Journal of Iranian Architecture & Urbanism(JIAU)

Abstract Extended Abstract
Background and Objectives: Facades can significantly affect the visual quality of buildings. The initial impression that a building has on a viewer occurs via its facade. A building facade can be the most important element of its design. Considering that the facade of a building is the first visual component of that building and the first component that connects the building to the surrounding environment, it plays a significant role in the viewer’s evaluation. Perception of the meaning of facades has been mainly explored in urban planning, but architectural experts have paid little attention to this subject from the architectural point of view. Residential buildings were selected among the different types of buildings since paying attention to different components, and their meaning is more important than the function in designing residential environments. Nowadays, residential land uses constitute a large portion of urban land uses. Almost all members of a society are in direct contact with them and look at different facades on a daily basis. Therefore, this study attempted to identify the components of the meaning of residential apartments in Ardabil from the perspective of the citizens. The main question of this study is as follows: What are the semantic components of the facades in residential apartments from the perspective of the citizens?
Methods: This research had a mixed-method approach. The qualitative section was conducted using the grounded theory, while the quantitative section was performed using structural equation modeling (SEM). In the qualitative part, the required data were collected via in-depth semi-structured interviews with citizens of Ardabil City. Since the researcher’s deep understanding of the subject and the possibility of conducting in-depth interviews are major factors in any qualitative study, the main criterion for selecting the sample was the possibility of the author’s continuous presence in the area and interviewing the citizens. A total number of 25 residential apartments in Ardabil City were selected as the sample in this study. The southern and southwestern sections of Ardabil have a relatively new urban fabric. Most apartments in these sections have 3 to 6 stories. In terms of socio-cultural and economic status, these areas have a high, medium, medium-to-low, and medium-to-high status. Therefore, they were suitable for in-depth study and would provide generalizable results. For this reason, the geographical expanse consisting of the south and southwest of Ardabil City was selected as the study area. MAXQDA software and constant comparisons during the three stages of open, axial, and selective coding were used to analyze the collected data. After the interviews were transcribed, the collected data were scrutinized via the coding method and classified via open, axial, and selective coding. Each interview was perused several times, and the basic concepts were extracted via content analysis. In the second coding stage, one of the categories was selected as the core concept, which was then studied as the pivotal phenomenon in the explained process. The relationships of the other categories with the core concept were then determined and expressed in the form of a paradigm model. Selective coding was the last stage of the coding procedure in which the core category was selected, and its links to other categories were identified. The author designed a questionnaire in the quantitative section, and its validity and reliability were examined. SEM and SmartPLS software were used in this section of the research. The questionnaire consisted of 31 items designed in a structured manner based on the Likert 5-point scale and developed according to the conceptual model of the research. Four items directly inquired about the meaning of facades. Using targeted cluster sampling, the authors distributed the questionnaires among individuals who were familiar with the samples. Analysis of the collected data via SEM in SmartPLS confirmed the significance of the relationships and the identified components.
Findings: The components and details of building facades have meaningful integrity. Identifying the meanings of facades helps determine their constituent factors. In this study, the context and intervening factors, in some cases, have affected the meaning of the selected facades. The analysis showed that nine components affect the meaning of building facades: socio-cultural factors, lifestyle, economic factors, environmental factors, urban laws, visual quality, mental history, media, and construction quality.
Conclusion: The results showed that different factors affect how participants describe their residential apartment appearance. The participants used terms such as regular, expensive, identity, etc., when describing the appearance of residential apartments. The meanings of facades are affected by various factors. These meanings are formed in the context of structural factors (facade components, physical characteristics, stylistic features, and apartment properties), context factors, and intervening factors. Based on the achieved results, certain solutions have been proposed to improve the semantic status of the facades of residential apartments. By determining the components affecting the facade meaning, one can identify the physical properties and other influential underlying factors that would lead to desired visual quality, thereby helping the patterns and designs of the facade. Understanding these components helps architects comprehend people’s mental perceptions of the façade, while not preoccupying with their personal perceptions.

