Oil Colonialism and the Formation of Villa Architecture in Masjid I Sulaiman: A Spatial-Cultural Analysis Using Space Syntax and Hermeneutics

محورهای موضوعی : Urban Design

Neda Arzani Birgani ¹ , Ahmad Reza Kaboli ² , Seyedeh Sedigheh Mirgozar Langaroudi ³ , Mohamad Ali Rahimi ⁴

1 - Department of Architecture, Ahv. C., Islamic Azad University, Ahvaz, Iran.
2 - Department of Architecture, Mahs. C., Islamic Azad University, Mahshahr, Iran.
3 - Department of Architecture, Ahv. C., Islamic Azad University, Ahvaz, Iran.
4 - Department of Architecture, Bu.C., Islamic Azad University, Bushehr, Iran.

تاریخ دریافت : 1404/05/05 تاریخ پذیرش : 1404/06/15 تاریخ انتشار : 1404/06/18

کلید واژه: Spatial analysis, hermeneutics, oil colonialism, villa architecture, Masjid I Sulaiman,

چکیده مقاله :

The oil industry in the modern era has played a pivotal role in population growth, industrialization, and the formation of modern cities, particularly in Iran's Khuzestan province. Beyond their industrial function, oil wells have had a profound impact on urbanization, architecture, and lifestyles in Masjid I Sulaiman, serving as significant symbols. The physical development of this city accelerated with the construction of residential complexes for oil industry workers and industrial infrastructure, leading to a redefinition of Masjid I Sulaiman's urban identity at the intersection of tradition and modernity—an identity that distinguishes the city. This study examines the impact of British colonial presence and oil industry activities on the development of villa-style housing in Masjid I Sulaiman, intending to analyze the formation of this housing type under these influences. Previous studies have focused on the economic and social impacts of the oil industry; however, the effects of oil wells on spatial and architectural patterns in oil cities, such as Masjid I Sulaiman, have been underexplored. This research analyzes the role of industrial elements in shaping residential patterns by examining spatial and architectural aspects. Employing a qualitative approach, the study uses hermeneutic phenomenology and space syntax to analyze the cultural and spatial dimensions of villa-style housing. The space syntax analysis reveals that the courtyards of Bagh-e Melli and G-Type, with high integration, enhance social interactions, while Scotch Crescent, with greater spatial depth, indicates class segregation. The hermeneutic analysis portrays bungalows as multilayered texts that represent social, cultural, and economic meanings, highlighting their architectural heritage.

چکیده انگلیسی:

The oil industry in the modern era has played a pivotal role in population growth, industrialization, and the formation of modern cities, particularly in Iran's Khuzestan province. Beyond their industrial function, oil wells have had a profound impact on urbanization, architecture, and lifestyles in Masjid I Sulaiman, serving as significant symbols. The physical development of this city accelerated with the construction of residential complexes for oil industry workers and industrial infrastructure, leading to a redefinition of Masjid I Sulaiman's urban identity at the intersection of tradition and modernity—an identity that distinguishes the city. This study examines the impact of British colonial presence and oil industry activities on the development of villa-style housing in Masjid I Sulaiman, intending to analyze the formation of this housing type under these influences. Previous studies have focused on the economic and social impacts of the oil industry; however, the effects of oil wells on spatial and architectural patterns in oil cities, such as Masjid I Sulaiman, have been underexplored. This research analyzes the role of industrial elements in shaping residential patterns by examining spatial and architectural aspects. Employing a qualitative approach, the study uses hermeneutic phenomenology and space syntax to analyze the cultural and spatial dimensions of villa-style housing. The space syntax analysis reveals that the courtyards of Bagh-e Melli and G-Type, with high integration, enhance social interactions, while Scotch Crescent, with greater spatial depth, indicates class segregation. The hermeneutic analysis portrays bungalows as multilayered texts that represent social, cultural, and economic meanings, highlighting their architectural heritage.

