Façade Committee, Challenges, and Achievements; Assessment of Mashhad Façade Committee Performance

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Urbanism, Faculty of Art, Azad university of Mashhad,Iran

2 Assistant Professor of Urban Planning, Architecture & Urbanism Research Center, Mashhad Branch, Islamic Azad University, Mashhad, Iran.

3 Ph.D. Candidate of Urban Planning, Mashhad Branch, Islamic Azad University, Mashhad, Iran.

10.22034/aaud.2023.334579.2646

Abstract

The inherent duty of urban design is to manage the improvement of urban design qualities in both content and procedural dimensions. Without simultaneous attention to these two, even the purest urban design theories may remain ineffective in reality. Improving the quality of the landscape, in addition to the need to formulate comprehensive, clear, and more or less flexible regulations, requires the definition of a precise and efficient executive structure so that it can be a suitable leverage for the implementation of these rules. Façade committees are one of the methods regarded for the control and implementation of these approvals, which play a significant role in achieving the goal of landscape improvement. Mashhad City has been one of the main pioneers in this field in the country by compiling approvals and forming committees to control and guide urban landscaping. The present research aims to evaluate the performance of the Mashhad façade Committee by examining its damages, challenges, and achievements as well as providing effective suggestions to improve this performance. Applying a mixed method and alignment methodology, this study has evaluated the performance of the façade Committee in two quantitative and qualitative phases. The research findings state that the most important challenges of façade committees are qualitative decisions, applying personal interest, weakness of legal position, and lack of criteria for action and executive guarantee. It's most important achievements are drawing the attention of the specialized community to the significance of the public landscape, citizens' rights and interests, and strengthening the architects' position in the development process. Some suggestions have been proposed for improving the performance of the façade committee in the procedural section that includes improving the organizational administrative level of the façade committee, forming a project steering committee, preparing periodical performance reports. Some other suggestions were proposed in the case of the content section, including planning for participation and opinion polls, and acculturalization for Iranian architecture promotion.

Keywords


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