Interactions at Home: Measurement of the Effect of Eyvan on Strengthening Collective Interactions in the Private Realm of the Traditional Houses in Kashan based on the Notion of Space Syntax

The architecture of traditional Iranian houses has been characterized by a wide variety of features that cover all aspects of life, including social and cultural aspects. Given that the environment influences behavior and shapes behavioral patterns, the relations and organization of space in these houses have been the focus of many studies. Among the characteristics of traditional Iranian houses is an in-between space which is called “Eyvan” in traditional Iranian architecture. The present study investigates the role of Eyvan as an organizing space in creating (shaping) and enhancing the quality of ‘interaction’ in traditional Iranian houses. Space syntax is a framework for examining how space configuration could help to express a certain sociocultural meaning. Social interaction in an environment creates meanings which can be evaluated through the configuration of that environment. Thus, the traditional houses in Kashan, central Iran, which have a variety of Eyvans are good cases for the analysis of interactions as a social behavior. This case study uses mixed-method research combining description, analysis, and inferential arguments. The techniques consist of library research, software simulation using UCL Depth Map, and comparative analysis. The results from software analysis suggest that in traditional houses in Kashan, Eyvan contributes to the enhancement of interaction among the organized spaces surrounding it. Also, it is regarded as an important space to create a hierarchy which distinguishes different spaces in terms of their value and helps to determine the level of privacy according to the overall space organization. In this way, interactions become flexible and vary according to how two spaces might be related. Another major finding concerning the effect of the house plan on its Eyvans and their subsequent effect on their surrounding spaces is that L-shaped houses provide the highest degree of integration. Higher integration would mean a higher amount of interaction taking place in this type of plan..
Introduction
According to environmental psychologists, the physical circumstances of the environment play such a crucial role in human thoughts and behavior that any study of behavior is next to impossible without considering these circumstances. In environmental psychology, behavior is studied through its interaction with the physical, architectural, and symbolic dimensions of the environment (Mortazavi, 2001)see (Gifford, 2007).
This is best manifested in the traditional architecture of older Iranian cities where there seen to be purposeful attempts to create identity for architectural elements. The Sialk region in Kashan belongs to one of the oldest civilizations in the world which dates back to 7000 years ago. Kashan has preserved many of its valuable traditional houses whose architecture is prominent among all cities in Iran.  According to Kashan’s Organization of Cultural Heritage, approximately 1700 historic monuments have been so far identified in this city. Thus, the buildings examined in the present study have appealing characteristics which make them interesting for analysis.
Research Hypotheses and Questions: with the components and spaces organized, a residential space could establish efficient connections among the inhabitants, which may result in interaction among individuals in this physical context.
The Research Questions are as Following: 1) What is the effect of the in-between space (eyvan) on social interaction in the private realm of traditional houses in Kashan? 2) How can we use space syntax to examine the intensity of activities caused by the eyvan?
Research Method: The main aim of space syntax is to seek out approaches to the description of configured spaces. Such description should be capable of discovering the underlying social logic of space and act as a basis for secondary theories to explain social and cultural events (Groat and Wang, 2013).
 
Literature Review
In Iran, Abbaszadegan (2002) and Memariyan (2002) were the first researchers to make use of the framework of space syntax. Afterwards, this framework was applied to the study of urban fabric in Iran(Yazdanfar et al., 2008)(Rismanchiyan and Bell, 2011). In the field of architecture, Kamalipoor et al. (2012) classified the formal composition of vernacular architecture in Kerman, Iran, and studied space configuration in terms of the divisions of guest-meeting spaces in traditional houses in this city. However, there is still a gap in the application of this framework to architecture, particularly with an emphasis on environmental psychology(Alitajer and Molavi Nojoumi, 2016).
 
Context of Study
The present study deals with traditional houses in the city of Kashan. The main reason for selecting this city is that many of its historic houses make use of the in-between space of eyvan which is the topic of our study.
In this section, based on the numerical results as well as the visibility graph produced by UCL Depth Map, the parameters of connectivity, integration, and depth will be examined for eyvans in the traditional houses in Kashan.
For the analysis of the effect of eyvan on its surrounding spaces and on the interaction taking place in the house, we made a number of hypothetical changes to the plans and examined the produced plans using software simulation. These changes are as following:
1) Closing the eyvan on all sides;
2) Closing the eyvan on three sides and leaving it open only on the courtyard side;
3) Closing the eyvan only on the courtyard side and leaving the other sides open;
4) Eliminating the wall between the hall (talar) and the eyvan in a way that a single, unified space is created.
In addition to the above hypothetical plans, the original plans of the houses were also analyzed in order to make comparisons and arrive at conclusions concerning the effect of the changes. To obtain a more comprehensible classification of the data, we also divided the houses according to their formal composition:
U-shaped: Banikazemi House, Hosseini House
L-Shaped: Pahlavanzadeh House, Haj-ghorban House
Two opposing sections: Kheiriyeh House, Abrishami House, Saleh House
Two courtyards (interior and exterior yards): Hashemiyan House, Mahinsara-ye Raheb House
Interestingly, in our analyses, the obtained spectrum was quite solid and harmonious in the original plans while it was not so in cases where hypthetical physical changes had been affected in the plans.
 
Conclusion
Iranian traditional houses were a place for people to learn and practice lifestyle habits and behaviors, thereby fulfilling as many of the needs of the users as possible. The spatial organization of these buildings appropriately guided users according to what activity they intended to perform. For this reason, any change to their physical structure would disrupt the organization and negatively affect the connectivity between spaces
As a result of changes 1, 2, and 3 to the eyvan and the subsequent decrease in connectivity, the affectability of spaces has been reduced, which has also reduced the amount of interaction. The excessive rise in connectivity brought about by change 4 has increased integration and penetrability, which has eliminated boundaries and made compatible interaction among family members impossible.
Making changes to the eyvan would disrupt this hierarchical structure.
This hierarchy engenders boundaries which contribute to a spatial organization that is flexible enough to accommodate various types of interaction.
Our numerical data and classification of formal compositions indicate that the level of connectivity and integration is highest in L-shaped plans. This can be explained by the adjacency of spaces, existence of a coherent and continuous structure, and strong connection among spaces in this type of plan.