MANZAR
Year:2024 | Volume:15 | Issue:65|Papers Count:7

Village and city are the only official categories in the classification of human social life. This division includes the period when early humans stopped wandering and living in caves and settled down. The name of this period has been given as the agricultural revolution, which is based on settling and living in a fixed place. Since then, the stability of the place of residence has been recognized as the essence of human and societal growth, and its product has been named civilization. Civilization means the achievements of the Madinah, referring to the array of manners that the urban man adopted by dividing work and having more spare time to foster his culture and relationships. Given that compared to villages, customs were higher in the cities, the term civilization was selected to reflect supposedly the product of his urbanization. Comparatively, the village connoted a kind of backwardness and lack of development, which was documented by his place of residence. In naming, any manners originating from the city are superior to rural manners and customs because they reflect a higher level of knowledge and mastery over nature. Neither the divider nor the essence of division in this naming can be said to echo integrity but is the locus of occurrence. As the application of civilization to every movement of urban dwellers is against common sense and general human understanding, its accuracy makes it clear how important "place" is in the classification of human understanding of perfection and transcendence. So instead of providing a single spiritual criterion to explain perfection, he used an index that leads to a material criterion (city or village). In this approach, every act arising from urban life is a sign of superiority and a manifestation of civilization, even if it is not in line with rational and moral standards. In contrast to this naming, the Qur'an's approach is to separate the village and the Medina, which, instead of depending on the population or the type of production, has defined the characteristics of integrity as a criterion for the separation. "In the Qur'an, the word Medina has been used 14 times and village 60 times... In the Qur'anic terminology, all settlements on earth have been identified with the sign of a village, unless they are compatible with special criteria... The criteria of the Qur'an in identifying a city include the cultural competence of individuals and the presence and residence of a prophet from God's prophets" (Rehbari, 2008).In the logic of the Qur'an, a place is addressed with the two titles of village and Medina at two different times. When the event violates human development and integrity standards, the name of the village is used, and when there is a perfect event in that mentioned place, the name of Medina is used. Therefore, the Qur'anic division in the classification of the place of human life is not based on the location or the size of the place, which is based on its moral status. This implicit conclusion can be arrived that two different addresses to the same place for two different actions prove that the "place" is spiritual and, in today's interpretation, is a "place." The way today's knowledge recognizes the place and landscape as a living, soulful phenomenon that carries the meaning that the observer gains from the simultaneous interpretation and perception of "outside". So far, two opposing logics have been proposed to describe the terms city and village: first, the size and type of economy, and second, the action of the community living in. Although this discussion is per se attractive and important, limiting the place of human social life to the village and the city means neglecting an important and common group in Iran and many other lands. The result of this mistake is adopting plans and taking actions that are against the natural, human, and national rights of its inhabitants. Moreover, in the contemporary period of Iran and from the time of Reza Khan onwards, such a mistake has been repeated under the name Takht Qapu, or nomad settlement.Nomadic life is the third type of human social life, which, unlike the city and the village, is not only dependent on living together, but the condition for its realization is the fluidity of the "place" of the life of this society. Nomads have based their way of living and production on the dairy production economy rather than agriculture, which is dependent on land and its forced results requiring settlement and production dependent on a fixed place. They have set up their social system based on migration, benefitted from wide and dynamic pastures in the territory, and made a living by producing dairy, meat, textiles, and handicrafts. They have organized their social relations by defining the tribal and clan systems as described in various studies, and they have built a great civilization based on two specific social and livelihood systems, whose immaterial manifestations outweigh their material aspects. The traits of chivalry, freedom, chivalry, naturalism, patriotism, and many other social and moral traits are present in nomadic society. With this description, due to the occurrence of such mistakes in the classification of human habitations into cities and villages and the neglect of nomadic places, a large group of Iranian society has been eliminated. The calamities that have been imposed on this society under the title of development but caused by power-oriented motives or ignorance have caused great human and natural losses. The increasing unemployment and poverty in the nomadic areas of the country, which has led to the appearance of a strange figure of 20 thousand people awaiting death sentences for drug trafficking in Delfan city (Ebrahimi, 2023), is the result of these policies. For a nation that has established a nomadic civilization for thousands of years and lives in a positive interaction with its natural and human environment, the burden of monotony and customs that it does not know has no meaning other than the destruction of its existence and civilization. The way to improve the lives of nomads is to recognize their civilization and address their needs with regard to their living conditions. The nomads are the people of the place who have experienced and know the place to its vast extent, and unlike the nomads, they have a deeper understanding of the land and the place. What is the desire of man today?

