Reading Layers of Meaning in the Facades of Contemporary Mid-Rise Residential Buildings in Tehran

Azma, Sara; Aeinifar, Alireza; Eslami, Seyed Yahya

doi:10.22034/aaud.2024.430474.2845

Reading Layers of Meaning in the Facades of Contemporary Mid-Rise Residential Buildings in Tehran

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Sara Azma ¹

Alireza Aeinifar ²

Seyed Yahya Eslami ³

¹ Ph.D. in Architecture, Faculty of Architecture, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.

² Professor of Architecture, Faculty of Architecture, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran (Corresponding Author).

³ Assistant Professor of Architecture, Faculty of Architecture, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.

10.22034/aaud.2024.430474.2845

Abstract

The critical conditions of residential buildings’ facades in Tehran have called attention to the significance of meaning in Iran’s contemporary architecture. The goal of this study was to discover façade meanings received by architects and non-architect users and to investigate the similarities and differences of their readings. Meanings from a built environment influence users’ emotions and feelings, aesthetic preferences, and behaviors. When discovered, these meanings will enable the architects to predict public’s reading of facades and their preferences. This qualitative study applied the Grounded Theory and a systematic approach. Data were collected using the semi-structured interview technique, and samples were selected using the mixed purposive and theoretical sampling. In the process of discovering meanings and conducting interviews, three stages of reconstructing Horizon of Expectations developed by Hans Robert Jauss’ Reception Theory were used. Interview data were categorized and analyzed using the interpretive analysis and the open, axial, and selective coding procedures in the MAXQDA software. The summarization and analysis of data led to the extraction of similarities and differences between architects and non-architects reading of contemporary Tehran’s mid-rise residential buildings and the development of a conceptual model of layers of meaning received by the two groups (by emphasizing the three main components of “general features”, “physical features”, and “content features”, as well their sub-components). The most important findings showed that architects had prioritized façade styles, geometric composition, semantic symbols and signs, while non-architects had prioritized economic values, materials and colors, as well as personal emotions. Meanwhile, it was notable to see the disagreement of the two groups over the aesthetics and symbolic meanings of the Roman style and their maximum agreement over reading post-modern style symbols. Findings could also help architects better account for the semantic needs of the public and provide more desirable façade designs.

Keywords

Reading Architecture

Layers of Meaning

Grounded Theory

Reception Theory

Mid-rise Residential Facades

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