International Journal of Architectural Engineering & Urban Planning
Volume:29 Issue: 2, Dec 2019

Despite negative perspectives on their consequences, gated communities continue to spread in cities due to structural reasons such as globalization and economic neo-liberalism. Hence, there is a need to seek for a way of achieving a balance and make these communities livable. Due to agreement with economic market perspectives, livability principles might offer a solution for mediating the social consequences of gated communities. This survey aimed to examine the physical factors influencing social livability of gated communities and identify the degree of their prominence. To collect the data, four gated communities in Tehran were selected through cluster sampling. An analysis of 258 questionnaires and our observation of the physical features of the gated communities indicated five physical features affecting social livability of gated communities. The results showed that mixed uses had the biggest effect on the social livability of gated communities followed by mixed housing, accessibility, walkability and sociability respectively. Although it might be impossible to put a halt to the expansion of gated communities in the short run, attempts can be made to attract different classes of people to these communities through mixing different uses and prevent from the fragmentation of gated communities. Well-connected and walkable streets help many daily activities occur within walking distance promoting the security of the neighborhood. Designing sociable public places where everyone is welcomed without any type of exclusion or limitation increases social bonds within gated communities which in turn promotes resident’s sense of community.

Thermal mass is the material's ability to store heat and release it after an amount of time and concrete is considered one of the best thermal mass material. Since concrete has been used widely in many building constructions, by considering the capability of concrete in terms of thermal mass, it is worthwhile to use this ability of concrete in order to build buildings more healthy and comfortable for an increase in the occupants’ performance. Ventilated Hollow Core Slab (VHCS) is one of the efficient ways to provide adequate thermal mass within buildings. The present study aimed to assess the thermal performance of VHCS; and its effect on the occupant's thermal comfort of a college building located in Luton, England, using a VHCS system as the exposed thermal mass. Various techniques have been used over two weeks and the recorded data were analyzed. Based on the findings from the review of existing literature in the field and the integrated approach outlined in this paper, results indicate that the application of VHCS as a thermal mass in university buildings decrease not only the daily temperature fluctuation but also the number of times with extreme heat or colds. Results also show the influence of the system on the level of habitants’ thermal comfort; though, this influence could be varied hinge on physical and psychological factors.

Different approaches and methods are used in the architecture design process that logical and intuitional methods are the most common ones. The role of knowledge in each method is different.  Investigating aspects of knowledge demonstrated the hierarchy from data to wisdom and the interaction of explicit and tacit types, subjective and objective sources, and analytical and exploratory ways of processing knowledge. Logical methods rely more on explicit and objective knowledge with analysis, while intuitive methods rely more on tacit and subjective knowledge that processed by exploratory ways. To investigate the difference between the two methods, we conducted a survey that involved architecture students in two groups of logical and intuitive methods. Results demonstrated that they have different opinions about the role of each type of knowledge, the importance of knowledge in each step of the design process, and the role of sources of information in their design process. We concluded that an integrative method that considers different aspects and integrated interactions of all aspects of knowledge is needed..

The present study is an attempt to find out processual and functional aspects of privacy regulation in a dialectical investigation. For this purpose, 180 samples are selected from among mothers of families in Mashhad, Iran using random sampling. In this study, "meaning structure" method has been applied. Samples participated in Laddering Interview. Analyses are set in Content-Goal Table. Based on this table, the initial questionnaire is designed and implemented after being finalized. 8 factors are obtained by factor analysis. Considering the compression variance, in the intended houses, these factors account for 87 percent of the hidden regulation of meaning structure in the privacy achievement and function processes. In general, we can conclude that these means have proper validity and reliability, and they can be properly used for studying "privacy" in the intended social housing. It is suggested to analyze the relationships among the privacy factors in order to present the regulation model of privacy aspects

