Route analysis in the architecture of museums and tomb buildings through space syntax case study: (Tomb of Nader Shah in Mashhad, Avicenna Mausoleum in Hamadan, and Mausoleum of poets in Tabriz)

Abstract

ABSTRACT Historical memorials, in most parts of the world, represent and are associated with the cultures, arts, and architectures of the time they are born within. Examples of such structures which include museum-like settings are the Tomb of Nader Shah in Mashhad, Avicenna Mausoleum in Hamadan, and the Mausoleum of Poets in Tabriz. The objectives of the present study are to examine the concepts and criteria of routing and their function in architecture on one hand, and to signify the manifestation of routing in the mausoleums and memorial tombs of Pahlavi era on the other hand. The methodology is a descriptive-inferential one which follows the space syntax of Depth Map software to a qualitative and quantitative degree. According to the findings, it seems that the hierarchy of paths which leads to the tomb plays a significant part in routing. Moreover, main entrances, central lobbies, and corridors which are more peopled as compared with other sections, are exposed to visitation and provide social communication. In the end, the making of an intelligible circulation system, which is a method in architecture that facilitates routing unfamiliar places, has been acknowledged considerably in aforementioned memorial structures.