European Online Journal of Natural and Social Sciences 2015; www.european-science.

com
Vol.3, No.3 Special Issue on New Trends in Architecture, Civil Engineering, and Urban Studies
ISSN 1805-3602

Investigating the Level of Responsiveness of Vernacular Architecture to the

Needs of Citizens in Sari, Iran

Mohammad Taghi Nazarpour1, Azadeh Khorram2*

1
Assistant professor, Department of Architecture and Urban Planning, Shahid Beheshti University,
Iran; 2MS.c in Architecture, Shahid Beheshti University, Iran
*Email: [email protected]

Abstract
Vernacular architecture is a branch of architecture based on the regional needs of
construction and urban development field, and it is regarded as the reflection of the traditions of
different regions. Vernacular architecture is evolved through time on environmental, cultural,
historical backgrounds and geographical features of that region and it is utterly created and
developed in accommodation with the domestic habitation environment. Thus, a socially accepted
architecture is the presentation of the society's ideals. The vernacular architecture is the simplest
way of responding to the human needs and it seems that in the modern architecture, most of its
values are forgotten. Most of the new buildings are constructed without any harmony and
relationship with its environment. It seems that following the icons and the principals of the
vernacular architecture is closer to the mental schemas of the audience which are more familiar with
the concept. Also, it is easier for them to comprehend the spaces and therefore it can have a more
efficient connection with it. This research tries to see whether people are interested in the vernacular
architecture in real life or not. The methodology of this research is descriptive- analytic. Sari was
selected as the sample based on regional selection.
Key words: Vernacular architecture, Sari

Introduction
Residence represents a meaningful bond between mankind and a hypothetic environment.
This connection comes from the effort of trying to have an identity which means having a sense of
belonging to a place. In this way, mankind knows himself when he has chosen a house and
consequently established himself within the universe (Norberg, 2002). The active goal of a house is
to create an environment which has the most accommodation with the lifestyle of a particular type
of people. In other words, the goal of a house is to create a spatial social unit (Rapoport, 2009).
Before being industrialized, architecture has the ability of satisfying the worldly and spiritual needs
of people whether for a single family or the whole society. On a materialistic level, for centuries,
architecture is projected by the use of decorations, climates, construction materials and construction
techniques. On a spiritual level, the form of the building is the result of the utter harmony with daily
routine and seasonal traditions and it attends to social-cultural and religious aspirations of each
person and each community. In order to move toward such unity and in order to blend the
materialistic needs with the spiritual ones, significant care is paid to the nature and its basic
principles (Falamaki, 2005).
The town plan density, buildings with thick and ledged walls and a variety of meddling
elements such as balconies are all moving toward unifying the symbolic and social meanings. The
use of such realistic perspectives and oriented values used to give a sense of confidence and self-
reliance to the community. The non-individual considerations were accepted under pressure and
little by little it was absorbed in order to ease the move toward the imagined lifestyle. In this
process, the role of each person including the architects was similar to a firm's stakeholder. In this
343
Special Issue on New Trends in Architecture, Civil Engineering, and Urban Studies

way, different types of artists have created their own one of a kind vernacular dialect and have tried
to preserve their own culture and their selves (Falamaki, 1995)
Throughout the history, the residents of the vast land of Iran were the creators of wonderful
and eternal artworks of the culture of man and the thinkers and the architects of this land played an
important role in spreading the culture and urban development architecture. Their creativity and
their scientific and artistic masterpieces in the form of memorable and effective works in every area
such as urbanism and creating wonderful and unique buildings are appraisable in the face of the
world and also they bring pride and lessons for us as residents. In the era of Qajar, by the entrance of
modernism to Iran, many changes were applied to the architecture and urban development of Iran
towns and caused many challenges for the architecture and urban development of the country.
Although, before the entrance of modernism, the non-modern European architecture had affected the
Iranian architecture, it did not have considerable duality and heterogeneity because in
implementation and blending, the basic elements of the Iranian and European architecture were
blended with each other and each element was used in the other architecture. However, the process
of urban development with architecture and urban development patterns did not have any
authenticity with Iran's architecture and urban development. This is the reason why this type of
architecture were used as a tool and where the semi-modern architecture were being avoided, the
original Iranian were mimicked with no changes or shifts in the concept (Pakzad, 1996). Todays,
many architects believe in the innovation principle. Some architecture schools are as such too. In
this perspective, being different is the key. The embodiment of these two different perspectives can
be observed in the traditional and modern part of towns (Jesus , 1992).
The modern architecture patterns had its own regulation and logic, and because it was in
opposition with the former architecture patterns, it tended to establish its own regulation. But,
because this shift was not comprehensive in all of Iran's towns, the modern architecture was used
unprincipled and many considerable town parts were recreated with this new pattern and imposed a
lack of identity and heterogeneity unto towns. Though the former urban development and
architecture of Iran towns were technically simpler and with less equipment on many levels, it was a
more organized, harmonious and more meaningful than today's architecture and the human scale
was used efficiently in it. The fast spread of urbanization, population growth, world's
industrialization, inefficient educational system and many other factors such as lack of stockpiling
and the change of single and disperse businesses into collective ones and also lack of the necessary
insight in using the world's current knowledge and technologies and many other social and political
factors have caused Iran's housing and urban development to drop out of the right path and not only
it is not originated from the Iranian towns and its original architecture, but also it is not harmonious
with the modern architecture and urban development patterns (Haeri Mazandaran, 2009).

