مجله منظر
پیاپی 63 (تابستان 1402)

“We have sent down the wind” [i] …  To remove the hat from their heads (Sohrab Sepehari, Surah Tamasha)[ii]In the harbor city of ‘Bandar-e Lengeh’ there is a house that is known as one of the Iranian architectural masterworks. The ‘House of Fekri’, a less-known work, looks like a classic house according to the Iranian profound house-building culture. Since it does not represent huge spectacular architectural characteristics such as a tall portal, luxurious decorations, and expanded water features (Aab-Nama), it is a less-seen work and an unknown building. However, in the conceptual realm of "Architecture as an observation platform of Nature"[iii], it is an exceptional work.‘Bandar-e Lenge’ has a hot-humid climate, with a long and harsh season. The architecture of ‘House of Fekri’ has two necessary conditions[iv] for living in this environment: The landscape of sea and the blowing wind, and some additional characteristics (sufficient conditions)[v], introversion, and responding to the diverse required functions of the residents. Forming the house is the outcome of the interaction between these two conditions. To observe the sea, a raised platform (Soffeh) has been built on a flat ground far from the sea, to let the house residents have a broad view of the sea landscape. So, the house has turned into an observation platform for the house residents to let them perceive the sea as a sign of celestial verse, and an adopted element of Nature on a tangible scale to fulfill the mission of making them feel[vi] and perceive[vii] the wholeness of existence. This is the first condition for becoming an ‘observation platform or Nazargah; it is an opportunity that provides the chance of feeling Nature. In addition to this characteristic, to satisfy the physical comfort of the house residents in the hardship condition of Bandar-e Lenge, the wind flow and air circulation have been provided by making space between different parts of the building mass and hollowing out the volume of the building.The distance between the filled masses besides making the condition for the passage of the airflow, increases the speed of the air and lets a current of air be produced as the result of the pressure difference between the top and the bottom of the passage. This is apart from the natural wind that is directed into the house rooms by the windbreakers. The artificial wind produced by the perforated architecture of this House flows both in the outer spaces and the spaces between the built sections. It is the place where the porches and corridors of the house have been built for the greater efficiency and comfort of the residents during the long and hot summer season. This way of intervening in the space, which causes the breeze to flow in the house in the outer spaces and at a level lower than the height of the natural wind, besides making the house a comfortable place to live, is a sustainable and enduring measure for the human to interact with a sign of Nature. The wind in the House is highly perceived on a tangible scale, as the observer constantly feels the wind blowing. Having the exterior and interior spaces for both formal space and living environment, and landscaping in a garden pit are among the sufficient conditions that make the entity of the house.The form of the House has its advantages from both ontological and epistemological levels. Initially, the house inhabitant is in constant interaction with the two natural signs as celestial verses, the Sea and the Wind, and at the second level, it shapes the natural and historical needs of the inhabitants in the light of the historical culture and civilization. The outcome of that ontological “Promise” with this epistemological "Appearance" is making a kind of architectural landscape, which the ‘House of Fekri’ is a prominent example of this approach. [i] The descent of the wind, same as the descent of the Quran, refers to encountering a tangible and lower form of the transcendental truth.[ii] A hat, like a covering for both the head and the truth; removing the hat implies to the uncovering the truths. Sohrab ironically refers to direct confront with the wind reality as a celestial verse for the perception of existence.[iii] According to my belief, "Architecture is meant to be an observation platform of Nature" as a mission. Nature is an important book of knowledge for humans, and architecture has to create the context for encountering the ontological signs of Nature with humans as the inhabitants.[iv] Necessary condition is a condition required for an object to occur and allows the object to be existed and created.[v] Sufficient condition is a condition that is complementary and ontological cause for the occurrence of the object. Objects are divided into different types following their creation. The rank of their existence precedes their essence.[vi] Make something feel is a term coined by Shafi'i Kadkani to interpret Masnavi poems written by Maulana (Jalaluddin Mohammad Balkhi).[vii] General perception or the sense of space is an interpretation for encountering and understanding the ‘existence’ of an object. It happens when the existence of an object is perceived regardless of it ‘essence’ that has not yet been understood.

