Architects and ‘Architecture without Architects’: Modernization of Iranian housing and the birth of a new urban form Narmak (Tehran, 1952)

Habibi, Rana; Meulder, Bruno De

doi:10.1016/j.cities.2015.03.005

Cited by 10 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…These conceptualizations of the home have been challenged as representative of Western, middle-class perceptions (Jackson 1994). However, the middle-class ideals impacted by modernization in Iran have become entrenched in how people idealize the meaning of home, and thus how people strive to create a home, particularly given the architectural breakdown of andarooni and birooni spaces (Habibi and De Meulder 2015). People work towards accomplishing "home" with respect to these ideals, even if those ideals are not realized in practice (Tucker 1994;Kusenbach and Paulsen 2013).…”

Section: Home and Privacymentioning

confidence: 99%

Entering Iranian Homes: Privacy Borders and Hospitality in Iranian Movies

Mohammadi

Scott

2023

QSR

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The architecture of homes in Iran has changed significantly over the past four decades since the 1979 Iranian revolution. We ask how these architectural changes shift neighborhood relationships and how they transform the Iranians’ hospitality rituals and practices. We conducted a qualitative content analysis of eighteen Iranian movies filmed after the 1979 revolution. They allowed us to make comparisons among various dwelling patterns and neighborhood relationships. We argue that the representations of neighborhood relationships reflect these changes, demonstrating the impact of architecture on interactions. Our focus in this article is on borders of privacy, power dynamics in the neighborhoods and among families, and communication forms to better understand the impact of changing architecture on hospitality through the lens of cinema. Additionally, we engage with Goffman’s (1956) concepts of frontstage and backstage, demonstrating that these are not dichotomous, although they are opposites, and there can be a thinning of frontstage along with a thickening of backstage. Entrances to homes are often gradual, and visitors may gradually penetrate through layers of the frontstage as they become closer (emotionally and in space) to the heart of the home’s (and its occupants’) backstage.

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Section: Home and Privacymentioning

confidence: 99%

Entering Iranian Homes: Privacy Borders and Hospitality in Iranian Movies

Mohammadi

Scott

2023

QSR

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“…Some of the plans were later adapted to the king's ideology and were perused by the regime. For example, the housing projects were implemented, but the units were mainly allocated to the middle class such as civil servants and army officials (Habibi and De Meulder, 2015). Mossadegh was sentenced to three years in a military prison, and later was sent into exile and his supporters subsequently imprisoned.…”

Section: Toward Democratic Urbanismmentioning

confidence: 99%

Urbanism under dictatorship

Javanmardi

2019

ARCH

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Purpose By analyzing urbanism products, development plans and the process of modernization in Iran, the purpose of this paper is to critically trace the effect of dictatorial control on urbanism and the emergence of government-imposed urban segregation. Design/methodology/approach The main body of this work is concentrated on studying the history of urbanism in Iran, of which collecting data and descriptions played a crucial role. To prevent the limitations associated with singular methods, the methodology of this research is based on methodological triangulation (Denzin, 2017). With the triangulation scheme, the data are gathered by combining different qualitative and quantitative methods such as library, archival and media research, online resources, non-participatory observation and photography. For the empirical part, the city of Tehran is selected as the case study. Moreover, individual non-structured interviews with the locals were conducted to gain more insights regarding the housing projects. Findings The results reveal that despite the intense propaganda, the regime policies barely mentioned the urban poor. With the rise of new principles of architecture and urban planning, the regime tried to promote the image of an updated society; restructuring of the urban space was part of this process. However, the majority of the urban projects disregarded the financial ability of low-income groups and eventually benefited only the middle and upper classes. Also, by imposing a physical distance, low-income neighborhoods were located in the south in order to marginalize the urban poor who were in contrast with the idea of a modern city. Under these circumstances, severe economic inequality was provoked, which to this day has transformed into a complex socio-spatial segregation. Originality/value The works of general historical studies are not concentrated on urbanism and urban researchers have mostly focused on urbanism products during different periods, regardless, of the importance of urbanism as a tool in the service of hegemony. In other words, the majority of existing research investigates the evolution of urbanism and architecture in modern Iran, by questioning “what has been built?” and has ignored to trace the beneficiaries of the urban projects and to question “built for whom?”. Moreover, urbanism under the government of Mossadegh (1951–1953) has been largely overlooked, which could be due to his short time as Prime Minister of Iran. Mossadegh’s government was the first democratic government in Iran; hence investigating the policies used in this period has a great importance.

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