The Iranian garden is a product of Iranian culture and has artificial and natural elements. At the same time that it has fixed and clear principles, it has a lot of variety. Following this diversity, different designs for Iranian garden elements are observed. This research has been focused on the architectural elements of Iranian gardens. Then what are the reasons for the architectural elements’ diversity? This is the question that this research is looking for. Finding the answer to this question can help designers with the idea of an Iranian garden. For example, what is the basis for designing a Kushk (kiosk or pavilion), and what is the basis for the variations in their designs? There can be various reasons for these architectural elements’ designs, and these reasons originate from their philosophy and theoretical foundations. So far, many studies have been done on different architectural elements of the Iranian garden, and they have been looked at from different angles. But what are the roles of these elements in the overall plan of the Iranian gardens? Are these elements based on functional, climatic, or shape reasons or other reasons? And which reason is stronger? For this purpose, ten gardens in different climates and of different ages were selected to examine their architectural elements. Qualitative evaluation and analytical-descriptive methods have been used in examining the various reasons for the formation of each of the architectural elements in the selected gardens. The abundance of roles in the examination of each element determines the dominant role each of them plays in the garden. In the end, the conclusions show that “wall” has a mainly functional-climatic role, “entrance” has a mainly symbolic role, and “kiosk” has a mainly spatial role. In this way, the architectural elements are not very prominent, and they draw most of the audience’s attention to the garden and nature.

The lack of facade color control programs in urban planning policies in Iran and the choice of facade color based on the designer’s taste make it necessary to design façade colors based on scientific principles and users’ evaluations. In color studies, emotional scales have been used to describe color. Due to the relative nature of emotional terms and the lack of consensus on definitions of these scales under the influence of contextual factors and individual characteristics of users, there is a need to redefine these scales in the context of Iran.This study aims to identify and determine the scales and components to classify the color combination of the façade. For this purpose, a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods was used. Twenty experts in the field of design and color participated in the Delphi survey, and the data were analyzed using the Q method. The finding presented three bipolar scales: temperature, harmony, and weight, to classify the facade color combination. In the next step, through semi-structured interviews with five architects and urban planners, components were determined to describe these three scales. Then, the authors of the study prepared a questionnaire to confirm the components completed by 20 former experts. Components affecting three scales and selected photos of each scale were extracted by analyzing data using the Q method in two steps. The quantitative values were collected through the color strip and HSL system codes of the final photos based on the percentage of color area in the façade, the number of hues, and their temperature, lightness, and saturation. Based on the results, the façade color combinations can be classified into eight treatments: cool-harmonious-light, cool-harmonious-heavy, cool-contrasting-light, cool-contrasting-heavy, warm-harmonious-light, warm-harmonious-heavy, warm-contrasting-light, and warm-contrasting-heavy, each of which can be defined using quantitative values.

The sustainability of historical fabrics poses a challenging issue for architects, conservators, and other professionals and stakeholders in this field. Numerous articles, research papers, and projects have been proposed and implemented, which can be broadly categorized into two approaches. The first approach focuses on the physical aspects and the built environment of historical fabrics, addressing the issues related to structures and their physical connections. The second approach presents behavioral, socio-cultural, and symbolic studies regarding historical fabrics. Neither of these two approaches, which provide a discrete and tangible understanding of these valuable places, has been able to be effectively implemented on its own. Therefore, the primary concern of this research is how to employ landscape-oriented approaches in preserving and revitalizing the values of historical fabrics and strengthening the collective memory as an influential factor in their sustainability within the reconstruction and revitalization programs. In this study, after defining the landscape and its relationship with place and the significant factors that enhance this relationship, the landscape and spatial characteristics of historical fabrics are analyzed. Furthermore, various opinions of experts in this field are examined and classified. The aim is to identify the landscape values and their impact on the identity of historical fabrics, formulating a general roadmap for their sustainable regeneration and revitalization. Various approaches and strategies have been proposed to conserve, restore, and revitalize historical fabrics in cities. However, in most cases, the role of landscape and landscape-oriented approaches as influential factors in reviving and retrieving their identities must be adequately emphasized. Therefore, the primary objective of this paper is to identify and utilize the landscape values and collective memories to develop a model for the sustainable revival and revitalization of historical fabrics that can effectively contribute to the interpretation and perception of the narratives of these places in interaction with the landscape. This study is an analytical-descriptive research methodology employing a case study approach.  Data were collected through library and field research. It explores the relevant literature on the landscape, landscape-oriented approaches, place identity, sense of place, and their different dimensions. The landscape-oriented perspective, as a novel approach to the conservation and revitalization of historical fabrics (as places), can assist in protecting their tangible and intangible values and ensuring their sustainability. Moreover, on a larger scale, it can contribute to preserving the historical narrative of cities. This aspect can significantly impact enhancing the sense of belonging among citizens, which is an influential factor in the continuity and sustainability of a place. Historical fabrics inherently possess a wealthy textual content; any intervention, alteration, or interaction without understanding and perceiving the related narrative would be incomplete. In this regard, employing a landscape-oriented approach by strengthening the connection with the place is essential and valuable. Integrating landscape-oriented approaches in revitalizing and restoring historical fabrics can enable a correct interpretation of the landscape narrative and the historical narrative of the place within historical fabrics and contribute to their sustainable stability.

