A Study on Architectural Characteristics of Traditional Iranian Ordinary Houses in Mashhad, Iran

In many Iranian cities including ‎‎Mashhad‎, the capital of ‎‎‎‎Razavi ‎Khorasan Province‏‎, ‎ordinary samples of domestic architecture ‎on a ‎‎‏small scale is not ‎‎‎considered as ‎heritage. ‎While the ‎principals of house ‎formation are ‎‎respected in all ‎‎traditional Iranian ‎‎‎‎houses‎; ‎from moderate ‎to great ones. During the past decade, Mashhad has lost its identity, ‎and has become a modern city. Identifying it as the capital of the ‎Islamic Culture in 2017 by ISESCO and consequently looking for new ‎developments and transfiguration caused to demolish a large ‎number ‎of ‎‎traditional modest habitation. ‎For this ‎reason, the present paper aims to ‎introduce ‎the three ‎undiscovered houses with the ‎historical and ‎monumental values located in the ‎oldest ‎neighborhoods of Mashhad ‎which have been neglected in the cultural ‎heritage field. The ‎preliminary phase of this approach will be a measured survey to ‎identify the significant characteristics ‎of ‎selected dwellings and ‎understand the challenges through focusing on building ‎form, ‎orientation, ‎‎room function, space proportion and ornamental elements’ ‎details. A comparison between the ‎‎case studies and the wealthy ‎domestically buildings ‎presents that a house belongs to inhabitants ‎‎with an average income could introduce the same accurate, regular, ‎harmonic and ‎proportionate ‎design which can be found in the great ‎mansions. It reveals that an ordinary traditional house can ‎be regarded ‎as valuable construction not only for its historical characteristics but ‎also ‎for its ‎aesthetical and architectural features that could avoid further ‎destructions in the future.