International Journal of Urban Management and Energy Sustainability

International Journal of Urban Management and Energy Sustainability

Typology and Visual Evaluation of the Architecture of Traditional Schools in Isfahan (Case Study: Schools of the Safavid, Qajar, and Early Pahlavi Periods)

Document Type : Case Study

Authors
1 Ph.D. student, Department of Art and Architecture, Arak Branch, Islamic Azad University, Arak, Iran
2 Professor, Department of Urbanism, Faculty of Art and Architecture, Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamedan, Iran
3 Assistant Professor, Department of Art and Architecture, Arak Branch, Islamic Azad University, Arak, Iran
4 Assistant Professor, Department of Architecture, Qom Branch, Islamic Azad University, Qom, Iran
Abstract
Traditional historical schools in Iran represent valuable and human-centered architecture. The structure, formation, and spatial organization of these schools reached their peak in historical cities like Isfahan during various periods. The concept of typology and evaluation of the architecture of traditional schools from both visual and functional perspectives is a research topic and challenge for contemporary researchers to achieve the structure of architectural configuration. In this research, the main goal is to typify and evaluate the visual criteria in 16 schools related to the three historical periods of Safavid, Qajar, and early Pahlavi in the city of Isfahan. The research method is descriptiveanalytical and applied in purpose, and it has functioned based on content analysis and inferential reasoning. The findings indicate the influence of the three sub-criteria of basic form, the method of symmetry, and the position of the central courtyard in the visual structure of the architecture of traditional schools. As a result, in the comparison between these three periods, it can be seen that each period has changed the design of spaces according to the needs of society and has tried to create a balance between educational, social, and cultural elements in such a way that in the type of social interactions and the type of education, respectively, from the structure of open space in the visual dimension, it has ended in the individual behavioral setting, and the spatial structure has been transformed from around the central courtyard of the Safavid era to a wider, more asymmetrical space in the later periods. In the studies, by examining the functional dimension of the architecture of traditional schools, the correlation between the two structures can be further and more accurately addressed.

Graphical Abstract

Typology and Visual Evaluation of the Architecture of Traditional Schools in Isfahan (Case Study: Schools of the Safavid, Qajar, and Early Pahlavi Periods)

Highlights

  • The concept of typology and evaluation of the architecture of traditional schools from both visual and functional perspectives.
  • Traditional schools are usually divided into courtyards, cells, prayer rooms, and other social spaces. The central courtyard (courtyard) is important as a space for gathering and social activities.
  • Visual dimension: shape and volume, color, facade of buildings, and functional dimension: how to use spaces and the relationships between different parts.
  • 16 schools in the historical periods of Safavid, Qajar, and early Pahlavi have been selected in the city of Isfahan, each of which is categorized based on the mentioned typology framework
  • in the comparison between these three periods, it can be seen that each period has changed the design of spaces according to the needs of the society and has tried to create a balance between educational, social, and cultural elements.

Keywords

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Volume 6, Issue 1 - Serial Number 1
Winter 2025
Pages 148-165

  • Receive Date 10 June 2024
  • Revise Date 07 October 2024
  • Accept Date 11 December 2024