نشریه معماری و شهرسازی آرمان شهر
پیاپی 47 (تابستان 1403)

The performance of city councils in reviewing and enacting approvals is one of the important fields in urban management. The significance of this field originates from the nature of these approvals that affect the various life aspects of citizens. Also, an investigation of this topic is necessary regarding the paradigm of public participation of stakeholders and influential groups in the decision-making process, because city council members perform as elected agents of people and make decisions on various urban subjects and challenges in the urban planning system of Iran. Thus, this study aims to examine a real experience of decision-making in the Islamic City Council of Tehran by adopting a pragmatic approach to discuss the compilation, review, and enactment of an idea in the city council through a practical process. To do so, content analyses, documentary, and narrative studies have been used to review the theoretical texts in this field, analyze the available documents and antecedents, and the practical procedures and margins done to compile, review, and enact the considered approval. The results of this study confirm that the pragmatist approach must receive greater attention in the process of revising the plans, projects, and approvals in the field of city and urban planning. Adoption of this approach and attention to the real experiences of the action field (in the field of decision making) draws the attention of theorists to the point that stakeholders (even those who are irrelated to the topic) have hidden powers in the cities, and can disturb an urban project or improve its performance. Moreover, regardless of all of its aspects influencing the cities, processes respective to urban management have raised many worries for power authorities, so the interaction with them requires specific capabilities for urban planners. These capabilities appear through the assessment of experiences in the field of action or practice and existing realities of society.

The traditional architecture of Iran, particularly its houses, is influenced by the identity and cultural values of the people of that time. Observation of privacy and its hierarchy in the structure of traditional houses is among the principles of traditional houses in Iran. Analysis and investigation of spatial relations in these buildings regarding privacy help us preserve and create privacy in modern housing. One can employ the space syntax theory to identify spatial ties and use them as an appropriate pattern. This theory allows us to know and analyze the social relationships in a building. To do data analysis in this study, some samples are chosen from among traditional houses of the Qajar Period with different and various plan structures using the quantitative cognition method through space syntax techniques and DepthMap Software. This study employed Visibility Graph Analysis to assess the spatial relations in the building. This analysis has been used to examine the depth index and two visual integrity and connectivity for eight case studies. Furthermore, privacy hierarchy has been analyzed in the structure of case studies by comparing these two indices. The results show that houses having one courtyard or the plan structure is designed in a way that most spaces of the house are arranged around one of the courtyards provide a more regular pattern of privacy hierarchy from public to private spaces rather than the samples having many courtyards that are similar in dimensions and shape. The mentioned case makes it easy for us to comprehend space, so the legibility of the spaces is higher in these case studies. However, privacy in houses with several courtyards is more observed than in houses with one courtyard.

Cognitive skills refer to strategies that enable the user to encode and decode the environment and facilitate his mental process. Because the primary levels of understanding the space at lower ages involve greater flexibility, this study firstly aimed to identify the codes shared by children to understand the environment and to explain cognitive maps, and secondly to address their interrelations to provide strategies that would improve architectural performance and help strengthen children’s skills of understanding the space. For this, a research method combining Delphi, survey, and case study was used. Following a review of past research, the views of 18 experts were investigated to identify the research criteria, which were prioritized by the Analytic Hierarchical Process (AHP). These factors were then analyzed by comparative case studies and evaluating the views of 412 9-12-years-old children using the SPSS software (version 24). Findings showed that spatial understanding skills were strengthened in three stages of the collection, reversibility, and classification of information. Regression test results indicated that children’s cognitive skill variations in the mental collection and storage of information (the environment’s physical data) were 0.875. This variation was 0.809 for the reversibility and visualization of information (the environment’s symbolic data) and 0.808 for information classification (flexible interaction with and controlling and changing the environment). For this purpose, interaction with the environment and its flexibility were effective factors.  Also, the involvement of multiple senses is critical for the collection and reversibility of information and the visualization of the environment. Other effective designing strategies include the provision of environmental comfort conditions, collective activities, attention to form capabilities, and focal signs.