Bāgh-e Zereshk entrance was a distinctive building of the Safavid, which was located in the southern part of Isfahan’s Chāhār Bāgh axis and deteriorated over time. An examination of travelogues, newspapers, historical books, pictures, maps, and historical images can be directly influential in retrieving the monumental architecture of the Safavid Chāhār Bāgh in Isfahan. Other researchers have examined Chāhār Bāgh axis from such perspectives as the analysis of the urbanization principles of the axis according to the design system of the garden city. However, the present study attempts to investigate some of the characteristics of the axis’ urban body structure by retrieving the architecture of its surrounding garden entrances. Therefore, this study is the first to retrieve the map of Bāgh-e Zereshk entrance by employing, comparing, and analyzing descriptive and illustrative documents. The investigations revealed part of the characteristics of this building including the shape of the plan, the number of floors, the height of the building, characteristics of the elevation (components and materials), location, and its connection to urban elements of Chāhār Bāgh-e Bālā axis. Moreover, the evolution of the building (construction, restoration, and destruction) and its application (residential and office-related) based on Bāgh-e Zereshk’s ownership system and its being influenced by the function of Chāhār Bāgh-e Bālā axis from the Safavid period up to the present time were investigated. It was revealed that after three decades, the building was deteriorated by the end of the Qajar period as a result of decay and disrepair. The present procedure can be used in retrieving the form characteristics of other architectural buildings located in Chāhār Bāgh historical axis.

AbstractA city is a socializing process that creates civilization, so mere physical formation and development cannot lead to the development of a town. Cities are a collection of interconnected organs formed by an identity community. The city is a cohesive and relative whole; each part plays an important role. Every sector plays its part in achieving a unique goal. In systematic analysis, the city consists of the elements that make up its spatial organization. In Iran's traditional cities, for example, bazaars have formed a longitudinal structure along the direction of the town. In contrast, religious centers such as shrines and mosques have included circular designs in the middle of cities.As one of Iran's historical cities, Mashhad emerged in the 3rd century AH on the outskirts of the Toos and Tabaran villages. The development and expansion of Mashhad throughout history have always been affected by the town's religious center (the holy shrine of Imam Reza ). During the city's development, the sacred shrine of Imam Reza played a decisive role in how the city's spatial organization was formed and changed. Since Mashhad's formation, urban development has always originated in the central zone. Consequently, a cohesive and homogeneous relationship with the surrounding environment has been a characteristic of holy shrines during the urban development. The city constituents always served this place, such as neighborhoods and access roads. Since the Safavid era, the continuous organic relationship between the center and other Mashhad Urban Spatial Organization components has been broken due to fundamental changes in urban development plans and governmental interventions, which this study try to clarify.This study seeks to conduct a historical-analytical investigation of how Mashhad's broad foundation formed, changed, and contributed to the destruction of Mashhad's urban identity community within the region's constituent parts, including its center, structure, neighborhoods, and urban realm.

The historical bridges of Isfahan are among the most valuable historical monuments of Iran, which have been preserved throughout the ages. The unknown original form and future building changes have made it challenging to conserve this valuable heritage. Si-o-Se-pol bridge, which is part of the tangible cultural heritage of the Safavid era, has historical and architectural values. Despite its great popularity, more research needs to be done on it. Few scientific studies have been done on this bridge. Therefore, more research on this building is necessary. Thus, this research deals with the historical and visual documents left by the building and the changes in appearance and landscape of thirty-three bridges over time. This study aims to document the physical changes in the Si-o-Se-pol bridge and its landscape based on available historical and visual documents and the entrance landscape, especially after the construction of the tollgate. This research used a field and archival study. The reading of ancient documents was done along with comparative analyses. A comparison was based on various visual and historical documents, and buildings of similar forms; it led to the presentation of three 3D models. Physical changes in the entrance’s landscape and the form of the bridge were exactly modeled. Documenting and modeling the bridge over the ages shows that many changes have been made in the form and landscape of the bridge. The crown on the eastern facade and the toll gate in the northern landscape of the bridge were added to the building in the Qajar period and destroyed in the Pahlavi era. The construction of the toll gate at the northern entrance of the bridge has changed the threshold landscape in this part of the city. Comparative studies and three-dimensional modeling of the bridge in each period proposed three alternatives for the physical form of the toll gate. Archaeological excavations and the possibility of finding other old documents on this bridge can reveal the final alternative in more detail.

