Regeneration and revival of historical context
Nasim Leilieyoun; Ahmad Danaeinia
Abstract
The formation and development framework of the historical core of Isfahan is based on the system of (water channels) called "Madi". On a macro scale, Madi has had a direct impact on the configuration and organization of urban spaces, and on a micro scale, it has influenced the settlement of ...
Read More
The formation and development framework of the historical core of Isfahan is based on the system of (water channels) called "Madi". On a macro scale, Madi has had a direct impact on the configuration and organization of urban spaces, and on a micro scale, it has influenced the settlement of residential units. This element, during changes that primarily occurred after the 1960s, has gradually become a barrier to the development of urban-local spaces. The aim of this research is to clarify the characteristics of Madi flexibility and its impact on the housing configuration, thereby revealing the necessity of re-linking housing architecture with this vital element. The research combines quantitative and qualitative methods and is based on observation and analysis methodologies. Data were collected in two phases: library studies and field surveys, aimed at finding the housing pattern and how residential units are organized, with results extracted based on two methods of inference and content analysis. Basic information was obtained through aerial photographs from the 1960s and analyzed using software such as AutoCAD, GIS, and Depthmap. The findings indicate that the housing configuration system is shaped based on four indices: building pattern, area, the ratio of built space to open space, and spatial integrity and coherence. The most compatible housing construction pattern is the single-row construction and fully constructed, followed by U-shaped and L-shaped patterns. Regarding the area index, residential plots with an area of 200-500 square meters and subsequently 500-1000 square meters, and in the index of built-to-open space ratio, areas with values between 0.70-0.96 have the highest flexibility. As for the index of spatial integrity and coherence, the maximum index includes the axis of Madi, passages connected to Madi, and passages connected to the main streets bordering the neighborhood. The results show that Madi architecture is in complete connection with the city and the neighborhood, representing the most important natural pattern influencing the formation of residential units and creating interconnection throughout the neighborhood. In order to create or strengthen this pattern, housing design based on the four enumerated indices plays a significant role. Conversely, neglecting these indices will have numerous negative effects on the housing configuration and the system of neighborhoods.
Passive Defense
Ahmad Danaeinia; Morteza Majidi
Abstract
One of the most important challenges in historic areas and perhaps the most important concern in urban management involves the design of an appropriate transportation system for provision of better facilities with minimal intervention. It is therefore an inevitable necessity to provide access to a convenient, ...
Read More
One of the most important challenges in historic areas and perhaps the most important concern in urban management involves the design of an appropriate transportation system for provision of better facilities with minimal intervention. It is therefore an inevitable necessity to provide access to a convenient, safe transportation system such as the subway in the historic, distressed area of Tehran, Iran given the high population density and accumulation of administrative, political, and other services in the area as well as natural and unnatural hazards, so that safety can be maintained, and service can be provided in case of a crisis. Important urban community centers throughout Tehran’s historic area, subway stations can be regarded as dual-purpose, used for temporary accommodation and emergency services in case of an unexpected event. Activities that can be carried out at a subway station include accommodation of citizens, storage of food, provision of emergency service, and transportation of the injured. Application of passive defense requirements to the design of subway station components is one of the most important ways of providing subway security in critical conditions. A subway station is composed of different components, with the entrance element intervening the inner and outer spaces as the first component. Location and design of the subway station entrance is an important task involving particular complexity as well as intricacy and requiring precise predictions. Therefore, this research needed to address two significant questions. Firstly, what indicators are involved in subway station entrance design in Tehran’s historic area given the architectural requirements and passive defense considerations? Secondly, to what extent have these indicators been utilized in the design of the subway station entrances in Tehran’s historic core, and which is the best station in terms of observation of the indicators? The aim of this qualitative applied study was to evaluate the subway station entrances at Tehran’s historic core in accordance with the standards and to determine the indicators for design of subway station entrances based on passive defense considerations. First, the intended indicators were extracted through a review of the domestic and international regulations, the most important being Article 21 of the Iranian Building Code and FEMA’s regulations. For a better understanding of the extracted indicators and acquaintance with the regulations in other countries as well as in Iran in subway station design, four subway station entrances in China, Brazil, England, and Canada and three in Esfahan, Mashhad, and Tabriz in Iran were analyzed as samples, where the above indicators were investigated. The extracted indicators were evaluated in Tehran’s District Twelve using the analytic hierarchy process (AHP), and the degree of importance (weight) for each of the criteria and options was calculated based on the above regulations using the Expert Choice software and a prioritization of the indicators based on the method of sensitivity analysis. The results indicated that the criteria distance from the entrance building to the main arteries and method of access to the entrances had the greatest and least impacts on subway station entrance design with relative weights of 0.205 and 0.027, respectively. On that basis, the Darvazeh Dowlat subway station entrance was identified as the best with five out of the nine standard indicators and a relative weight of 0.147, followed by the Baharestan, Khayam, Imam Khomeini, Panzdah-e-Khordad, Saadi, and Mellat subway station entrances.