منابع و مأخذ:

Abbasi Shehni, D. (1995). History of Masjid I Sulaiman, History of Oil Industry Transformations. Tehran: Hirmand Publications. [In Persian]
Arbabi Sabzevari, A., Ghasempour, A., Ebadi, N., Sa'dinejad, F., & Rostampishe, M. (2024). Driving Forces of the Oil Economy Influencing Spatial Transformations in Bandar Mahshahr. Geographical Research, 38, 65-72. [In Persian] https://www.magiran.com/p2577810
Armaghan, M., Younesi, G., & Saghafi, M. J. (2023). Reflection of Lifestyle Changes in the Architecture of Houses in Different Occupational Classes of Iran's Oil Company-Towns Before the 1970s (Case Study: Abadan Company-Town). Bagh-e Nazar, 118, 23-36. [In Persian] https://doi.org/10.22034/bagh.2022.349486.5219
Atehari, K. (1991). Masjid I Sulaiman, A Civilized Company-Town. Political-Economic Information Monthly, 48, 65-69. [In Persian] http://noo.rs/Cb4kU
Apter, A. (2005). The Pan-African Nation: Oil and the Spectacle of Culture in Nigeria. University of Chicago Press. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Pan-African-Nation-Spectacle-Culture-Nigeria/dp/0226023559
British Petroleum Archive. (1908). No. 1 M.1 discovery well, Masjid-i-Sulaiman, South Iran (Archival document, Document Code: ARC178503-001). Historical Documents Section.
British Petroleum Archive. (1919). A corner of a housing estate at Masjid-i-Sulaiman (Archival document, Document Code: ARC36523-037). Historical Documents Section.
British Petroleum Archive. (1908). National Garden neighborhood (Archival document, Document Code: ARC36523-036). Historical Documents Section.
Bavar, C. (2021). Oil, Industrial Civilization, and Architecture in Khuzestan, Iran. Tehran: Mirdashti Cultural Center. [In Persian]
Chehrazi, S. (2019). The Establishment of the Oil Industry in Khuzestan and Its Impact on the Political, Economic, Social, and Cultural Issues of the Region's People. Master's thesis, Payame Noor University, Gorgan. [In Persian]
Coronil, F. (1997). The Magical State: Nature, Money, and Modernity in Venezuela. University of Chicago Press. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Magical-State-Nature-Modernity-Venezuela/dp/0226116026
Dovey, K. (1999). Framing places: Mediating power in built form. Routledge. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Framing-Places-Mediating-Power-Architext/dp/041517368X
Ehsani, K. (2014). The social history of labor in the Iranian oil industry: the built environment and the making of the industrial working class (1908-1941). Doctoral thesis, Leiden University, the Netherlands.
Ferrier, R. W. (1982). The History of the British Petroleum Company: Volume 1, The Developing Years, 1901-1932. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. https://www.amazon.co.uk/History-British-Petroleum-Company-Developing/dp/0521246474
Fuccaro, N. (2013). Histories of City and State in the Persian Gulf: Manama Since 1800. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511605420
Gadamer, H.-G. (1975). Truth and Method. Continuum. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Truth-Method-Continuum-Georg-Gadamer/dp/0816492204
Habibinejad, R.(2021). The Impact of the Oil Industry on the Architectural Style and Pattern of Buildings in Khuzestan's Oil-Fields (From the Discovery of Oil to the Nationalization of the Oil Industry, 1951). Tehran: Nazari Publications. [In Persian]
Habibinejad, R., Khamseh, H., & Bahrani Pour, A.(2021). The Role of the Anglo-Persian Oil Company in Shaping the Spatial-Physical Structure of the Masjid I Sulaiman Company-Town (From the Discovery of Oil to the Nationalization of the Oil Industry, 1908-1951). Local Histories of Iran, 18, 213-230. [In Persian] https://www.doi.org/10.30473/lhst.2021.8056
Heine, C, & Sadeghi, M. (2017). Iran's global petroleum scape: the role of oil in shaping Khuzestan and Tehran. Architectural Theory Review (online), 21(3), 349-374. https://doi.org/10.1080/13264826.2018.1379110
Husserl, E. (1970). The Crisis of European Sciences and Transcendental Phenomenology. Northwestern University Press. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Crisis-European-Sciences-Transcendental-Phenomenology/dp/081010458X
