Residential configuration : a case study on transformation of spatial arrangement patterns of dwellings in Tehran

This master’s thesis project consists of a research part and a design part based on research findings. The research is aimed at understanding the transformation of spatial arrangement patterns of single dwellings in Tehran, the Iranian Capital, throughout time and as they have come about through various places in Iran. It is assumed that there have been desirable and longstanding spatial qualities in vernacular and traditional Iranian dwellings that have vanished from the contemporary dwellings. The research and design projects together are to investigate the possibility of reviving some of these qualities in contemporary apartment building types. Spatial organizations of vernacular dwellings are analyzed through the theory of “Space Syntax (Hanson, 1984)& (Hillier, 2007)in search for meaningful patterns. Based on these meaningful patterns, new spatial arrangements are being proposed in terms of building typologies. Each typology is a coherent structured set of building types that clearly have similar spatial arrangements. Building typologies are designed using parametric design methods and techniques; and thus each of them will be an adaptable design outcome that can be tailored for particular contemporary urban contexts and requirements. A parametric design outcome in addition to its variable parameters is considered as a ‘design space’ or a range of possible design alternatives.