A Syntactic Approach to the Effect and the Role of Hayat and Riwaq in the Geometric Conception of Traditional Housing Architecture in Iran: Tabriz Houses

Year 2018, Volume: 4 Issue: 1, 47 - 64, 15.06.2018

Ashkan Mansourı

Abstract

 In this study, the open and semi-open spaces of the traditional houses of Iran's Tabriz city in last two hundred years are analyzed. Hayat (court) is an open area that establishes the relationship between all the spaces of the house, arranges the functional spaces around it, and facilitates the transition between surrounding places. The role of hayat in the spatial organization of the houses will be discussed by focusing on its syntactic characteristics. Syntactic values of house spaces are depth, integration, circularity and isovist values. The aim of the study is to examine the role of “hayat” and “riwaq” in traditional Tabriz houses in the tradition of the central space and in design, in the light of the results obtained from the analyses of the plans of the selected houses. The work reveals the importance of these open and semi-open spaces over other spaces in terms of syntactic characteristics and the spatial sequence. Another point is to examine the influence of these spaces on the geometric understanding of the traditional architecture of Tabriz. Hayat, eyvan and riwaq are important architectural spaces that are often seen in important items of the city such as bazar, madrasah and caravanserai. The present study is supported from the results of ongoing doctoral thesis research at the Graduate School of Science, Engineering and Technology of Istanbul Technical University. Within the scope of the thesis, the evolution of the main living space from the traditional houses of Tabriz to the present apartments is analyzed syntactically. In the research presented here, only the results of the syntactic schemes are presented using the “Spatial Syntax” method.
 

Keywords

Tabriz, Traditional Houses, Hayat, Riwaq

References

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