A Conflict in the Identity of Traditional Iranian Houses: The Case of Qajar Dynasty

Abstract

From an architectonic point of view, the identity of Iranian houses has become more enriched itself throughout history. Primarily, during the Qajardynasty (1785-1925)as a consequence of the social, political, and economical changes which took place, there was a turning point from traditional architectural construction to the modernism principals of construction. In this regard, this studyaims toexplore the importance of the compatibility of the termidentity of architecture in the transformation age (a period which led tothe turning point in the history of Iranian architecture) bydescriptive (including comparative and co-relational methods) and explanative-analytical methods.By evaluating the spatial characteristics of TraditionalIranian Houses (TIH), the study has developed a method of assessingthe architectural identity of the Qajar era. It alsointroduceda Top-down and Bottom-up processing method as the two main factors in shapingthe identityofan architectural style. By comparing both the objective and subjective indicators of shapingthe identity of TIH, the study also revealed that, in transitioning from the traditional construction to modern, the physical characteristics of the houses might change considerably, whilst lifestyles will not change at the same speed.