Heidegger, M. (1962). Being and Time (J. Macquarrie & E. Robinson, Trans.). Oxford, UK & Cambridge, USA: Blackwell Publishers Ltd. (Original work published 1927). https://www.researchgate.net/publication/335060851_Heidegger_M_1962_Being_and_Time_J_Macquarrie_E_Robinson_Trans_Oxford_UK_Cambridge_USA_Blackwell_Publishers_Ltd_Original_work_published_1927
Katouzian, H. (1981). The Political Economy of Modern Iran: Despotism and Pseudo-Modernism, 1926-1979. London: Macmillan Press. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Political-Economy-Modern-Iran-Pseudo-modernism/dp/0333269616
Khamseh, H., Habibinejad, R., & Bahrani Pour, A.(2022). Investigating the Impact of the Oil Industry on the Design and Architecture of Residences in the Masjed Soleyman Oil Company (From the Discovery of Oil to the Nationalization of the Oil Industry, 1908-1951). Historical Studies of the Islamic World, 24, 28-51. [In Persian] https://doi.org/10.22034/mte.2021.9157.1340
Kianinia, R. (2021). Examining the Role of the Emergence of the Oil Industry in Social Development (Case Study: Masjid I Sulaiman, 1901-1933). Social Sciences, Islamic Azad University, Shushtar Branch, 54, 64-83. [In Persian]
King, A. D. (1984). The bungalow: The production of a global culture. Routledge & Kegan Paul. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bungalow-Production-Global-Culture/dp/0710095384
Lavigne Dorting, P.(2003). The Anglo-Persian Oil Company in Khuzestan: A Study on the History of Urbanization (1908-1951). Translated by Bashir Yaghmourli. Foreign Relations History, 15, 199-209. [In Persian] http://noo.rs/X5ZAM
Masjid I Sulaiman Municipality Archive. (1941). Album of the Masjid I Sulaiman Engineering Services Department. [In Persian]
Masjid I sulaiman Oil Company. (1944). Masjid I Sulaiman Engineering Services Department Album (Archival Document). Archive of the Engineering Department, Masjid I Sulaiman Oil Company. Historical Documents Section, Document Code: NO.03.
Masjid I sulaiman Municipality. (1941). Performance Report of Districts in Masjid I Sulaiman City in 1941. Public Relations Department, Masjid I Sulaiman Municipality.
Mortaheb, R. (2020). Building the petro-polis oil capitalism imperialism, and the making of Abadan, 1908-1933. Doctoral thesis of philosophy in urban systems, New Jersey Institute of Technology, and Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey – Newark. https://digitalcommons.njit.edu/dissertations/1458/
Peirce, C. S. (1931-1958). Collected Papers of Charles Sanders Peirce (Vols. 1-8). Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. https://colorysemiotica.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/peirce-collectedpapers.pdf
Ross, M. L. (2012). The oil curse: How petroleum wealth shapes the development of nations. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. https://doi.org/10.1515/9781400841929
Rostampour, K. (2019). The Role of Housing Provision Policies in the Dissatisfaction of Workers of the Anglo-Persian Oil Company in Khuzestan's Oil-fields, Case Study: From the Discovery of Oil to the Nationalization of the Oil Industry (1908-1951). History of Islam and Iran, 43, 53-74. [In Persian] https://doi.org/10.22051/hii.2019.21648.1743
Ricoeur, P. (1981). Hermeneutics and the human sciences: Essays on language, action and interpretation (J. B. Thompson, Ed. & Trans.). Cambridge University Press.https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781316534984
Sarkhosh, R. (2018). Shaping Ahwaz's Transnational Oil Modernity: At the Crossroads of Oil Flows and International Planning Exchanges. Proceedings International Planning History Society, 18, 160-171. https://doi.org/10.7480/iphs.2018.1.2678
Sarkhosh, R. (2024). Navigating a Petroleum scape: Shaping transnational oil modernity at the crossroads of global flows and local territories. Doctoral thesis, Delft University of Technology. https://research.tudelft.nl/en/publications/navigating-a-petroleumscape-shaping-transnational-oil-modernity-a
Saussure, F. de (1916/1983). Course in General Linguistics. Translated by Roy Harris. London: Duckworth. https://english.hku.hk/staff/kjohnson/PDF/SaussureFerdinandGENERAL1972.pdf
Tan, J.; Zhang, P.; Lo, K.; Li, J.; Liu, S. (2016). The Urban Transition Performance of Resource-Based Cities in Northeast China. Journal of Sustainability, 8(10), 1-17. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su8101022