Abstract Extendedd Abstract
Objective and Background: Novice designers in design workshops are constantly finding themselves on the quest for an elegant solution to design problems. Still, a large portion of educators and professors are not able to, or willing to, define a distinct course for this quest, thus leading to problems of disorientation for these novice designers. However, it is noteworthy that the paths and processes for reaching such an ideal are absolutely unique to each designer, as at least some part of this process is intuitive and exploratory. Thus no same pattern can be handed out to all designers. Yet, this does not mean that students and novice designers can obtain their design formula without any external guidance from their instructors and relying only on inner instinct.
Methods: This study seeks to provide a clear and systematic model based on the previously discussed design records to prevent plagiarism and assist novice designers in solving the design problem, especially in response to the aesthetic aspects of the design that do not have any explicit assessment criteria. Considering that the causal relationship between the independent variable and the dependent variable is examined in this research, and the independent research variable, i.e., the educational model provided for teaching architectural design, can be manipulated by the researcher, this research is a quasi-experimental study. For this purpose, firstly, 28 students from the 4th semester of architecture were divided into two groups of control and experiment. The control group members then performed the desired exercise (study desk design) without using design records and only based on previous experiences. At the same time, the experimental group members were offered the proposed model and were free to use the design records. In the next stage, students’ schemas were scored using the self-assessment method, and the opinion of experts (professors of architecture) and the data were analyzed.
Findings: The path that scientists of different fields take to solve the problem, no matter how difficult and challenging, ultimately has a very clear and well-structured nature. However, the same is not valid for the design problem. This effect is more pronounced in the early works of novice designers. It is given that the various paths and stages of this process cannot be clearly observed and explained. In fact, the designer’s mind shapes new designs within mind what is perceived from nature, geometry, and samples of previous works, among others, by analyzing and combining elements therein. It can be argued that designing would not be simply feasible without having an intellectual archive of design resources in mind. The experience of facing design problems is critically involved in achieving their solutions. As such, novice designers and students who lack sufficient experience may be easily disoriented in solving design problems. Meanwhile, examples of prior works and projects, scientifically known as design records, are the most extensively used resources by designers, especially novice ones. Without a clear pattern and framework for exploiting these design records, risks such as tumbling into the trap of plagiarism and blind adherence to the teacher’s approach threaten the design, leading to their repressed skills development.
Conclusion: Design problems, unlike problems within the realm of experimental science, are mostly struck with poor structures and have ill-defined nature. There are no concrete paths and predefined frameworks for solving design problems. The main purpose of this study was to propose an approach to changing the nature of ill-structured design problems to a relatively well-structured one and thus employing the use of it in training novice designers. This goal was followed by proposing a model for framing the design problem using examples from previous design works. It should be noted that still the ultimate goal of the present study was to discover solutions for better learning and improving the skills of novice designers, rather than achieving an innovative and perfect design. The results of this study revealed that designing based on the proposed model alleviates the confusion of the novice designer especially in the early stages of working on design problems, while encourages facing the challenges of improving design skills, all of which is achieved by employing such a clear and systematic way. Nonetheless, the comparison of the works of the tested students showed better results and yielded higher scores for the group that developed their design using the proposed framework. Moreover, employing the proposed model reduced the probability of plagiarism and led to increased variety in the experimental group's schemas. The results showed that the experimental group's schemata compared with the schemata of the control group, received a higher average score. Using the proposed model reduced the probability of imitation and increased diversity in the experimental group schemas.