Vernacular architecture
The vernacular architecture is a branch of architecture based on the building needs and
materials and the reflection of regional traditions. The vernacular architecture has evolved through
time according to environmental, cultural, technological and historical backgrounds of the region.
The vernacular architecture with its light designing elements is created intentionally to reach the
aesthetics beyond the necessary needs of a building. The term "Vernacular architecture" should not
be mistaken with what is called the traditional architecture; however, there are several bonds
between these two (Falamaki, 2005) Our former architects never created something new unless it is
better than the old. They understood the experiences of their predecessors, corrected the fumbles,
and this was the reason why the traditional architecture was moving toward perfection and it was
getting better and better each day (Jesus, 2013)
Openly accessible at http://www.european-science.com 344
 Mohammad Taghi Nazarpour, Azadeh Khorram

The first time when a name was given to this type of architecture, it was called
"spontaneous" architecture as Jospe Pagano called it. Dr. Adriano Alpagonovlo said in analysis of
this name: "by spontaneous, it is not meant that it is accidental, but it is meant that it is natural,
because in the face of this operation, nothing is accidental and in each selection, most rigors are
implied, this comes from the given necessities, necessities which carry more than materialistic and
operational aspects."
In vernacular architecture, the constructions are created by implementing the highest amount
of intelligence and talent of the people of that are and by using the existing sources of that particular
place and time and it means that architecture satisfies the society's' necessities in the simplest form
(Mirmiran, 1996). According to the tradition, the vernacular architecture points to the far and close
past in each language and culture being defined. But, it is not named only after this definition. In
other words, the vernacular architecture is not something which we cannot create today and it is not
something which was created by our predecessors and no one could ever create it again (Falamaki,
1976)

The definition of vernacular architecture in terms of quiddity and its concept

Four years ago, in southern and central European countries, the subject of the vernacular
architecture was discussed for the very first time. The architects and researches working on this
subject since then have provided some basis for scholars and attracted their attention to the existence
and the nature of this area of constructed space (Falamaki, 1996). If we speak with someone about
the vernacular architecture, they unintentionally start turning the pages of a notebook which contains
the words and the shapes of the past and they all look at the vernacular architecture as a heritage of
their ancestors and they do not doubt for a second that they themselves can be the creator of an
architecture consisting those kinds of beauties, attractions and singings that remind us of this
architect’s name.
Pagano (Leonard Pagano) expresses his own definition of the vernacular architecture that
this type of architecture teaches us how to conquer time by cleaning the redundant and closing our
eyes. He also says that this type of architecture is created upon the utter spatial value which itself is
created from the most primary geometrical shapes and its focus is on the free composition and often
asymmetric forces of thick walls and on regard of sceneries. This is why that today's architects are
making examples of the unknown creators of the useless rural houses for their composition and their
sensitive artworks. Valuable aesthetics lessons can be learnt from these examples.
Finally, we point to Falamaki's definition of vernacular architecture, who said:" the
vernacular architecture is a set of architectural units – a town which is gathered on the ground and
by its harmonies in shapes, applied plan volumetric, coloring and tones of empty and full surfaces
and also in the field of materials and its visible constructions regulations, containing a major and
basic secret and has a harmony based on variety, a diagnosis based upon criterions, traditions and
tastes originated from environmental culture, a unity coming from a mutual respect or full of
environmental behaviors based on conditional freedoms of implied social contracts, contracts which
are unwritten but alive." (Falamaki, 2005)
Although the vernacular architecture has faced shifting events, it could preserve its identity
as it is counted as a valid identity for the people of a country and as a representation of their culture
and tradition, their sentiments and spirit, thoughts and beliefs, tastes and their penchant. When the
vernacular architecture is being shaped,some social and financial relations with the natural
environment and their cultural icons are reflected masterfully in a way that simplicity and formation
is projected in them. The vernacular architecture which is created far from the expertise is a
response to the needs of a society in relation with natural factors and it is responsible for man's
Openly accessible at http://www.european-science.com 345
Special Issue on New Trends in Architecture, Civil Engineering, and Urban Studies

