Sense of Place in the Mosques Based on a Comparative Study of the Shape and Place of Making Fakhr-O-Madin in Historical Mosques

Fakhr-Ö-Madin were elements of native architecture of Iran that have a special place in different types of Iranian architecture. This element as a technique in material arrangement has been used in architecture since the past to date; Architects used this technique to create shadow and bright for visual beauty, and to absorb the looking at the facade. In the initial view, the Fakhr-Ö-Madin is merely a decorative element, but the main issue of the present research is that the Fakhr-Ö-Madin beside the decorations has created ways to create a sense of place in Iranian-Islamic monuments? To answer this question, it is needed to know the changes of this element through the time and place; to clarify the subject, the mosque was chosen as the case study. The main reasons for this choice is that mosques have constructed in different periods form the early Islam era up to now, and the Fakhr-Ö-Madin has been used lesser in other types of architecture. The present study is an application Comparative research and the required information has been collected from library references and field surveys. The results show that the Fakhr o Madin as an architectural element is essentially an application element. The main characteristics of the Fakhr-Ö-Madin which encouraged the architects to use it are security, privacy, thermal comfort and ventilation, beauty, visual interaction and lighting. In different historical periods, along with the political and belief changes the Fakhr-Ö-Madin has changed too. However, this element has been effective in various historical intervals in creating a sense of place, sensory and emotional experiences and mental images in individuals.
Keywords: Fakhr-O-Madin, Mosques of Architecture, Sense of Place in the Mosques, Iranian-Islamic of Architecture.
Introduction
One of the architectural aspects that have been important in recent years is the location, location creation, and sense of place in the architectural space; Understanding these aspects can pave the way for upgrading and enforcing the continuity of native and historical architectural elements in contemporary architecture. This research seeks to answer the question of why the element is used by architects according to the concepts and causes of the formation of a sense of place, considering the function, the shape and place of its construction in historical mosques .It also seeks to answer these questions: What were the different aspects of Fakhr-Ö-Madin function in the architecture of Iranian mosques? And the second question: what role did the element have in the creation of a sense of place? For the hypothesis of the first question, it can be said: Considering the rich history and beliefs of the Iranian people, this architectural element has rational reasons for its use in buildings and it is involved in creating an experience of more spiritual, emotional and spatial perception. In fact, by creating visual interaction, this wall plays a significant role. Second question hypothesis: It seemed that the various aspects of the function and beauty of this element could be effective to creating a sense of place. In this study, considering the importance of the mosque from ancient times and the use of Fakhr-Ö-Madin in the architecture of the mosques, selected case examples are of important mosques and indicators of each historical period. After the selection, the study of the samples and the study of the characteristics and causes of the formation of each of the mosques’ favors and mosques were made comparatively. This stage consisted of three stages of description, interpretation and comparative comparisons based on obtained characteristics; due to the lack of authentic documents on the originality of this element in selected mosques, the study was based on the form and method of arrangement and location, and due to the repairs done in In recent years, in the absence of the date and time of repairs, the shape and superiority of the elements of this element in relation to each other in the mosques were examined, and the approaches to making Fakhr-Ö-Madin and the factors creating a sense of place using the Panther’s model, the characteristics of sense of place are classified into three parts: physical, operational, and semantic.
 
Researchs
In the corporal part of the structure, the wall was examined from the geometry and visual beauty materials. In the mosques of Na’in, Ardestan and Yazd mosque, the materials used were pottery, which in other cases changed to brick and in Sheikh Lotfollah mosque, tile was used to construct this wall. The geometry of this wall is the same and consists of regular shapes and geometric shapes. In the case of visual aesthetics, the specimens also have the same characteristics. In the activity component, three indicators of environmental comfort, security and protection and visual interaction were investigated. The first feature that includes air passage, ventilation and light port is the same in all mosque samples and only in the mosque of Jundi Shapur University this mark which was in the construction of Fakhr-Ö-Madin have not been noticed. In examining the creation of security and protection in the two mosques of Na’in and Yazd, they used of the feature of Fakhr-Ö-Madin mosque which is located in the porch of the Jame mosque in Na’in and in the upper parts of the head of the Jame Mosque’s facade in Yazd. In the remaining cases, this index has not been considered. In the section on creating visual interaction of Ardestan, Varamin, Yazd, Sheikh Lotfollah and Aqa Bozorg Mosque, they used of this Fakhr-Ö-Madin’s feature. In the semantic section, in confidentiality debate, only it been dealt with only in the Agha Bozorg mosque and it has been used to create the necessary privacy and confidentiality in the chambers of the religious scholars. In the study of the second feature, all the mosques surveyed had this attribute and were merely insignificant just in the mosque of Jundishapur University.
 
Conclusion
Considering the study of the existing features to create a sense of place in the element of Fakhr-Ö-Madin in mosques of various historical periods, the changes in this element indicate the evolution of this phenomenon. According to the studies, the Yazd Mosque and the Agha Bozorg mosque are the most successful examples in creating a sense of place using the Fakhr-Ö-Madin element; and then the Naiin Mosque of Ardestan Varamin and Sheikh Lotfollah are in the next ranks respectively.Al-Ghadir Mosque in the contemporary era is one of the examples that will be devoted to restoring and reviving the meaning of Fakhr-Ö-Madin is in the next rank; also the mosque of Jundishapur University belonging to the Pahlavi era, which is noticed merely in the beauty of Fakhr-Ö-Madin is in the last. Case examples are in the best performance and application of Fakhr-Ö-Madin to the most superficial one. According to the conducted investigations and the findings, in addition to the beauty of the building and the decorative function, Fakhr-Ö-Madin can beconsidered as an element influencing the creation of a sense of place, stimulating the emotions and feelings of individuals; which Its related characteristics are clearly more obvious over time and developments.