Khorramshahr Housing From native model to the design criteria

Lifestyle, shaped by the culture and customs of the people living in a city, and the settlement pattern resulted from that, is one of the foundations of native housing. Careful analysis of lifestyle helps developing new housing design principles which are compatible to changes in living conditions and styles. City of Khorramshahr, because of the deconstruction caused by war and the reconstruction done after; which is inconsistent with the culture and even the local climate, needs development of new design principles and standards for housing. The current research is based on studies conducted by the author, before and after war, and can be called the only analytical information available on the native housing of Khorramshahr. Therefore, the main objective of this paper is to analyze the residence fashion prior to war, followed by investigation of suitable pattern for today’s life which takes into account the changes in the lifestyle and finally to present guidelines and principles for new housing design in Khorramshahr. In order to reach to the main objective of the study and have a good understanding of the settlement style before war, either in native or non-native lifestyle of Khorramshahr, several samples have been analyzed. Graphical approach has been utilized to recognize different elements of each sample and configure the relation between the spaces. Following that, in order to evaluate the effects of climate and customs of the people on housing patterns, both the local climate and the culture of the Khorramshahr’s citizens have been studied. It is also tried to correlate these findings with the basic elements in Khorramshahr’s housing style prior to war. Along with the investigations conducted in the field study, some residents were interviewed as well. Analyses performed in different parts of this paper reveal that contrary to the dominant impression, Khorramshahr has its own rich housing style which is consistent with customs and harsh and very hot climate of the area. This finding highlights culture and climate as the most effective parameters on formation of the structure of Khorramshahr’s native housing. In addition, Khorramshahr’s native housing has a unique pattern in buildings orientation, exposure of main functional spaces around the yard, mozif (the men’s guest room) and pashooyeh (special place for washing feet before entering the house) which gives an identity to the old urban context. Understanding the type and model of native housing and taking into account the changes in lifestyle happened during the time, adjusts housing to the new and ever growing needs of human and thus, increases public's satisfaction. Considering the specific culture and customs of the local residents which have influenced the housing model, and also variations of people’s lifestyle and needs, this paper provides solutions for design and construction of Khorramshahr’s housing. These solutions are presented in two categories entitled housing design criteria based on culture and climate. Implication of principles and criteria presented here may recover Khorramshahr’s sprit and identity during reconstruction. Hope that studies from this kind have positive influence on designing criteria and enhance the quality of housing construction.