spiritual desires, because when they participate, it is created out of insight and application, and it is
inspired from their daily lives and is established far from glaring and the outside world, and this is
the reason why the vernacular architecture has preserved its spontaneous characteristic far from any
particular shape, form and style (Dadkhah , 1996)

Vernacular architecture's characteristics

Only, by understanding the human activities in his environment, the architecture and the
environment can be understood. And, we can say that the architecture's goal is to create a humanlike
projection in an embodied shape. Thus, if we accept that architecture is the embodied reflection of
human life with all its aspects including needs, beliefs, credence and in general, and all its values,
we must figure out that today's architecture cannot be disconnected from the past architecture (Elahi,
1986). Understanding the vernacular architecture can result in understanding the society, a society
which was in opposition with nature since its creation (Dadkhah, 1986 ). One of the paths of
understanding the vernacular architecture is by experience. Muhammad Mansur Falamaki studied
three inseparable ways of comprehending the empirical understanding which is mentioned bellow:
First: any architect or any person who builds a building regardless of orders,provides and
presets patterns and builds it in harmony and among the existing ones, in condition of being free in
thought and implementing his own taste in compositions, measures, color and material selections
and innovating new shapes that are not completely new but a variant of the existing shapes and they
have a freedom which provides them with the ability of expressing a special point.
Second: any architect or any person who builds a building regardless of orders, provides and
presets patterns and builds it in harmony and among the existing ones despite of its freedom in
editing the concept of the shape of the building, it cannot be ignorant of his living comprehensive
cultural environment and is directly or indirectly influenced by . In fact, this is the nature of the
vernacular architecture that respects two basic bonds: on one hand, the bond with the cultural
environment, or with the chain cultural values, with chain of cultural behaviors and with the chain of
implied regulations which are running inside it, on the other hand, the bond with the natural
environment, or with what the land provides for man, things which are tools for thought, tools for
operate, proportionate in materials and in details and in building elements and also have the same
color.
Third: any architect or any person who builds a building regardless of orders, provides and
presets patterns and builds it in harmony and among the existing ones despite of his freedom in
editing the concept of the building's shape is not ignorant to the relatively rough environment of
economical, administrative and productive which is made and contains its own particular culture.
Whether he likes it or not, the architect or anyone who is constructing a building, intervenes what is
more originated from embodied tools than thoughts in implementation of his creation and this is
done by saving and counsel based upon the construction regulations of an environment which is
using the vernacular architecture.
It seems that these three perspectives are inseparable, unless in analytical surveys some
chains of understanding can be entered among them which keep the understanding of the vernacular
architecture far from personal interpretations to a considerable amount (Rapoport , 2009).
Adriano Alpagonolo states that there is a vast relationship between the vernacular
architecture and the trend of regional dialects that marks the differences between each human
population. One of the main characteristics of the vernacular architecture is man's characteristic
growth to its highest level for sure. It is worthy to point out the regional dialects which are the
representative of a community or a particular group of people." He also points out two other
characteristics of vernacular architecture as not having a production date and being anonymous. Its
Openly accessible at http://www.european-science.com 346
 Mohammad Taghi Nazarpour, Azadeh Khorram

first characteristic is that its creators are not known (though knowing the name of its creator does not
suffice for understanding its true value) and its other characteristic is its needlessness of having a
production date which though knowing it would make confusions. The main characteristic of
vernacular architecture is that each tradition depends on its own social and economic condition. This
characteristic is used in responding to the needs of each region. It does not matter whether it is a
region, village or a town, the larger the scale of a place, the solutions are more comprehensive. The
citizenship regulations and other traditions and laws can influence the way a region grows. In many
cultures, spatial provisions are needed for work, sleep or food purveyance. This is a general fact and
what is different is the way this space is responded to. The native constructors usually rise from
societies that obey the regulations and that is why they are self-made constructors (they construct
their own buildings) and pass this process and this type of architecture from generation to
generation.
The vernacular architecture generally contains the condition and features of each
environment and in some conditions it can contain a special icon of a form, a belief or a credence
penetrated inside that region. Thus, even the smallest and simplest house can be the expression and
reflection of the spiritual world of its maker. It is obvious that the range of construction forms, users'
variety, conceptual and meaningful layers of a culture all influence the vernacular architecture.
Thus, in order to reach the slightest definition in the vernacular architecture, we should look inside
the main current. Instead of having surplus decorations, overstatements and exaggerations, the
vernacular architecture tends to have quality and simplicity in definition and tends to implement
them on different process' (levels).
In short, the implemented solutions are presented below:
 The vernacular architecture consists of every houses, spaces and buildings constructed for
mankind
 These buildings which are constructed by the owner or the society rely on the available
sources and benefit from all the traditional technologies.
 All vernacular architecture forms are created for responding to particular needs, defined
living qualities and cultures' lifestyles created by them (Jenkins,2002)

