative authority of city in the year 1964 with the aim of coordinating programs with urban development duties suchas consideration of approval and regulation city planning. From the beginning of establishment of The AdministrativeJustice Court so far, 60 demands of cancellation of legislation registered and 24 votes has been accepted (40 percent)and led to invalidate ratification. Assessment cancellation legislation and its effects on development of projects and lackof construction like the realization of the public -services-facilities infrastructure, and communication network can be animportant guide to provide essentials of codification of projects and policies.A method that used in this research is practical. The research method is descriptive-analytic. In this article evaluate thereasons for the annulment of decisions of urban development and architecture higher council of Iran and discussed thematter of revocation of approvals approach was evaluated and then proposed solution is presented. In the following, theways to reduce revocation of approvals due to non-compliance legal issues, with the consideration of proprietary rightsof the people were suggested. The study of non-compliance with legislation revocation confusion on the proprietaryrights of individuals and the rights of the people over the years has been gained and revocation of approvals has ledto the attainment of the owners complained.The absence of representatives of economic sectors (Ministry of Economy and Finance) and services (ministries ofeducation, health), and registration of ownership and legal documents, cause some problems. The lack of stable income,in charge of public services (such as lack of funding and credit for land administration, education, health)caused landacquisition and implementation services in the legal deadline and created many problems for the owners and custodians.In this discussion contradicts spectrum of dimensions and influential activities in the arena and city assessment andchallenges caused by the optimistic development plans and construction and solution of the proposal has beenpresented. The results show that the realization of the highest percentage cancellation legislation related to the votesof the commission Article five about license, the separation of classes and increase the effectiveness and change.Reasons for revocation of approvals of urban development and architecture higher council of Iran are:Lack of a central process in the spirit prevailing attitude in planning and urban development plans.Lower incidence rates of maintenance plans and urban development plans approved by the lack of useful informationand at the micro and macro scales.Lack of proper analysis over time due to deficiencies in project management and lack of integrated programs in urbanmanagement system.And finally weakness in determining the amount of the contribution and participation of socioeconomic (sustainablerevenues) in each part of the management of urban spaces that adapt to the real needs of people in urban development.... Keywords: The Ratification of Urban Development and Hrchitecture Higher Council of Iran, Administrative