Despite numerous studies on how the hospital outdoor landscape affects user satisfaction and the publication of design guidelines, this field’s research flow, strengths, and weaknesses have not been thoroughly reviewed. This makes it difficult for designers to access organized information on design’s theoretical and practical aspects. The current research aims to comprehensively review and analyze the existing resources and present them in a conceptual framework. This process will enable us to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the current literature and identify specific areas that require further research in the field of hospital landscape design. After conducting a systematic review, 47 relevant sources were identified. These sources were then analyzed using the content analysis method and encoded in MAXQDA software to organize the obtained information. 618 codes were extracted and categorized into six main categories and 30 subcategories. These categories form the conceptual framework of hospital outdoor landscape design literature, covering topics such as 1) definitions of hospital outdoor landscape, 2) typology, 3) fundamental theories, 4) design approaches, 5) principles and design indicators, and 6) preferences and needs of users. Based on the research, the literature in this field has been developed appropriately from both theoretical and practical perspectives (i.e., programming and operational dimensions). The theoretical essence of hospital outdoor landscapes is evolving. It can now be defined as a space that serves functional and symbolic purposes while providing a sense of restoration. To describe the objective dimension of the landscape, typological studies have been conducted. The literature on designing hospital outdoor landscapes from a practical perspective initially focused on design approaches that aimed to implement their expected functions. These approaches may vary in principles, methods, and actions, but their main objective is to elucidate the interaction between the hospital landscape and its users. The principles, qualities, and recommendations are general and applicable to various users, making them suitable for public hospitals. The main weakness of hospital outdoor landscape literature is the lack of reliable evidence concerning the users’ perception and interaction with the environment. To address this, it is crucial to conduct evaluation studies on various case samples in different settings to improve the quality of the literature.

The excessive use of the ecological capacity of the seven rivers of Tehran, as the most important natural components of the city, has undermined their status in city calculations. This has caused different challenges of various dimensions, such as reduced social interactions, increased insecurity, environmental pollution, etc., which indicate the ineffectiveness of one-dimensional management strategies. On the other hand, a review of past experiences suggests a large gap between theoretical approaches and operational solutions in the management of rivers, which reduces the effectiveness of the existing techniques. Thus, it is imperative to adopt a holistic approach to natural environmental planning to simultaneously address the preservation and revival of the natural ecosystem theoretically and practically and consider social challenges. Using landscape ecology knowledge, this research conducts a pathological investigation of the river dimensions and compares them with the Darakeh River to provide guidelines to resolve the current situation. It also aims to answer the question: how are management and planning to revive the urban rivers performed using the landscape ecology approach through combining theoretical and practical attitudes? To this end, first, a descriptive-analytical method was used to develop a conceptual model, then the Darakeh River was analyzed using the SWOT method. The conceptual model links theoretical and practical approaches to three semantic, structural, and functional areas to describe secondary principles and policymaking. The findings of this study indicate policies such as conservation and restoration of the river basin, habitat regeneration and development, environmental vitality, the reflection of cultural-historical identity, development establishment, and the main strategies in three areas: functional, physical, and semantic, which have been introduced to revive the natural environment of the River Darake based on the conceptual model of research and can be used as a model for the restoration of other urban rivers. The conceptual model of the research has been introduced and can be used as a model for the revitalization of other urban rivers.

Water, as the most vital human need and a life-giving element, has been the first concern in creating any permanent or temporary settlement. The water supply networks in the cities have also been the first urban facilities that have provided a suitable context for humans to live in and played an infrastructure role for cities on a large scale. However, throughout history, their presence in the city has not been limited to a mechanical facility. The reason is that they are a mixture of objective and subjective issues which has turned them into an element of the urban landscape. In this framework, a comparative study of water supply networks in the cities of Semnan in Iran, Bukhara in Uzbekistan, and Fez in Morocco was made as landscape infrastructures. Landscape infrastructure in the city is a city infrastructure that, in addition to serving as a mechanical and functional facility in the city, is a part of the citizens’ image and mentality of the city in the context of nature, which plays the role of a major landscape element on a large scale and with the acting of various components. The comparative study of the three mentioned cities shows that although the idea of a water system is proposed as a landscape infrastructure for those cities, the geographical and functional factors in the city have made differences in some three dimensions of the landscape. The factors have brought changes to the formation of their components and elements, which have also had different effects on each city landscape. The water storage pools in Semnan, the geometric ponds of Bukhara in a cultural service complex, and the numerous water springs in Fez are part of the differences that can be seen in each of these networks caused by the functional requirements and the type of water use affected by the geography and climate of the city. Despite these differences in both functional and aesthetic dimensions, the cultural affinity between these cities has brought the identity dimension of these infrastructures closer together.