Vernacular architecture in Mazandaran

The climate and nature play an important role in creating the residential spaces and the
factors derived from them. This factor is implemented in designing the skeletal environment of
traditional urban and rural areas according to the environmental conditions. This feature can be seen
on the face of neighborhoods, too. By presenting a photo of a neighborhood, if the place where the
photo was taken cannot be figured, at least it can be guessed from which various region of Iran the
photo was taken. Thus, the residential areas of different parts of the country are created according to
the regions characteristics. It is the same in urban development where by implementing different
factors the environment is designed or it is created based on techniques and a mixture of these
factors. The skeleton of residential areas is a reflection of different natural, social and biological
regional conditions. These implementations can be used in edition of social, economic and planning
goals in order to determine the spatial position and environmental achievements (Shia, 2013)
As we are aware, scholars divide Iran into four different climates including: warm and dry
climate of the central plateau – warm and humid climate of the Persian Gulf area – cold and
mountain climate and finally the humid and mild climate of Mazandaran sea areas.
The provinces of Gilan, Mazandaran and Golestan are categorized in the last climate
category. They have mutual characteristics which depending on the geographical position they

Openly accessible at http://www.european-science.com 347

Special Issue on New Trends in Architecture, Civil Engineering, and Urban Studies

slightly differ. For instance, extraversion is an issue which can be seen throughout Mazandaran
borders. The placement of the house in the middle of the yard is for a better building breathing from
all four sides. The other issue is living in places higher than the ground which can be seen in all
Mazandaran regions and as we move toward west and the humidity levels becomes higher; the
residential spaces are built higher than the eastern areas. The tilt in the roofs is another mutual point
which this has a direct relationship with the amount of rain and as we move toward Gilan (west) the
tilts becomes steeper and what we finally reach is an moderation between the minimums and the
maximums which is placed in Mazandaran.

The effective environmental factors for users

Many factors can be considered based on the effect of skeletal environment effect on
mankind.
The man's behavior are divided into four environmental factor categories including Physical
data, data symbol, data architecture, and environment
Ian Bentley (1985) believes as an urban architect and designer that designing an environment
or a place can influence different aspects of how strongly people choose:
 It can influence if people like to go to a place or not, this quality is called "permeabilidad"
 It can influence the variability of how it is presented to people, this quality is called
"diversity"
 It can influence on how people can easily comprehend the opportunities the environment
provides them with, this quality is called "legibility"
 It can influence the environment's strength on responding and adjusting to different usages
that people implement with different goals, this quality is called "flexibility"
 It can influence the appearance details of a place in a way that it can make people aware of
its representable features; this quality is called "visual proportion".
 It can influence the quality of sentimental experiences of people, this quality is called
"sensory richness".
 It can influence on how much people can mark their own features in it, this quality is called
"entitled to paint" (Mortazavi, 2001)

Mental health
Mental health is a criterion which determines how much someone can emotionally and
mentally adjust himself to the environment by using suitable methods and choose more suitable
solutions for his problems (Nazarpour, 2013). As it can be taken from such discussions in the fields
of environmental psychology and effective environmental factors, mental health is one the important
factors of this research. The mental health community of Canada defines mental health in three
aspects of "self- centered perspectives", "others- centered perspectives" and" life- centered
perspectives" (Dehghannayeri and Adib Hajbagheri, 2008 ). Raif (1995) expresses six elements
which are critical for mental health definition as: "having a positive relationship with others", "being
independent", "having dominance over the environment", "having a goal in life", and "personal
growth", which these factors are the measuring scale baseline for mental health (Ryff and Keyes,
1995)
Having a good attitude toward one's self and toward others, respecting one's self and others,
self-acceptance, enjoying the relationships, life and creating new relationships are some of mutual
factors used in different definitions of mental health. Mental evolution is used in parallel with the

