Explaining Spatial Syntax in the Perception of Spatial Configuration of Indigenous Housing in Western Iran: A Case Study of Ilam City

Subject Areas : Sociology, social sciences and economics

Zahra Parhizkari ¹ (Department of Architecture, Arak Branch, Islamic Azad University, Arak, Iran)
بهزاد وثیق ² (Associated professor Architecture and Urbanism Faculty, Jundi-Shapur University of Technology, Dezful, Iran)
saeed salehi marzijarani ³ ( Assistant Professor Department of Architecture, Arak Branch, Islamic Azad University, Arak, Iran)
Mahmoud Teymouri ⁴ ( Assistant Professor Department of Architecture, Arak Branch, Islamic Azad University, Arak, Iran)

Received: 2023-12-30 Accepted : 2024-06-17 Published : 2024-08-31

Keywords: Rural housing pattern, Space syntax, Architectural language and dialect, Space syntax,

Abstract :

Housing, as a biological necessity and a key indicator of human development, plays a pivotal role in human life. This vital element provides shelter for habitation and protection against the environment, while also demonstrating the physical manifestation of human activities in the environment. Geographically, housing is the fundamental unit of human settlements and holds a special place among urban components. In this context, the present study aims to discover and elucidate the pattern of architectural language and dialect in rural houses of Ilam province based on the space syntax method. In this research, space syntax components in samples of rural houses in Ilam province have been examined and analyzed to explain the differences and similarities in their spatial structure and extract a unified pattern of architectural language and dialect of these houses. The results indicate that despite the heterogeneities observed in the spatial structure of the studied areas due to geographical and cultural differences, the extracted pattern can be considered as a basis for understanding the architectural language and dialect of rural housing in Ilam province. This pattern demonstrates that rural houses follow a hierarchical model similar to traditional houses. Spaces are organized based on public and private levels. Public domains such as living rooms and courtyards have high connectivity, legibility, and visual orientation, facilitating social interactions. Private spaces like bedrooms, kitchens, and bathrooms have less visual connectivity and accessibility, preserving privacy. Courtyards in rural houses play a key role in the hierarchical organization of spaces and facilitating social interactions. The spatial configuration in rural houses is designed to balance social interaction and privacy, adapt to cultural values, and facilitate social connections in extended families and among neighbors.

References:


Abbas Zadegan, M. (2013). The method of space arrangement in the urban design process [In Persian]. Urban Management Quarterly, 9, 64-75.
Bondy, J. A., & Murty, U. S. R. (1982). Graph theory with applications. Elsevier Science Publishing.
Charalambuos, N., & Mavridou, M. (2012). Space syntax: Spatial integration accessibility and angulat segment analysis by metric distance (ASAMeD). In Accessibility instruments for planning practice (pp. 57-62). Cost office.
Daneshmand, S. (2018). Basic familiarity with the theory and software of space syntax and economic and social analyzes of space by them [In Persian]. Shiraz: Faculty of Art and Architecture.
Dawes, M., & Ostwald, M. J. (2014). Prospect-refuge theory and the textile-block houses of Frank Lloyd Wright: An analysis of spatiovisual characteristics using isovists. Building and Environment, 80, 228-240.
Hall, E. T. (1969). The hidden dimension (M. Tabibian, Trans.). Tehran University Press. (Original work published 1966)
Hillier, B. (1996). Space is the machine: A configurational theory of architecture. Cambridge University Press.
Hillier, B., & Hanson, J. (1984). The social logic of space. Cambridge University Press.
Jiang, B., Claramunt, C., & Klarqvist, B. (2000). Integration of space syntax into GIS for modeling urban space. Journal of Architectural and Geographic Information Systems, 4(2), 119-134.
Klarqvist, B. (1993). A space syntax glossary. Nordisk Arkitekturforskning, 2, 1-26.
Lima, J. J. (2001). Socio-spatial segregation and urban form: Belém at the end of the 1990s. Geoforum, 32(4), 391-409.
Memarian, G. H. (2002). Syntax of architectural space [In Persian]. Soffeh, (35), 11-22. https://iic.ihss.ac.ir/en/Article/19962
Memarian, G. R. (2013). Syntax of architectural space [In Persian]. Safa Magazine, 12(35), 74-83.
Mostafa, A., & Hassan, F. (2013). Mosque layout design: An analytical study of mosque layouts in the early Ottoman period. Frontiers of Architectural Research, 2(2), 111-122.
Ostwald, M. (2011). The mathematics of spatial configuration: Revisiting, revising and critiquing justified plan graph theory. Nexus Network Journal, 13(2), 445-470.
Razjou, M., Matein, M., & Emam Gholi, A. (2019). Analyzing the influence of physical elements of rural housing in west Gilan on functional efficiency using the space syntax method. Arman-Shahr Architecture and Urbanism, 32, 83-97.