نوع مقاله : مقاله علمی پژوهشی
نویسندگان
1 دانشگاه بجنورد/ دانشکده هنر/ گروه معماری
2 گروه معماری، دانشکده هنر، دانشگاه بجنورد، بجنورد
چکیده
کلیدواژهها
موضوعات
عنوان مقاله [English]
نویسندگان [English]
Research Problem: Contentment (qana’at), as one of the moral virtues emphasized in Islamic teachings, holds a prominent place in both religious culture and the traditional architecture of Iran. It can play a pivotal role in the design of residential spaces. However, in contemporary Iranian architecture, the increasing trend toward consumerism, luxury-seeking, and economic competition has led many buildings to diverge from authentic values. Therefore, assessing the extent to which Contentment (qana’at) is realized as a qualitative criterion in architecture may provide a basis for re-evaluating principles of design, construction, and housing utilization. Nonetheless, qana’at is an abstract concept that requires operationalization into measurable indicators and items.
Research Question: The main research question asks: To what extent is qana’at observed in the residential architecture of Bojnord? Subsidiary questions explore comparative dimensions across spatial and indicator-based scales.
Research Method: The study employs an index-based approach to operationalize ethical concepts and quantitatively analyze data. In the initial phase, using Izutsu’s semantic approach and the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), a structured framework of indicators, criteria, and descriptors was developed, resulting in 50 validated items for assessing qana’at. Data were collected via a structured questionnaire through direct observation of buildings and interviews with residents across 35 residential structures in five homogeneous districts of Bojnord. The sampling method was purposive-stratified, and data were analyzed using statistical measures such as mean, mode, standard deviation, and composite indices.
The Most Important Results and Conclusion: The results revealed that the overall compliance with qana’at indicators in Bojnord’s residential architecture was moderate, with an average score of 0.59 out of 1. High scores were associated with items such as simplicity in expression, legibility of form, avoidance of excessive ornamentation, and use of local materials. Conversely, items related to visual privacy, acoustic insulation, and sustainable energy use received lower scores. Importantly, the level of qana’at did not show a direct correlation with neighborhood economic status; instead, factors such as housing occupancy structure (e.g., extended family living) had greater influence. The study concludes by emphasizing the need for rigorous needs assessments during the design process, user education on sustainable habitation, application of local knowledge and materials, regulatory reform, and policy revision to realize contentment-oriented architecture. Qana’at in architecture is not merely a personal virtue, but one that demands a comprehensive, interdisciplinary, and policy-driven approach across design, implementation, and occupancy stages. Finally, the research emphasizes that achieving qanāʿat in architecture does not solely depend on the designer and the user; rather, a revision of the country's legal, regulatory, and legislative structures is also necessary. Sometimes, existing regulations inadvertently promote consumerism, violations, or designs incompatible with ethical values. Therefore, if contentment is to be established as one of the key indicators of ethical architecture, the development of standardized criteria, the training of designers and supervisors, and the reform of executive procedures must become top priorities for policymakers in the housing and architecture sectors.
کلیدواژهها [English]
)