Openly accessible at http://www.european-science.com 348

 Mohammad Taghi Nazarpour, Azadeh Khorram

mental health concept. What is meant by healthy is not being sick, but it shows a positive mental
health state (Nazarpour, 2013)
One of the reasons why the topic of mental health inside houses is being considered is that
the goal of creating a house is not just for making a skeletal space for people to live in, but in the
first step it is meant to preserve their mental health and on next levels its goal is to promote the
mental health of people living in it (Hosseini, 1995)
Territory and reclusiveness: Taylor and Stow (1978, as cited in Frin et al. 2007) indicated
that according to the centralization and the time spent within them, there are three types of territory
which are different and can be recognized. By studying 12 different situations related to the three
territory categories, they came to a conclusion that the main territory (e.g. bathroom) has more
centralization than others, After that, the secondary territory (such as the sidewalk in front of the
house) and the public territory (such as the neighborhood mall). This was how they concluded that
people spend most of their times inside their private territories.
The concept of "privacy" and reclusiveness is a term which in psychology is used in
opposition to "the crowd".
Green spaces and nature: Among environmental factors that are considered in mental,
emotional and behavioral dimensions in psychology studies according to their influence on
mankind, we can name the factor of green space. Two important approaches can be pointed out in
relation with the influence of mankind relationship with nature on mankind. The first one is the
theory of Ulrich et al. (1991) which is called the Psyche evolution theory (PET4) and it basically
attends to this matter that how the relationship with the natural environment reduces stress . The
other important theory which can be pointed out in relation with the influence of nature on human
health is the According Recovery Theory (ART5). Kaplan, R and Kaplan, S (1989), Kaplan (1995)
focused on the direct attention in this theory, this attention needs mental activity and when it is used
too much, it causes exhaustion. This exhaustion causes the inability to focus and many other
unfavorable consequences such as operational errors, inability to make plans, inappropriate social
behavior and irritability (Norani & Bagheri Yazdi, 2002).
Situations that remove this exhaustion are called Recovery situations. From this theory's
point of view, the recovery situations should have some characteristics: first, they should be
attractive. It means that it is does not need mind activities. Second, it should be different. It means
that it should be physically or conceptually different from the environment that the person usually
spends his time. Third, it should be comprehensive. This means that it should be rich and provides
the person with the opportunities for discovery and roaming. Forth, it should be adaptive. This
means that it should make activities which are adaptive to the person's desires and goals possible. In
this theory, it is predicted that in general, having a relationship with nature directly removes
exhaustion and develops and elevates any activities that need direct attention (Hosseini, 1995).
Another research in this field shows that when people are faced with situations containing
natural elements, they show less physiological irritability and also, they have more relief and more
awareness. Furthermore, the results have shown that those people who are raised near green places
show less anger and wrath toward their family members (Ku and Sullivan, 2001). Green places and
being in nature not only have positive effects on operation and psyche of people, but also as Orsega-
Smith et al. (2004) reported, it has positive effects on inner physiological activities of human body.
They indicated in their research on the elder that those who stay longer in parks have lower spastic
blood pressure. Furthermore in this chapter, some samples of the researches done on environmental
psychology inside and outside of Iran and their findings are presented.

Openly accessible at http://www.european-science.com 349

Special Issue on New Trends in Architecture, Civil Engineering, and Urban Studies

The questions of the Questionnaire

People that in the optimum condition can be aware of the lacks and anomalies of the
residential, educational and work places architectures of their own are unable to determine the
skeletal and usage shapes of architecture. They are deprived from any architectural thoughts in the
skeletal spaces of their own lives, unless it is low scaled. The people's inability in expressing and
influencing the skeletal space based on their mind baseline means a disconnection with their culture
and their past. As we are aware, architecture - aside from some short term experiences in limited
places – has never obeyed any regulations, thus we cannot insist on its consistency. Since
architecture is one of mankind handcrafts (and may be the most meaningful one), it cannot keep its
uniform shape through the changes of generations and change is inevitable for it until it is accepted
by people. A question which we can ask ourselves about how a building was built by its creator has
a vast domain of answers and if the answer is not out of reach, it is obtained with much difficulty
(Falamaki, 1996).
In order to do the field work of this research, there were no sample sources or comprehensive
patterns. This questionnaire was created and completed in six months. It is the result of recording
and studying the field observations, many discussions with scholars of social, environmental
psychology and anthropology, literature review and finally analyzing the obtained information.
Some primary questionnaire samples were provided in order to measure the questioning results. But
what is presented in this article is the conclusion of the final questionnaire.