Change is an essential element to Humans and foundation of their lives. Each change though requires its unique conditions. But Change may result in total destruction instead of exaltation if it takes place without considering conditions regarding it’s time, place and also without scientific evaluations. There are many factors and reasons for change and transformation and once it happens, consequences would follow. Due to social, managerial and historical events, Iran’s society has undergone changes during its modern era. Consecutively, Iran’s architecture has too experienced a drastic transformation during the past hundred years and especially in the past six decades which some call this an interruption. Interruption means, the connection between past and present has been cut off. Today as result of this interruption, Iran’s society is experiencing an increase in individualism and decrease in social relations. This would seriously question objectives of a utopia.This study is looking to clarify the interruption process and events influencing it in Iran’s architecture and urbanization base on three fundamental questions: 1. What are the causes of interruption in historical textures and which factor plays the main role? 2. What is the orientation of master plans, the thinking of the inhabitants and the authorities of the historical context regarding the issue of interruption and continuity? 3. What is the relationship between social relations governing the formation of architecture in historical contexts and the issue of interruption and continuity?This study will be using qualitative paradigm and historical research method to review the selected time intervals. As we progress through the study, we will have a look at the consequences of the disconnection from past in Iran’s architecture and urbanization. There is also a time graph which includes influential historical events projecting delicate turning and decision points. Moreover, explaining the consequence of the interruption in Iran is the achievement of this study which would assist others with the same interest with a clearer path throughout the time.

The concept of "gentrification" is becoming an important and widespread phenomenon in most of the world's cities, both developed and developing. Consequently, many people have forcibly left their places or have lived at a higher cost. Therefore this phenomenon has become one of the most controversial issues of urban studies in recent years and can be analyzed as an influential and underlying factor in the evolution of urban economics and cultural changes. Social groups and movements resistance against the negative outcomes -especially homelessness caused by this phenomenon- has highlighted its unpleasant aspects. In Iran, and particularly in Tehran, less attention has been paid to the occurrence of this phenomenon and its outcomes. In some experiences, urban regeneration projects, by resolving the physical problems of neighborhoods and the major obstacles that led to their poor quality, raise demands for housing. This process causes an increase in the prices of units, which is finally followed by displacement of old residents. In such cases, urban regeneration actions accelerate and intensify the phenomenon of gentrification within the worn-out neighborhoods of the city.The main objective of this research is to investigate the effects of urban regeneration policies on the occurrence gentrification as well as long-term impacts of this phenomenon on the social and economic structure of worn-out urban neighborhoods. In order to achieve these goals, the case study approach is used with statistical data analysis of the last ten years. Hence, the trend of changes in the number of “building permits” and “land prices” in the ten-year period of 2006-2016 is investigated in both neighborhoods. The results show that signs of occurrence of the phenomenon are more pronounced in the neighborhood where more and stronger regeneration interventions and physical changes can be observed.The concept of "gentrification" is becoming an important and widespread phenomenon in most of the world's cities, both developed and developing. Consequently, many people have forcibly left their places or have lived at a higher cost. Therefore this phenomenon has become one of the most controversial issues of urban studies in recent years and can be analyzed as an influential and underlying factor in the evolution of urban economics and cultural changes. Social groups and movements resistance against the negative outcomes -especially homelessness caused by this phenomenon- has highlighted its unpleasant aspects. In Iran, and particularly in Tehran, less attention has been paid to the occurrence of this phenomenon and its outcomes. In some experiences, urban regeneration projects, by resolving the physical problems of neighborhoods and the major obstacles that led to their poor quality, raise demands for housing. This process causes an increase in the prices of units, which is finally followed by displacement of old residents. In such cases, urban regeneration actions accelerate and intensify the phenomenon of gentrification within the worn-out neighborhoods of the city.The main objective of this research is to investigate the effects of urban regeneration policies on the occurrence gentrification as well as long-term impacts of this phenomenon on the social and economic structure of worn-out urban neighborhoods. In order to achieve these goals, the case study approach is used with statistical data analysis of the last ten years. Hence, the trend of changes in the number of “building permits” and “land prices” in the ten-year period of 2006-2016 is investigated in both neighborhoods. The results show that signs of occurrence of the phenomenon are more pronounced in the neighborhood where more and stronger regeneration interventions and physical changes can be observed.The concept of "gentrification" is becoming an important and widespread phenomenon in most of the world's cities, both developed and developing. Consequently, many people have forcibly left their places or have lived at a higher cost. Therefore this phenomenon has become one of the most controversial issues of urban studies in recent years and can be analyzed as an influential and underlying factor in the evolution of urban economics and cultural changes. Social groups and movements resistance against the negative outcomes -especially homelessness caused by this phenomenon- has highlighted its unpleasant aspects. In Iran, and particularly in Tehran, less attention has been paid to the occurrence of this phenomenon and its outcomes. In some experiences, urban regeneration projects, by resolving the physical problems of neighborhoods and the major obstacles that led to their poor quality, raise demands for housing. This process causes an increase in the prices of units, which is finally followed by displacement of old residents. In such cases, urban regeneration actions accelerate and intensify the phenomenon of gentrification within the worn-out neighborhoods of the city.The main objective of this research is to investigate the effects of urban regeneration policies on the occurrence gentrification as well as long-term impacts of this phenomenon on the social and economic structure of worn-out urban neighborhoods. In order to achieve these goals, the case study approach is used with statistical data analysis of the last ten years. Hence, the trend of changes in the number of “building permits” and “land prices” in the ten-year period of 2006-2016 is investigated in both neighborhoods. The results show that signs of occurrence of the phenomenon are more pronounced in the neighborhood where more and stronger regeneration interventions and physical changes can be observed.

