Quality Analysis and Typology Assessment of Traditional Settlements in Tabriz

Subject Areas : Urban Design

Mehrnaz Boudagh ¹ , Parvin Ghaemmaghami ² , Farah Habib ³

1 - Ph.D.Candidate, Department of Art and Architecture, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
2 - Assistant professor, Department of Art and Architecture, Bostanabad Branch, Islamic Azad University, Bostanabad, Iran
3 - Associate professor, Department of Art and Architecture, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran

Received: 2011-12-12 Accepted : 2012-04-02 Published : 2012-07-01

Keywords: Typology assessment, Plan and façade elements, Tabriz traditional houses,

Abstract :

Looking from an historical perspective, it can be seen that many civilizations have lived in the country andconsequently produced many different cultures and architectural products. One of the oldest cities which contain such historicalexamples which have lived until present is Tabriz. Its traditional houses are the most important places to represent the life styleof the past. Lack of recognition and appreciation of these buildings by authorities and the public will gradually lead to theirdestruction and replacement by contemporary buildings. The present study seeks to introduce specific architectural features oftraditional houses in Tabriz. Preservation of the features of these houses helps maintain the architectural heritage and culture ofthe region.Most old houses in Tabriz were reconstructed at the beginning of the Qajar era after a devastating earthquake in 1780. Thedestruction caused by contemporary constructions, in the chaos of modern period, makes it difficult for researchers to gatherinformation about the principles of traditional buildings and to identify their typology. The survey is a compilation of a processin the typology of 52 traditional houses of Qajar and Pahlavi periods in Tabriz. The study revealed that it is possible toaccomplish the classification of the monuments with the application of a quantification process in which the qualitative datarelated to architectural elements was successfully converted into quantitative data by assigning numerical values and usingcoefficients.