Questionnaire and the desired goals

The survey here indicates the influence of today's houses on their owners. Thus, what people
think about their own house is a matter which is measured by a questionnaire in this research.
In order to study the amount of people's attraction to their own vernacular architecture and its
influence on houses' architecture, a field case study was done at the beginning of the survey. In this
study, 70 house owners of different social ranks were given a questionnaire, their forms were filled,
analyzed, restudied and their errors were corrected and in order to do a vaster study, it was given to
the educated people of the society (town of Sari).
It is worthy to mention that this questionnaire has the ability of studying and analyzing the
factors of depression, comfort, social function disorder and feeling a sense of belonging (four of the
most important and effective factors of house residents of each age).
The need assessment of the questionnaire goals and the tendency of the skeletal space of
houses
 Receiving the dominant opinions on skeletal spaces of houses such as: sleeping area, work
room, equipment, kitchen, bathroom, etc
 Prioritizing the needs of different areas of houses such as, entrance, laundry room, kitchen,
living room, etc
 Scene priority of the house
 Having mental health and comfort and relief inside the house
 Feeling a sense of belonging in the house

Openly accessible at http://www.european-science.com 350

 Mohammad Taghi Nazarpour, Azadeh Khorram

Figure 1: Entrance Figure 2: Living room

Figure 3: Green space bedroom view Figure 4: The yard (large pool)

Figure 5: The living room wall Figure 6: The yard (the pool in the middle)

Figure 7: Long windows with small gardens Figure 8: Terrace (having green spaces inside
the building)
Openly accessible at http://www.european-science.com 351
Special Issue on New Trends in Architecture, Civil Engineering, and Urban Studies

Results and Conclusion

The questionnaire includes the approaches, tendencies and architectural interests of this
study. It is worth mentioning that the questionnaires are presented here the same way they were
asked so that there should be an opportunity for people to express a particular opinion and also being
in the position of those who were asked and think about whatever is hidden inside each question.
Finding the respondents and entering houses were difficult and we had to make a particular solution
for each one and if there was no native collaboration given from our coworkers it was nearly
impossible to create a relationship aside with trust. It was not suitable for this article to present both
the answers given to the questions related to the historical houses that were weather vocally
recorded or written as consented. The same goes for the contemporary houses. Some answers were
too private and some were unrelated and we accept the fact that we were unable to ask more
appropriate questions. This is why we tried to gather what was mutual among the answers. The
questionnaire that was provided for the owners of the contemporary houses included 28 questions.
Each question was provided for a particular purpose according to the contradiction between lifestyle
and spatial understanding.
The result of the citizens' responses indicates some points about the research given below:
62% said that the house is much different from the outside than it is from the inside and this
difference is more in comparison with the neighboring buildings according to their heights,
materials, colors, scuttle and some special marks. 38% of the answers indicated no particular
distinction.
Usually, the set of factors which individually or collectively exist in the entrance path are:
yard (in the contemporary concept), pilot parking, wall, steps and hall. Also, in studying the answers
we figured that in most contemporary houses, most houses entrance areas are dedicated to the
entrance activities such as taking out cloths or shoes. The spatial system does not propose something
special for moving toward the inside of the house and there is no sense of leaving a public territory
and entering a private one.
It can be figured from the results of the research that those who enter the house are more
affected by the inner and private feelings because of the opposition and distinction between the
congestion of the town and the privacy of the inside of the house and the first feeling they
experience as they walk in the house with comfort, which is due tobeing relieved from the huddle of
outside. None of the answers were related to the impact of the inside area on the moment of entrance
and in two cases points out "lack of a considerable space" and "presenting the whole space on the
moment of entrance". And, of course, we figured that because of the intensity of the outside
pollution, the distinction was felt on the moment of entrance and we cannot say that it is because of
the houses inside space.
After the entrance, if the people come home exhausted, they do the following activities as
was already mentioned in the answers: changing cloths, lying down, eating and drinking, watching
television, listening to music, taking a bath, working in the kitchen and if there is any open space or
garden they said that they sit by it. There is no significant impact of the role of the house spatial
system in such activities, unless there is an open space or a garden.
From the findings of this research, we can conclude that resting style depends on different
habits of people. 72% of respondents could only rest in the bedroom and 28 percent could rest in
other areas and among family members. They were asked if they could have privacy if the bedroom
door was closed and their answers were "to some extent, but the noise is not stopped". In few cases
the comforting impact of spaces were pointed out, however we found out that things like television,
radio, music player and books play a role in providing comfort.