Wind catchers  are one of the most prominent masterpieces of Iranian traditional architecture. In arid climate, it can improve thermal comfort through natural ventilation. With the aim of recognizing the impact of this masterpiece on thermal comfort, this research examined the effect of wind on summer ambient temperature by employing PMV. To this end, wind catchers  of Salehi's House was selected. To investigate the function of wind catchers  in Shiraz, enjoying a semi-arid climate, temperature, humidity and wind were measured by data logger TA120 between 9:00 to 16:00. Afterwards, PMV and PPD were obtained through Fanger Formula. The results based on wind and in the case when the wind catcher and openings are close and open showed that the amount of thermal comfort was directly related to the amount of wind coming from the wind tower. It was also concluded that the average ambient temperature in ground was declined by 0.8 °C and in the first floor it was declined by 0.9°C.

Historically, access to water resources had always been a key issue in the formation and perpetuation of ancient cities, more importantly in the arid and semi-arid regions like the central plateau of Iran. Based on the environmental situations, Persian civilization considered ecological realities and social interaction of conservation and proper distribution of the water to sustain its availability to all the users. Thereupon, they succeeded in achieving a lasting solution to the problem of the shortage of water. To overcome the inevitable climate condition, Iranians developed unique water structures such as qanats.However, as a consequence of modernization in the 20th century, the traditional water structures underwent considerable damage and were replaced by deep wells. These changes affected the groundwater supplies in turn and intensified the water crisis in Iran.Focusing on its importance in the sustainable development, this paper aims to study the qanat system. Introducing Tehran University Qanat as a vivid example, the role of qanats in a sustainable urban development is elaborated. Based on the analysis, suggestions are brought forward for the rehabilitation of this qanat. The findings of this research are believed to raise the awareness about the role of qanats in the sustainable development.

The green hydroponics walls are among new kinds of building facades, which receive more attention from architects lately. In addition to the positive effect these walls have in maintaining humidity in arid regions, they also have positive thermal performance in both cold and hot weather conditions. Therefore, they are in the center of designers’ focus for public spaces such as schools. In terms of soil-free cultures, these walls are of three general types: wide, horizontal, and vertical. The use of different types of green walls in each zone allows for different thermal performance. This paper aims to investigate the thermal performance of hydroponic green walls in different facades of green school in term of thermal performance. Moreover, the present study only addresses green schools in cold climates. We conducted a simulation by using Energy Plus software with three different types of hydroponic green walls in Shahrekord city of Iran, which were monitored in 20 years" from2000 until2019".The thermal performance of each type was analyzed and compared with other samples. Finally, the best kind of green- hydroponics wall with the best thermal performance was identified for each wall.

