Architecture, Matter and Mediation in the Middle East P a M E L a K a R I M I

This article presents a series of case studies that capture aspects of how architecture may be informed and mediated by material things. Due to the historical burden of the architectural canon, material culture has not always merged easily into studies of Middle Eastern architecture. But instances are numerous in which buildings have been appraised vis-à-vis material culture. In this article, I foreground the place of material culture in the historiography of Iranian architecture, in particular. The range of objects that function as material mediators is vast, but I have limited the scope of my investigation in three ways. First, I look at objects that involve aesthetic design considerations, such as furnishings, decorative items, and applied imagery. Second, I look at three-dimensional objects whose functional capacity is more significant than their aesthetic value, such as wall claddings. Third, I look at materials that are conceived as immaterial due to their apparent indiscernibility in everyday life, such as pollution (caused by gasoline-burning engines) and dust (a pervasive reality in the desert). While materials like oil and dust might escape our attention, they play an important role in granting a unique identity to the built environment of the Middle East. Finally, I highlight the importance of technology and the emergence of immaterial, virtual pathways that mediate between people and their built environments.