فرح حبیب

Pedestrian areas are a type of urban public space, nowadays because of the serious consequences of car-dependency and ignoring pedestrian needs, a consensus on the importance of walking and the necessity for planning for pedestrians movement has been formed among urban designers, planners and people. The concerns about human health and movement in city create a new trend in contemporary urbanism, entitled “pedestrianization movement”. So far, walking in the streets has been defined under the influence of cars and they have always been given a priority over pedestrians. As a result, cars gradually conquer urban spaces, retreat pedestrians from their essential rights to use public spaces. If it is accepted that the quality of urban public areas has a considerable influence on citizens’ everyday social activities, this influence can be seen much greater in car free zones than anywhere else in the city. The main attention of the present study is enhancing social interactions in urban spaces, so the main purpose of the study is finding solutions and providing a model and design criteria to promote social interaction of citizens. The research methodology is qualitative which is based on reviewing literature of pedestrian areas and social interactions. The case of study is Khajoo Neighborhood, one of the oldest and historical neighbors of Isfahan1. The result shows that design of pedestrian zones invite people and residents to spend their time in urban space and have social interactions.

Urban space has been formed in historical texture of cities under the influence of meaning and shape on the one hand and qualities related to human behaviors on the other hand. Among these points, neighborhood centers as the most important areas of social life in urban open space play a critical role in attracting people and improving quality and vitality of environment. This study presents the related literature in an analytical approach and expresses the relationship between neighborhood centers and human presence by structure analysis; it focuses on rules governing presence quality and formed behaviors in this places. In this survey, human and his presence in neighborhood centers are evaluated and urban spaces concept is formed by composing space location characteristics and human behavior. At least, it is sated that people`spresence in urban space of neighborhood centers expresses their thoughts and cultural interactions whose form shows its function and meaning. Therefore, humans would appear in urban space in a way that neighborhood centers quality depends on activity kind and their user's behavioral patterns.

Culture has always been regarded as the most important element of human communities; we can easily observe cultural changes. What causes these changes has been a matter of controversy. The issues such as people’s increasingly getting detached from each other, psychopathy, behavioral abnormalities, traditions being increasingly faded away, malformation, extravagancy and value conversion into anti-values led the authors to conduct an investigation into the factors which cause such changes to happen. Moreover, the paper proposes strategies for improving the situation. First, the concept of culture and its elements are discussed. Then, the impact of urban physical aspects on the culture is dealt with. In developing a theoretical framework for the study, content analysis was performed. Qualitative and quantitative research methods were employed for small-scale (micro-level) and large-scale (macro-level) case studies, respectively. Finally, the results were discussed and a model was proposed for the impact of the urban physical aspects on culture and behavior.

It is not long time that residential complexes have been built in Tehran. Although during this time, always influenced by some factors, configuration of the residential complexes has undergone fluctuations, rateof which has been very fast especially in recent decades considering the fundamental changes that have emerged in the housing debate. turning housing into an investment commodity. Residential complexes are generally evaluated qualitatively and quantitatively from two viewpoints. Qualitative issues that are often in connection with quality of living environment and its effects from social and especially cultural issues of residents have been given little attention in the past few decades and in contrast, quantitative issues have been more attractively motivated by profitability and economic benefits. The result of this imbalance is the housing status that we can see in all aspects. The present studies indicate that in recent decades, the rising rate of construction and lack of sufficient control over housing sector resulted in the formation of the residential complexes regardless of cultural context, approval of settlement inconsistent with the culture and traditional attitudes of the residents and as a result, low quality of life in residential complexes. This paper is an attempt to assess several condominiums in different years in terms of quality and the effect taken from cultural concepts in all stages, including studies, planning, design and operation using field study and questionnaires and then to find a correct relationship between various components and finally, some recommendations are provided to improve the current situation.

A’ view of nature within the framework of garden and in relation with human needs and drives that satisfy the need to be rooted has caused the representation of nature in garden to be regarded as cultural heritage. Garden and garden designing are suitable cases for us to study cultural characteristics and traits. Thus, human beings have searched their eternal interest in an ideal and unattainable world in garden building and garden totally reflects each culture. Art and knowledge are both represented in garden in which engineering creativity reaches its summit. Japanese garden is one of the oldest patterns in gardening in the world. It demonstrates Japanese ideology, ontology, cultural views and rites. Relativity and multi religions represent its cultural difference. Changeability and cultural ease along with preserving basic core and nature of Japanese culture are the basis of Japanese culture. Japanese garden is one of the most obvious emblems and representatives of Japanese culture. The aim of this paper is to make a content analysis that will primarily study the cultural characteristics and will then focus and conclude the results of Japanese garden designing as a cultural physical symbol.

Regionalism is an analytical and critical perspective which focuses on preserving special features of place and attempts to fill the vacuum in architecture. Globalization is a complex multi-stage process that causes increasing complexity of time and place, greater awareness across the global and acceleration of cross cultural interactions. Therefore, the present paper attempts to analyze global-regional interactional approach through investigating contemporary Iranian architecture in relationship with the aforementioned phenomena and also tries to provide practical advice on establishing a constructive interaction. The research methodology is based on content analysis and case study. The results obtained from investigating striking cases of 4 eras of contemporary Iranian architecture and presented as a table of global-regional interaction components (physical, semantic and ecological) show that an interactional approach is becoming increasingly popular and global-regional coexistence is being formed in contemporary Iranian architecture, which associates with spirit of time and its regional components. A dynamic presence and playing a componential role by contemporary Iranian architects in this interaction have some prerequisites: an understanding of contemporary pluralism, an understanding of the other and establishing interaction, emphasis on the role of thought, creation and innovation, objective research, a good understanding of identity and place, past recall and identifying components of Iranian architecture.

Light is one of the many wonders in the architecture Iranian houses. It is a major tool for space creation and design. An important consideration in the Iranian architecture, which takes a functional and conceptual approach to the extensive subject of light, has been that light should create a beautiful and spiritual space in addition to being functional. The light used in a house should be pleasing to the eye, and it should not be dazzling or bothersome. Optimal use of light plays a major role in creating mental peace and physical comfort and saving energy. This paper investigates different methods of exploiting natural light in the architecture of Iranian houses. For this purpose, three houses of historical interest in the city of Kashan in Iran (Boroujerdi-ha, Tabatabaei-ha, and عباسian) were studied for the position and role of natural light in them. A qualitative research method was used within an analytical-interpretative approach. First, the elements and components used to exploit natural light were studied, and then the strategies employed to manifest values, meanings, and concepts were explored within an analytical model.