The Wisdom of Mediterranean Traditional Architecture Versus Contemporary Architecture – The Energy Challenge~!2009-08-20~!2009-09-16~!2010-03-30~!

Climate-Responsive Architecture for the Residential Houses of Homs: A Comparison of Traditional and Contemporary Houses

Given that high energy consumption in residential buildings is one of the main problems in Syria, applying criteria for a climate-responsive building design is one of the most important ways to reduce energy consumption. This article seeks to study and compare the historical and contemporary residential buildings of the city of Homs and extract the positive and negative aspects of each. The mai...

The Opacity of Glass Rethinking Transparency in Contemporary Architecture

In this paper, an exchange of letters between the philosopher Jacques Derrida and architect Peter Eisenman is used as a catalyst to discuss the material qualities of glass and its relationship with the concept of transparency in architecture. In his criticism of an architecture devoid of human qualities, Derrida uses glass, defined through Walter Benjamin’s writings, as a hard and cold material...

The Technology of Qomi-poosh Vaults in Iranian Traditional Architecture

Bioclimatic values in the rehabilitation of Traditional Mediterranean Architecture

The traditional architecture we find in the Mediterranean basin continues to be of an extraordinary richness. It is the product and the reflection of societies accustomed to intense interchange, and it has taken form slowly precisely thanks to these interchanges. It is however important to point out immediately that it is a disappearing architectural form, because it was produced on the basis o...

Globalization Issues Regarding Contemporary Architecture of Iran

The term Globalization undoubtedly has affected all parts of humanity life in current century. Globalization as a comprehensive phenomenon has influenced economical, political, social and cultural aspects of our societies. Contemporary architecture as a multidimensional category is depended on various factors and needs to be pursued in different fields, in order to reach to a perfect comprehend...