Openly accessible at http://www.european-science.com 352

 Mohammad Taghi Nazarpour, Azadeh Khorram

The comfort of the houses was mostly related to the family affairs and the role of spatial
system was not mentioned, however they were unsatisfied with living in an apartment.
Also, we can conclude that if the family affairs are well, the spatial insufficiencies are not
felt. 84 percent of respondents complaint about the disorganization of the spatial system of the house
and said: "if it was a duplex" or "there was a scenic view" or even if there was a" under the stairs"
space in the house, some of the house residents needs were fulfilled. One of the responds is
presented here: " to some extent, yes. Because they are defined and determined well and somehow
because of that in my opinion, the private spaces should have the complete set of supplies for a
person's life and also have an appropriate decoration and have some green spaces as well."
In comparison with private spaces, 68% of the respondents were unsatisfied with public
rooms because the most of the usable spaces of public spaces are wasted and to quote from of the
respondents, they have neither a view nor a scene, neither a spatial complexity, nor a richness or
ambiguity. In some responses, the issue of fitness or the inability to clean the place was mentioned
instead of the spatial satisfaction factor and it was complained about that when guests came there,
the large spaces looked small.
From the findings of this research, it can be figured that the spatial variety in new houses is
low and their residents were vulnerable to it and they complained from the unity of the inside spaces
of the house. These responses were few. What is meant by variety is the little distinctions in
lighting, coloring and having one or two steps in surface level variety.
Having a personal and suitable space and having a sense of belonging in the spatial system
of the inside areas of the house can create a play an important role in elevating the favorability
levels of the houses.
Eighty percent of the responses to the comfort inside the house attended to the general
lifestyle and did not show any vulnerability to the spaces. Most of the houses that was studied by
presence and spatial experience lacked the provision of comfort.
We can conclude from the findings of the research that disturbance in residential complexes
and apartments are different from the disturbances in single unit houses. In the first one, the
residents complained about the lack of the apartment residential culture and in the second one they
complained about the unsuitable spatial system with the residents' lifestyle.
Having a natural wind inside the house was barely experienced. Lack of the roofed and open
spaces minimized this possibility.
78% of the new houses residents wanted to have a relationship with plants and flowers, but
the supplies of living inside apartments have limited this relationship and those who have a yard
have a better relationship opportunity. To eliminate this relationship and ignoring it in the spatial
system of the houses is to ignore the creator principles of lifestyle.
We have measured the responds with regard of the houses spatial systems and their
proximity and we found out that the outer formation and mixture of those houses that was not built
according to the vernacular architecture didn’t play any role in having a relationship with the
neighbors.
The responses which complained about the territory intrusion of inside spaces held the lack
of foundation and lack of having a room for each person responsible for it.
We can conclude from the findings of the research that the spatial system of the houses that
was not built according to the vernacular architecture doesn’t basically consider the issue of age and
the only thing worth mentioning is the two dimensional characteristic of stairs which in one hand
can create a variety in space and in other hand can cause the danger of falling.

Openly accessible at http://www.european-science.com 353

Special Issue on New Trends in Architecture, Civil Engineering, and Urban Studies

Houses that are not built according to the vernacular architecture had a tendency to change
the spaces inside it and the owners acted upon it. The main direction of these changes is to enable
more light to come in and widen the spaces and ease the relationships.

Conclusion
Considering the responses of the citizens and with their interest in having a relationship with
their neighbors, nature, using the natural elements such as wind needs the implementation of
vernacular architecture and the affection of people. Also by having a look on the answers we can
find out that the owners of those houses which was not built according to the vernacular architecture
are unsatisfied with the lack of private and public territories inside their houses and in many ways,
they confess to the heterogeneity between what they need and what the space provides them. The
vernacular architecture is what that can provide the resident with the elements which is lost in
today's architecture in climate, social, cultural spatial and other aspects.
Architectural spaces are where the culture, civilization and scientific and cultural
developments of any society are projected.
Without a doubt, architecture itself is a cultural matter. Thus, the face and the concept of a
place cannot be alienated from the related cultural and artistic concepts of Iran. This fact enforces us
to pay attention to cultural, artistic, social and geographical features of the place we decide to build a
building in it.
With this thought in our minds that the social and cultural factors have the most important
role in the shapes of the houses even more than the physical features, it is an important reason for us
to make example of the ancient and vernacular buildings for studying the shapes of the houses
(Rappaport, 2005)
With a little more attention to the architecture of the traditional houses we figure out that this
architecture was pretty sufficient for this vast spectrum. This fact is the expression of the dominance
of the culture and peoples' lifestyle on architectures designs. Because it is aware of the smallest
events of peoples' daily life and answered them right. All cultures are unique and irreplaceable
bodies of values. Yet the traditions and expressive shapes of people are their most effective tool of
global participation. Architecture is the largest cultural heritage of mankind and it is a visual art
which is a mixture of science and sentiment and it is the result of how man looks at his own identity
(Bentley et al, 1985)
By the studies presented here, we conclude that those who live inside houses without any
color or scents of vernacular architecture have less satisfaction and interest toward the vernacular
architecture. It is because of the heterogenic spaces and the residents' characteristics that the
vernacular architecture cannot still have a relationship with its users and cannot respond to their
needs and the new spaces only if its purpose is to create a space as such as the vernacular
architecture and of course with consideration of the current matters of the society can respond to its
users' needs.