Persian garden have deep roots in paradigms and beliefs in Iranian culture, from arts and crafts to architecture and landscape and from literature to philosophy and wisdom in particular. The current study was done based on a qualitative methodology. To understand the latent concepts of the quadruple paradigm, those engaged have aimed at testing in practice and analyzing new concepts through the latent directive content analysis. This helped us through the objectives of this article for developing the quadruple paradigm and a new classification of quadruple Persian gardens. In this regard, this study sought the relationship between archetypal and historical Persian gardens and four fold plans as the key factor for finding the secret meanings and symbolic concepts. For the analysis, seven case studies on the Safavied dynasty were selected. This is the first study investigating focused on the quadruple in Persian gardens to the extent of believing and art history as a philosophy of paradigm could be categorized into three main groups and the themes were identified as a major classification: 1) Sacred-Archetypal gardens as an interpretation of supernatural beliefs and paradigms, which might be manifested through a spiritual landscape, carpets, paintings, or architectural façades; 2) governmental and authority gardens, which could be seen in the fields of architecture, landscape, and many Iranian arts and crafts; and 3) orchards as the blessing gardens representing birth and growth, thus bringing spiritual blessing and genius loci for human comfort.

This paper examines procedural modeling as a tool for 3D modeling creation. Procedural modeling historically has been used for 3D visualization of natural features, but with the release of the software CityEngine in 2008, the technology can easily be adopted also in problem domains dealing with urban environments.Then, we will examine and compare two types of modeling, traditional and procedural modeling and consider the advantages of procedural modeling. furthermore, reviewed the features of CityEngine software and introduced CityEngine as a software application that uses the procedural modeling system.Procedural modeling deals with (semi-)automatic content generation by means of a program or procedure. We survey procedural methods that are useful to design roads, buildings, and entire cities. In this survey, we focus particularly on the degree of the use of procedural modeling in the design of cities, streets, buildings, etc, in by CityEngine software. This paper examines how architectural shape grammars can be used to procedurally generate 3D modeling.In the end, considering the advantages of the procedural modeling, we propose procedural modeling (Algorithmically) to replace the manual modeling (Traditional methods) to increase the accuracy, speed, and design efficiency, furthermore, the flexibility of this approach helps to quickly change and regenerate the model as a new model.

Leisure walking is known as one of the most common type of physical activity that perform in purpose of recreation or health, which in turn may affect resident’s health. Built environment, social and individual factors are known as the main factors that affect decision to walk, in this regards, the study aimed to investigate the influence of personal and social factors that prevent residents to walk for recreation or exercise in their neighborhoods. Hence the fear of crime and personal barriers were examined in the current research as social and personal factors respectively. To collect the required data, 500 questionnaires by using systematic sampling were distributed from March to May 2016 in four residential neighborhoods of Bandar Abbas in Iran out which 411 questionnaire turned out to be qualified to be used in the study. The Smart-PLS was used to analyze the data. The findings of the study revealed that personal and fear of crime both have significant influence on the level of recreation and exercise walking in the neighborhood areas. The finding of this study can help urban and health researcher to know the significant influence of fear of crime and individual attitudes on the level of leisure walking activity, in addition, the findings of the study suggest that urban planners and designers as well as public health promoters need to highly consider the contribution of neighborhoods' social environment variables as well as individual variables to promote walking behavior changes among adult population.

Today Quality Function Deployment (QFD) is a powerful development method whit a wide range of applications to translate customers’ needs into technical requirements for achieving customer satisfaction. The current study demonstrated a QFD analysis to improve school furniture design in Tehran as the baseline of Iran. Accordingly, we extended the widely used QFD method into a complex set of customer demands about the school furniture and showed the step-by-step application of QFD that focused on the firs matrix known as House of Quality matrix. The study started by identifying the problem statement, specifying the objectives and designing the scopes of school furniture. 160 students recruited from three high schools located in different areas of Tehran participated in our study. Student’s requirements were collected and translated into the technical requirements using QFD method. Data gathering was carried out through survey, questionnaire distribution and structured interview. Subsequently, the collected data was analysed to find the best solutions for the problems. Obtained results from House of Quality matrix evaluation, were used to provide suggestions and solutions to reduce the problems. The present case study shows that QFD method can help demonstrators to ascertain inter relationship between operation requirements and measures of performance.