Postmodern philosophy is considered a legitimate reaction to the uniformity of the general modern-era perspective of the universe. Postmodern philosophy or post-structural thinking reveals that there are some other possible epistemological forms, also. What is already existing is not the only possible form. So, what is the humanistic city in this novel form? It is understood that clarifying the origins, meanings, and multi-faceted functions of the city are also critical topics within the philosophical tradition. Considering cognitive developments and the rise of the era of numerous philosophical thinking movements, it is essential to investigate the topic of a humanistic city that would likewise correspond to these movements and truly help to deal with cities. Here, we discuss the subject of humanism within the context of post-modern and city philosophies. The objective of the present study was to perceive the humanistic city in post-modern philosophical thinking. The present study fell under fundamental research and used the qualitative (descriptive-analytical) approach using post-modern philosophy to reinterpret and elicit the concepts related to the relevant subject (the humanistic city) in the city philosophy. Findings showed that what was thought to have formed separate worlds in the past as a subjective whole along with an objective would culminate in an “other” dogmatism when contradicted each other in the modern era with the rise of Hegel and his Dialectics; however, it would not culminate in dogmatism when contradicted each other in the postmodern era in the form of a fictitious (imaginary) and a perceptual (objective) world, as they would consequently lay the ground for the rise of the “other” or the Third World, i.e., the lived world.

The house structure, as the family's main shelter, has always changed over history and has been affected by various factors such as economy, community, culture, and rituals. Researchers have considered culture to be the most important factor affecting the shape and form of a house. In other words, housing is a cultural phenomenon that aims to create a spatial social unit more influenced by the family and culture of its members than the power structures in the society. Topics about the culture and living culture highlight other terms in the mind, including life method and lifestyle. In this case, as one of the main parameters of culture, lifestyle leaves the highest impact on the spatial structure of the house. This study aims to evaluate the effect of lifestyle components on the spatial structure of contemporary houses in Qazvin City. The extant study was conducted using a mixed method in two steps. In the first step, the literature was examined based on the qualitative method and library studies through descriptive-analytical techniques to extract lifestyle components and spatial structure components. In the second step, the components extracted from the first step were reviewed through semi-structured interviews in the sample society. The results reveal a significant relationship between lifestyle and spatial structure of the house. In this lieu, “social relationships”, “indigenous needs”, “fashion”, and “belief needs” respectively have the highest relationship with the spatial structure of houses in the sample society.

The growing decay of Iran’s historical fabrics and the technical and executive incapability by official institutions (the government and municipalities) of restoring and reviving them led the present study to develop a sustainable restoration and revival model of historical fabrics via direct public participation in restoring and reviving these historic sites. The most important variable influencing citizen participation in social contexts is social capital which is always associated with the three variables of social participation, trust, and cohesion. These three variables have always directly influenced each other and helped to strengthen social capital, with the proposed model of the study following this principle. Methodologically, the study was qualitative and had a descriptive-analytical design, as it also had an applied goal. Here in this study, the data from the related literature were analyzed deductively, i.e., moving from the whole to the parts, as social capital variables and the relevant components were extracted, categorized, and weighted. Later, the inductive method, i.e., moving from the parts to the whole, was used to develop the proposed model to strengthen these components based on the local culture of Iran’s historic neighborhoods. It was found that the variables of social participation and trust could be strengthened by establishing unofficial sustainable systems in Iran’s traditional society; in contrast, the variable of social cohesion could be strengthened by the complete knowledge of the subject, education, the exchange of information, and developing shared values, as well as creating equal opportunities and alleviating common challenges and shortcomings in historic neighborhoods. The proposed model, also called an empowerment model, would, on the one hand, delegate power to the public and local trustees (unofficial institutions) to engage in decision- and policy-making, executing, assessing, and controlling plans, while, on the other hand, help official institutions resolve problems and shortcomings to eventually provide a development model of sustainable restoration and revival for Iran’s historic neighborhoods.

Seljuk schools are milestones in the architecture of Iran’s schools. These schools provided some features that the next schools followed their principles. However, the question is what kind of buildings influenced the structural pattern of schools constructed during the Seljuk period and afterward, and what is the architectural background of the main special elements and effective patterns in the formation and spatial evolution of these schools? This study aims to find the structural history of formal schools constructed in Iran after the Seljuk Era. Some researchers have presented theories about the root of schools that are attributed to specific building types. Regarding the lack of unity in these theories the reformist view of the authors to the historical-evolutionary approach, and the multifunctionality of schools’ bodies, the authors of this study believe that certain patterns have influenced the formation of Seljuk schools and their evolution. Therefore, this study examined the patterns of buildings affecting structural elements of Seljuk schools (primitive type) and post-Seljuk schools (evolved type) through structural analysis, by using historical research, case studies, and descriptive-analytical methods. Findings indicate that core elements of Seljuk and post-Seljuk schools, regarding their specific functions- have inherited features of various buildings and have been influenced by the patterns of these buildings. Moreover, Seljuk schools (primitive type) are rooted in a nine-part introverted Achaemenid pattern while post-Seljuk schools (evolved type) are rooted in the combination of a nine-part introverted and extroverted Achaemenid pattern. In general, the nine-part Achaemenid pattern is the initial cell of the formation of Seljuk and post-Seljuk schools. Regarding its meaning richness and structural flexibility, this ancient pattern can be still considered a golden model in designing educational spaces.