References
Behzadfar, M. (2004). The income of urban identity based on the characteristics of the Iranian
capital, Tehran University of Science and Technology, Tehran.
Bentley, I., Alcock, A., Murrain, P., McGlynn, S. & Smith, G. (1985). Responsive Environment: A
Manual for Designers, London: Architectural Press.
Dadkhah, M. (1986). Vernacular architecture, vernacular architecture and its application,
understanding yesterday to today and tomorrow's architectural, cultural associations Italy
Tehran, Scientific and Cultural Space Institute, Tehran.
Openly accessible at http://www.european-science.com 354
 Mohammad Taghi Nazarpour, Azadeh Khorram

Dadkhah, M. (1986).Vernacular architecture, take a picture and phenomenal passing range, Italian
Cultural Society of Tehran Cultural Space Science Institute, Tehran.
Dehghannayeri, N. & Hajbagheri, A. (2005).Effect of relaxation on stress and quality of life of
university.
Falamaki, M.M. (1986). Vernacular architecture, domestic architecture in Iran, Tehran Italian
Cultural Society, the Cultural Space Science Institute, Tehran.
Falamaki, M.M. (1986). Vernacular architecture, spoken in the introduction of the vernacular
architecture of unknown space, Cultural Association Italy Tehran, Scientific and Cultural
Space Institute, Tehran.
Falamaki, M.M. (2005). Vernacular architecture, unknown space, 2nd edition, pp. 40-28. Falamaki,
M. M. (1995).Revitalization of cities and monuments. Tehran University Press. Third
edition, pp. 55-32.
Haeri Mazandaran, M.R. (2008).Home, culture, nature (architecture historic houses and Masz to
develop the process design criteria House), The Center for the Study and Research of Urban
Planning and Architecture, Tehran.
Hosseini, S.Q. (1995). Mental health concepts, preliminary study of mental health, psychotherapy
and planning in Islam, Astan Quds Razavi Publication.
Jenkins, R. (2002). Social identity (Trans: T. Yar Ahmadi).
Jesus, H. (2013). At the heart of our architecture, Tehran, Royal Architecture.
Mirmiran, A. (1996). The lesson of the past architecture, Journal of Urban and Architectural
Studies, 23.
Mortazavi, Sh. (2001). Psychology and its application environment, Shahid Beheshti University
Press.
Nazarpour, M.T. (2013).The impact of physical space, student residences on public health students,
MS.c thesis, School of Architecture, Shahid Beheshti Univeristy.
Nazarpour, M.T. (2014). Reviews the design of student dormitories in Tehran in the last three
decades (1981-2011), Shahid Beheshti University.
Norani, M., & Bagheri Yazdi (2002). Checking the status of mental health in people 15 years in
Islamic Republic of Iran.
Pakzad, J. (1996). Identity and the identity of the space, gallery of 21 and 22, Shahid Beheshti
University, Tehran, pp.189-178.
Rapoport, A. (2009).Anthropology, housing, (Trans: Kh. Afzalian),Astan Quds Razavi publication.
Rapoport, A. (2005). Meaning the built environment, in non-verbal communication approach
(Trans: F. Habib), Urban Planning Publication, Tehran Municipality.
Christian Norberg, S. (2002). Home of the iconic architecture (Trans:M.A. Yarahmadi),
Agah Publication.
Ryff, C.D., & Keyes, C.L.M. (1995). The structure of psychological well-being revisit. Journal of
personality and Social Psychology,69, 719-727.
Shia, I. (2013). The city and the region, Iran University of Science and Technology, Eighth Edition.
Ulrich, R.S. (1981). Natural versus urban scenes: Some psychophysiological effects. Environment
and Behavior, 13, 523-556.

Openly accessible at http://www.european-science.com 355