Typology of Historical Houses in the Old Part of Ardabil

The present study intends to introduce the historical houses in Ardabil and analyze the typology, cultural, and social attitudes towards their construction. The research method is historical-analytical and data collection is based on library and field studies. The present study seeks to answer the following questions: How many types are the houses? What features have influenced the overall structure of the houses in this area? The results of the research on the classification of historical houses are as follows: The characteristics of the plan and shape of the courtyard, the orientation of the building and the main hall, the characteristics of the house entrances and how to enter different parts of the building, the importance of open parts and light ports and their size ratio, materials and structures they used. Typologically, they are divided into four categories: Qajar period with an introverted form, The first type of typology: houses with a cross-shaped courtyard design with a compact and nested texture, the second type: houses with porch design, with proportionality of a Large opening, the third type: multi-part houses with several courtyards with main view. Fourth type: In the period of first Pahlavi with form of extroversion, buildings whose space density is on one side above the level of the courtyard; emphasizing the importance of the exterior of the building. The results of this study also show that cultural and social patterns such as; paying attention to the principle of privacy in different parts of the building, the separation of building spaces on a large scale into public, private and crew space, and on a small scale, with lavish or simple decorations, shows the social ranking of homeowners. In the houses of the Pahlavi period, there were major changes in cultural and social patterns. Imitation of the West in cases such as the removal of the inner courtyard and the use of interior stairs can be clearly seen of the house.
Keywords: Ardabil, Historical Houses, Qajar Period, First Pahlavi Period, Typology of Houses.
 
Introduction
Houses are generally of special importance in the study of the historical developments of architecture and urban context due to their high frequency. In addition to their historical value, these buildings reflect the lifestyle of the people, the social and cultural perspective, as well as the attention to the region’s climate on their construction. The ancient texture of Ardabil, considering its several hundred years of history in the field of Islamic urban planning, is one of the most important cases in this field. One of the main elements of the old texture of this city are historical houses, which unfortunately few of them remain in this city and all of them belong to the later centuries and generally include the Qajar and Pahlavi periods. In this study, in order to protect the architectural identity of Ardabil, the typology of different types of houses and their physical and decorative features have been considered and to achieve this goal, attempted to identify the characteristics of historical houses in the form of physical and decorative typology. Limited buildings from the Pahlavi period remain, mostly including educational and government buildings. This may be due to the politics of the first Pahlavi period, in which government buildings were built throughout the country with a more durable quality than houses. Regarding the traditional houses of this city, it should be said that some of these buildings have already been repaired and renovated, and by changing their use, total destruction has been prevented, and the rest of the buildings have either been destroyed or are being demolished.  Studies show that limited studies have been done on these houses and there is no comprehensive knowledge about them, while with proper planning and restoration of such buildings, we can see their growth and development, especially in the field of tourism. It was cultural.
Objectives and necessity of research: One of the main elements left from the ancient fabric of Ardabil is historical houses. Due to the way of life and the growth of urbanization in recent years, many of these buildings have been destroyed or are in danger of being destroyed. Due to this and in order to protect the architectural identity of the city, the introduction and typology of historical houses in Ardabil and the physical elements and cultural and social attitudes on their construction is necessary and to achieve this goal, efforts have been made. Recognition of the characteristics of the historical houses of the city should be done in the form of physical and decorative typology.
Research Questions: The questions of this research are as follows: 1-How many types are the houses? 2- What features have influenced the overall structure of the houses in this area
 
Discuss
The typology of Ardabil houses is based on geographical, physical factors and cultural and social patterns. The geographical direction of the building is southeast- northwest, it means the houses are in contrary to the main prevailing wind of the city. Also, the angle of the main hall is examined from 20 houses. The construction of porches in houses was common until the end of the Qajar period. In the houses of the early Qajar period, this space was a door with a medium or small scale, usually with two doors with two percussions. In the late Qajar period, by the end of the Pahlavi period, the entrances head of houses became simple. This element is very important in the surveyed houses, as most of the surveyed houses have stairs both inside and outside the house; In the buildings of the Pahlavi period, stairs were built at the direct entrance to the ground floor and the connection to the upper floor is from the same middle part of the building. Due to the climatic characteristics of Ardabil city, the ratio of opening levels in the main facades, except in some houses, has not been more than 50%, and most of the surveyed houses are between 25% and 40%. Brickwork decorations in the form of geometric knots, masonry with plaster, sash windows, paintings in various designs of plant, human, animal, mirror work were the dominant decorations. Cultural and social patterns such as; The principle of privacy in homes is well observed. In the Pahlavi period, the inner and outer domains were combined and after that the houses moved away from the principle of privacy (Mohammad Hosseini et al., 1398: 40). In terms of social ranking, aristocratic houses usually have several parts in the form of exterior and interior space and service space. On a small scale, the middle and ordinary class houses were simple interior walls with no decoration, but in the aristocratic houses there were elaborate decorations (Ibid., 1398: 41 and 40).
 
Conclusion
Typologically, they are divided into four categories: Qajar period with an introverted form, The first type of typology: houses with a cross-shaped courtyard design with a compact and nested texture, the second type: houses with porch design, with proportionality of a Large opening, the third type: multi-part houses with several courtyards with main view. Fourth type: In the period of first Pahlavi with form of extroversion, buildings whose space density is on one side above the level of the courtyard; emphasizing the importance of the exterior of the building. The results of this study also show that cultural and social patterns such as; paying attention to the principle of privacy in different parts of the building, the separation of building spaces on a large scale into public, private and crew space, and on a small scale, with lavish or simple decorations, shows the social ranking of homeowners. In the houses of the Pahlavi period, there were major changes in cultural and social patterns. Imitation of the West in cases such as the removal of the inner courtyard and the use of interior stairs can be clearly seen of the house.