Maremat & Me'mari-e Iran
Art University of Isfahan
1- Art University of Iran , kiani@art.ac.ir
2- Art University of Iran
2- Art University of Iran
Abstract: (13 Views)
For various reasons, in the modern world, the symbolic language of traditional architecture—especially traditional Iranian architecture—has been forgotten, and the connection between humans and architectural works has been severed. Traditional buildings have been reduced to mere technique and function, and the symbolic dimension of architecture is no longer read. This study, drawing upon a phenomenological perspective, returns to origins and first principles to reread the symbolic text of Iranian architecture. In this rereading, with the help of the methodology of Roman Ingarden, Polish philosopher who worked in aesthetics and phenomenology, we examine architecture as a multi-layered text whose meaning is realized solely through the interaction between the audience and the work. In Ingarden’s theory, every work of art is a multi-layered text that contains systems of meaning, none superior to another. To investigate this issue, the Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque in Isfahan has been selected as a case study: a building that is not only an aesthetically valuable work of the Safavid era, but also, in a phenomenological reading, constitutes a symbolic text in which its material, form, color, light, and ornamentation are organized within a network of semantic layers. To establish the background of the subject, reference is made to the link between architecture and symbols in ancient Iran and the post‑Sasanian period—a result of cultural and artistic continuity across the Iranian land—from Zoroastrian fire temples and Persian gardens to the dome and geometric patterns of post‑Sasanian architecture. However, the primary aim of the research is to reread the volumetric and symbolic layers of the Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque from a phenomenological standpoint, in order to show how the contemporary audience’s connection with the symbolic language of Iranian architecture can be re‑established. Finally, after formal, geometric, and physical rereadings, it is concluded that these buildings were never mere physical bodies, and that meaningful connections existed between the intellectual systems of Iranians and the buildings constructed in Iran. It should be noted that the aim of the article is by no means to overlook the technical and engineering significance of the Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque; rather, it seeks to also highlight the importance of the building’s symbolic and semantic layer and to establish a dialogue between the contemporary audience and the building.
Article number: 198
Keywords: Phenomenology, Roman Ingarden, Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque, Persian Architecture, Safavid Architecture
Type of Study: Research original/ Regular Article |
Subject:
معماري و شهرسازي
Send email to the article author
| Rights and permissions | |
 |
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. |