Search results

Sustainability is one of the major factors in the way of creating new structures in historical contexts. The economic principle plays a very significant role in sustainability besides the environmental and social components. Tabriz Historic Bazaar that has been inscribed on the World Heritage list has witnessed various developments in its surrounding area over recent years. The purpose of this study is to analyze the infill structure indicators in this region in terms of economic sustainability.

First, based on related literature reviews and approaches, the indicators that should be considered in the creation of infill structures in historical contexts were collected. Later, by considering the vicinity zone of Tabriz Historic Bazaar, the effect of each indicator on the economic sustainability of the building was gathered by means of AHP questionnaires and in-person interviews with experts and analyzed by the Expert Choice software.

The findings present a guideline which indicates that the type of materials being used is the most important factor in order to create an economically sustainable infill structure in this setting. Accordance with the Climate of the region ranks second place and the Cultural land-use as the Suitable land use for this site goes for the third. The mentioned guideline includes 25 indicators and can help designers with a clear path.

This paper clarifies the order of indicators' importance for enhancing the design and consequently function of infill structures, being built in this historic context, with the aim of economic sustainability. The prioritization of indicators in this research depends mainly on their relevance to the conditions of the study area, but the methodology can be used helpfully in similar cases.

This study investigated the emerging progressive use of ornamental art in the landscape architecture of Kazakhstan and determined the influence of symbolism on the quality of new urban environments. The study analysed the existing recreational facilities in Kazakhstan in order to establish their symbolic meaning, the level of utilisation of symbolic ornaments, and the socio-economic factors that influence the design structure of landscape elements. The results revealed that symbolic meanings of the ornaments stem from historic, legal and cultural traditions of different ethnic groups in Kazakhstan. Therefore, the form depends on not only the topography of the area, but also the traditional symbolism and numerology. This study categorised the studied places according to their size: large gardens, small squares and small landscape forms. Taking into account the natural and climatic features of Kazakhstan, small landscape forms acquire the quality of arid zone gardens. However, lack of identity and consistency appears to be a major problem in design of larger scale landscapes. This article posits that coordination between socio-economic and historical-cultural factors will open new creative opportunities for the development of an original landscape architecture in Kazakhstan, yet balance between environmental construction and contextually meaningful urban planning will still be needed.