A Comparative Study of the Concept of "Privacy" in the House of Islamic Countries in the Middle East (Case Study: Houses of Isfahan, Sanaa, Damascus)

One of the most important dimensions in the design of Islamic buildings is the creation of privacy. The word ‘privacy’ means ‘environment’, referring to a place where its support and protecting is obligatory and as a whole, it is a barrier to avoid others’ assault. It is of utmost importance in traditional houses especially in Islamic countries the houses separate the family privacy from the strangers and guests. In fact, this privacy separation is one of the hidden dimensions of Islamic houses were its expression and appearance in architecture varies depending on the geographical, cultural and climatic contexts. The stated question is that, how will the ‘privacy’ concepts find various expressions and appearances in different lands depending on different cultures and locations? This is an experimental and descriptive study and aim to study the ways of matching the concept of privacy with the local models of houses. The study has selected houses from three Islamic cities and investigates the behavioral and residential models in these three different houses and to study the concept of privacy as well to investigate the appearance of its various expressions in the models of special houses.  On the basis of study hypothesis, there has been a relationship between the way of the privacy appearance in Islamic houses and the local models. By comparing the results, and analyzing the hypothesis, the result shows that along with effective theories in the creation of privacies, the location too has an important role on the appearance of the privacy concept. Thus, the study results can be the start in the recreation of privacy concept in the modern Islamic houses with regard to the location.