How Did Density Sales Take the Courtyard from Iranian Homes?

Iranian home courtyards first gave way to common areas and parking. Now some city dwellers, seeking open space again, are turning to the villa and second-home market. According to an architecture researcher, this trend is linked to density sales and the spread of identical construction patterns.

Housing and urban development: The courtyard first moved from the center of the Iranian house to the side of the building and then became a common space for commuting and car parking. Leila Golpaygani, a researcher in the field of architecture and housing, considered this change as part of the process in which the house has gradually reduced from a space for living to a "residential unit" at the seventh meeting of "Haftshahr".

Golpaygani said that the basis of his discussion is a research about the hundred-year evolution of residential patterns in Tehran, which was conducted about 11 years ago with the participation of architects, urban planners, sociologists, economists and environmental experts. According to Okhane, it is not just a place with a room, door and window. It is a place that nurtures us, builds us, keeps us and gives us memories and thoughts.

How did the house become a residential unit?

Referring to the thoughts of Martin Heidegger and Christian Norbergschultz, Golpayegani explained that dwelling is not only related to building a shelter, but also related to the way of life and human experience of the environment.

According to him, the house should provide the possibility of solitude, meeting, playing, learning and communication with nature. In addition to sleeping, a room can be a place to study, play, or entertain; But an overly closed and predetermined design destroys such flexibility.

He explained the evolution of the Iranian house in three stages: a house with a central courtyard, a house with a one-sided courtyard, and finally multi-story apartments.

In the first stage, the courtyard was moved from the center to the side of the building, but it was still a place for children to play, plant plants, rest and do daily tasks. From the 1370s and with the expansion of multi-story buildings on the pilot, the situation changed.

Golpaigani said: "The yard in this model becomes a common yard. A space for commuting and in the best case, a purely aesthetic space."

According to him, the location of the building on the pilot even cut off the connection of the lower floors with the yard. This model gradually spread from Tehran to cities with different climates and cultures and even villages.

He added: Land and housing became capital goods, and with the increase in the price of land, valuable tissues became victims of a type of housing that was only shelter and economic capital.

The yard was stolen; Who was the thief?

In an interview with Golpayegani, Mohammadreza Etisami summed up this development in one sentence: "The yard has been stolen."

He explained that the yard first moved away from the center of the house, then it became the entrance to the building, and with the arrival of the car, it lost a large part of its remaining functions.

Etsami asked who is responsible for this change; People, architects or policy makers? Do people still want a yard and do policymakers recognize this need?

In response, Golpayegani pointed out the results of his studies in Tehran, which showed that the desire for private open space is still serious. According to him, the growth of villa construction and second homes around big cities can be seen as one of the signs of this demand.

He mentioned Kurdan, Taleghan, North of the country, Bagh Bahadran and Chadgan; Areas that are facing the pressure of demand for villas and second homes.

According to him, this demand has also had another consequence: the destruction of gardens, agricultural lands and pastures to meet the needs of city dwellers who have lost the open space in their main house.

City dwellers looking for a yard in a second home

To explain this situation, Golpayegani referred to interviews in District 12 of Tehran.

In this research, there were people who had destroyed their old houses and turned them into apartments. At first, they were satisfied with the economic benefit of the construction, but in the continuation of the interview, they said that Tehran is no longer a place to live and that they bought a property for themselves in Shahryar.

In this way, part of the need for nature and open space has been transferred from the main house to the second house.

However, Golpaygani stressed that one cannot consider a pattern of residence suitable for everyone. The needs of a family with several children are different from the needs of a single elderly person, and an apartment can be a better choice for some people.

According to him, the main problem is the loss of diversity and the transformation of a construction method into the dominant pattern of residence.

Children who see nature from behind the window

Another part of Golpayegani's speech was devoted to the effect of changing the home on children's experience.

He said that children, unlike adults, do not know the space based on the names of the rooms and designated functions. They experience home by moving, playing and exploring the environment.

A staircase, a corner of the yard, a pond or the sound of rain can be a part of childhood memories.

Golpaygani said: "The more space is designed and determined, the more limited the child is. "The child enters into a relationship with the space and gives it meaning."

According to him, the yard provided the opportunity to see the growth of plants, hear the birds, follow the ants and play in the rain; Experiences that are limited in many homes today.

Referring to the concept of "poverty of nature", he said that reducing children's direct contact with the natural environment can be associated with inactivity, obesity and some physical and mental problems.

Golpaygani added: When imagination and reminiscence are impoverished in the years when the child has the greatest creative capacity, the future will also be impoverished.

How does density selling bind the architect's hand?

Explaining the role of urban policy, Golpaygani said that the dependence of urban management income on density sales is one of the obstacles to designing diverse and high-quality houses.

He emphasized: The city should be managed through stable revenues and tolls, not through density sales.

According to him, when the number of floors and the pattern of the parking are determined from the beginning, the architect has to design the floors with the same limitations. In such a situation, architectural creativity is often limited to changing the facade of the building.

Golpayegani described the result of this process as "confusion on the outside and uniformity on the inside".

He said that repeating a building pattern from northern cities to Bandar Kong ignores the difference in climate, culture and lifestyle; While architecture should be able to respond to these differences.

However, he did not consider the responsibility only towards the politician and said: I personally believe that it is not only the politician.

According to him, consultants and urban designers should also resist the same versions and provide solutions that fit the characteristics of each region.

Etsami also divided the responsibility for the quality of housing among people, professionals and policy makers. According to him, people say they didn't teach us quality, experts talk about the limitations of laws, and policymakers identify the housing economy as an obstacle.