In the context of an educational system, academic graduates seek to find jobs that relate to their educational majors. Due to rising demands in recent years, architecture graduates face fundamental challenges when entering their relevant professions. The goals of this study were to determine the difficulties that face architecture graduates at the universities of Urmia City, Iran, when they are first admitted to their professions, and to present some academic and educational solutions to deal with relevant professions. The qualitative section of the study analyzes data through interviews with architectural professionals and engineers. It also performs a Grounded Theory based on the theories collected from the review of library sources. The quantitative section, meanwhile, applies descriptive-analytical research and analyzes data using the SPSS software. A hundred architecture graduates of B.A. levels (from 2016 to 2018) at public and Azad Universities of Urmia City comprised the statistical population, as purposive sampling was used to take representative samples. Findings show that graduates were dealing with such basic problems as totally different professional market conditions from the university, low graduates’ skills, poor professors’ teaching qualities in conveying materials, poor teaching and educational content, emphasizing theoretical education instead of workshop education, and shortage of recruitment conditions at public and private bodies, among others. To resolve these problems, the study suggested using professional professors, and greater cooperation with the Construction Engineering Organization for students to engage in executive projects and take internship courses under experienced engineers, applying integrated education, and revising educational syllabi. Findings show that poor educational systems in educating would-be experienced and effective architects could explain the problems facing the graduates of Urmia City’s universities as they begin their professions as architects. To tackle this, revising educational syllabi and establishing more communications with the industry and theoretical education, together with practical and workshops under the supervision of experienced engineers in architecture majors, could strengthen systematic education.

Higher urbanization rate, the non-economic exploitation of land, and the unusual growth of urban spaces have significantly contributed to the accelerating pace of land and housing rent, with unsystematic controls making land and urban housing rent difficult, if not impossible. The present study aimed to revisit the concept of “Effectiveness of Theories of Controlling Land and Urban Housing Rent” using me-ta-analysis and systematic review methods. In this connection, articles in scientific databases were searched to investigate the theories of “Land and Housing Rent” us-ing meta-analysis and systematic review methods based on the four-stage model of PRISMA in nine conceptual dimensions. Initially, 300 articles from 2000 to 2022 were identified. Out of this, 149 final articles were selected to be included in the me-ta-analysis by data description in the CMA software, after being incorporated into a specialized protocol. Findings revealed that the combined average effect sizes (ES) of the fixed-effect model and the random-effect model were 0.243 and 0.233, re-spectively, both being statistically significant. The significance of two Cochran (Q-Test) and Squared (I2) indexes with a high heterogeneity showed the effectiveness of the nine variable-based interventions on reducing land and housing rent. According-ly, the selection of the random model as a meta-analysis model was confirmed. Test results, including high heterogeneity rates, high data accuracy, larger “Classic Fail-Safe N index” statistic, as well as the significant contribution of the nine variables to the interventions aimed at affecting land and housing rent were confirmed to be suf-ficiently valid and reliable and were regarded as comprehensive strategies. Finally, it was found that publication bias did not influence the results.

As the cornerstone of modern construction, cement deals with concerns about energy consumption and pollution. This study compares the international approaches of EcoCem and Larestan Cement Manufacturing Plant within the “LEED” framework. Among the rising environmental worries, this study has been conducted to evaluate energy efficiency and greenhouse gas emissions in cement manufacturing plants. In particular, this study compares EcoCem International Company and Larestan Cement Plant to identify innovative techniques and improvement potential within the LEED Framework. The main question asks which strategy can effectively increase sustainability in cement production. Comparative research facilitates a comprehensive analysis of energy use, emission, operational methods, reduction of wastes, economic aspects, stakeholders’ perceptions, and environmental impacts. Quantitative data, including energy bills and greenhouse gas emission reports, would complement the qualitative insight obtained from interviews with the factory’s personnel and society members. Statistical analysis and thematic investigation are used to encode the findings. This study evaluates two cement factories based on distinctive techniques using a comparative analysis. The multifaceted approach of the International EcoCem Company for energy efficiency and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions is compared with the methods used by the Larestan Cement Plant. Quantitative measurements evaluate the differences, successes, and challenges occurring in energy profiles and their emissions, and finally provide practical advice. International Ecocem Company appears as a pioneer in energy efficiency and provides novel techniques in line with LEED principles. These techniques include high-tech production methods, Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) techniques, the use of renewable energies, alternative fuels, waste heat recovery, and comprehensive monitoring. On the contrary, Larestan Cement Plant’s attempts seem less than the comprehensive techniques, requiring fundamental revision to be matched with sustainability goals.