Over the last 40 years, evidence of the wealth and capital accumulation, along with the continuous and accelerated flow of occupation of space, place, and its territories, dissolution, reconstruction, and spatial integrations in the urban spaces of Iranian cities, has fueled the unevenness and disturbance of space in architecture and urban landscape more than before. The problem is to find the reasons, for the rapid trend of unevenness and intensified disturbance in the architecture and urban landscape, especially in the metropolises of Iran. What are the influencing forces, factors, and relations? How do they affect spatial disturbance and imbalance? The research sample of the empirical study is Shahrdari Street between two squares, Tajrish and Quds. This study attempts to identify and introduce influential forces and relations affecting the mechanisms of the land and real estate markets to show how such factors obviously and intangibly have been able to make the street architecture and urban landscape unbalanced and confused. This has occurred through the intermediation of housing and building builders, via the exclusive occupation of the space and place near Tajrish Square, dissolution and accelerated spatial and place integrations, and serve the process of city spatial reconstruction, in this area. In terms of the purpose, this research is applied-developmental research. Its logic is deductive and inductive, and in terms of the method, it is descriptive-analytical, a type of case study that has reached a final synthesis by analyzing the cognitive and functional links. Based on the research findings, the growth of private sector activity and dynamism of the forces, affecting the accumulation of monopoly capital, relying on monopoly-financial rents in other sectors, in the context of cultural relations, play an important role in the occurrence of physical imbalance and spatial disturbance.

Ecological-Landscape development is proposed as a mature form of Ecological-Landscape Urbanism which  is a recent discourse in Western architecture and urbanism whose roots can be traced back to environmental movements in the past century. In this regard, ecological-landscape development opens new horizons for contemporary cities by relying on conceptual frameworks such as landscape as a building block of the city, landscape ecology, and ecosystem services, where the difference between natural and built environment pales and the city is conceptualized as an ecosystem including humans. It can be stated that it departs from conventional urbanism approaches that are mostly based on modern views in many ways, and introduces a novel method of shaping the built environment. On the other hand, by dissecting the tenets and major approaches of this school, a high degree of commonality with Eastern architecture and urbanism, especially Iranian architecture, can be identified. This can be acknowledged as the point where Western architecture and urbanism meet Iranian architecture, as well as a solution to its continuity and development in today’s world. Using an analytical- descriptive approach, this paper seeks to analyze the concepts, roots, and patterns hidden within this branch as the outcome of the synergy between the two schools of landscape urbanism and ecological urbanism, and propose a manifesto, albeit incomplete. Then, it introduces its common features with Iranian architecture and urbanism under concepts such as gradual development and integrity, fusion with nature, multidisciplinary knowledge, connectivity with politics, and ecology.

One of the primary challenges of landscape knowledge is to develop practical strategies to use the landscape approach on the scale of operational projects. One of the most controversial scales of the project is the intermediate scale which is defined as the common border between the architectural project and the landscape, which has not received much attention from experts in either field. In the meantime, “continuous architecture” as an approach based on the “landscape approach” of the project, moves on the border of architecture and landscape. By carefully studying the landscape components of the project, through the two principles of “ time continuity” and “place continuity” of the project platform, the continuous architecture seeks to create a work that, while carrying historical memory, is a harbinger of future prosperity. In addition to these two, it also displays the spirit of his time. Apart from responding to the plan, the work must be formed in interaction with the surrounding natural landscape and express the aesthetics of the geography of its context. This research seeks to analyze the main campus of Koç University, one of the most significant projects formed based on this approach, based on the three-part system of meaning, function or use, and aesthetics. This study also attempts to evaluate its different dimensions and discuss the success of the applied strategies in compliance with the project perspective. On the one hand, considering that the “continuous architecture” approach, despite its relative success in reflecting the landscape approach on the intermediate scale of architecture and landscape, lacks a theoretical background to discover practical strategies to achieve the project’s landscape goals, this research aims to recognize and categorize these approaches through re-reading the project. Finally, the analysis of this work shows its remarkable success in expressing landscape concepts on the intermediate scale of architecture and landscape. The most important strategies in achieving the goal of the project are “Semantic unity”, “Integration of users”, “Flexibility of users”, “Form consistency”, “Form continuity” and “Form reference”.