Abstract Thematic analysis has been used as a qualitative method for data analysis in various fields, especially psychology, behavioral sciences, health, and sociology. However, this approach, which emphasizes the content of the text, and views language as a direct and transparent path to meaning, has been less applied in the field of architecture and urban planning. Thematic analysis is a flexible theoretical approach, easy to learn, able to summarize data, and so on. Hence, it can be applied to a wide range of qualitative environmental studies, particularly to understand the users’ perception of the environment, which shapes their relationship with the environment, by classifying the meaning patterns within the data set. Using this approach allows provide an in-depth description of the data, and to highlight the similarities and differences between the data, thereby enabling the creation of rich and complex data. The present study introduces the thematic analysis as a flexible method, through a sample study undertook this method, and describes its six steps, including familiarizing with data, assigning preliminary code, searching for themes, reviewing themes, defining and naming themes, and finally, producing a report. It explains how the thematic analysis is used in built-environment studies. The study presented as a sample attempts to identify the meaning experienced by people in the architectural space. It strives to answer the following question, "What aspects of meaning are perceived when moving through a built environment?" The aim was to focus on the influence of physical properties on the users’ experiences of the environment to obtain useful findings for architects and environment designers. To identify the widest possible range of capabilities for movement and the possible experiences obtained with them, an interview was designed using “phenomenological ethnography” approach, in which students and staff of an academic campus were asked to respond to the questions of a deep, qualitative interview ‎when moving on their daily paths in the campus. Each participant was asked to move, along with the interviewer, on his/her daily main paths, express his/her thoughts and feelings about the path. Each interviewee were also asked to take photos of the phenomena affecting route selection, and explain why and how they affect. The thematic analysis of the interview content reveals eight meanings of efficiency, convenience, legibility, sense of belonging, agency, invitingness, attraction, and beauty, which can be summarized under 3 themes of physical comfort, involvement, and making sense (being apprehensible). These themes explain the main meanings experienced by people during movement between and within buildings. The findings show that some of the physical properties of the path clearly lead to the experience of certain meanings. Based on these findings, users experience efficiency in short, direct, and simple paths with minimum barriers. Paths with multiple accesses and amenities provide more convenience. Distinct paths with clear boundaries and adequate signs are easier to remember. All of these properties of a path provide an experience of physical comfort for those who move through the environment. The findings, on the other hand, suggest that navigable paths, containing reference points can be easily understood and remembered, and therefore, affored legibility. Other properties of the path that make it private, familiar and friendly, or make people feel more comfortable in it, allow for a sense of belonging. Together, these qualities of legibility, familiarity, friendliness, and the like enhance making sense of the environment for users. Finally, according to other part of findings, individuals can engage and involve in environments (identifying themselves as part of environments) where they, in addition to feeling more sense of invitation, experience agency that results from a greater sense of control over the environment through visual access and so forth. Crossing paths that have pleasing aesthetical qualities, and arouses individuals’ positive emotions, yield similar results and increase the involvement in the environment. These results can be used to design environments that are more favorable to users, and could help to create the desired architectural spaces for them by considering the attributes that provide physical comfort, the qualities through which individuals make sense of their settings, and those that more strongly attract and involve users with their built environments. Moreover, the process of thematic analysis, introduced in this article, can be applied for analyzing contents in similar qualitative research in the field.

Abstract In the present study, the effect of legibility of open spaces in residential complexes on social interactions of residents is examined. In fact, the study seeks to answer this question: "What relationship are established between the physical dimensions of the legibility and social interactions in the open space of the residential complexes and how this happens, and also what components and to what extent are effective in this regard?" It is assumed that the legibility of spaces between buildings, as the physical quality of the human-made environment, has a significant relationship with social interactions in the residential space to turn into a capability for creating dynamic, vigorous, and vibrant residential complexes. Regarding this, descriptive-analytic research was selected to examine the role of legibility in social interactions using indices derived from theoretical foundations. The data collection system in the social domain is through questionnaire. The population was the residents (2700 people) of Saeedieh Residential Complex, Hamedan and 210 questionnaires were distributed amongst them. Of the distributed questionnaires, 81 questionnaires were used for statistical analysis after refining and deleting the defective questionnaires. Statistical analysis of these questionnaires was done in SPSS and using variance analysis, Pearson correlation coefficient and stepwise linear regression. The hypothesis testing showed a significant relationship between the components of social interaction - types of mutual interaction, interaction with the site and the type of relationship in the residential complex. This significance is observed among the most of the components of spatial legibility as well. Concerning the research question of the impact of spatial legibility on social interactions, the results showed that the components 1) individuation of path, node, edge, sign and landmarks, 2) the definition of spatial units, 3) the opportunity of reviewing the spatial comprehensiveness, 4) barriers and visual disturbances, 5) architecture components emphasizing routing, have the greatest role in social interaction. On the other hand, geometry and accessibility components, clear composition of structure and configuration have little effect on the formation of social interactions of this residential complex. Moreover, the results showed that the three-dimensional components of architecture (e.g. the prominence of indices such as a statue and fountain and the prominence of the views such as that of the mountains) have a more significant role in formation of social interactions in the open space of the residential complex compared to bi-dimensional component of architecture (such as the geometry of the environment). However, spatial legibility in open space of Saeedieh Residential Complex has a relatively moderate effect on promoting interactions and social sustainability in this complex.