Contentment and Architecture An Investigation of the Manifestation of the Concept of Contentment in the Pattern of Iranian Traditional Houses (Case Study: Mortaz House)

The concept of contentment derived from the content is one of the names of Allah that in Islamic foundations has been emphasized. The traditional man, relying on these bases, to illustrate the divine names, he has tried in different aspects of his life. Architecture is one of the areas which these names appear in it and from a variety of architectures; the house provides the most possible for these traits to a Muslim. Accordingly, the present study sought to analyze the manifestation of the concept of contentment in the architecture of Iranian traditional houses. The results of this analysis can be used as doctrines for application in contemporary architecture. The research process is carried out as follows which after the terminology of this concept in literature and extracting synonyms and opposites with it these meanings are discussed in various Islamic texts including Quran verses, hadiths, infallible traditions (AS) and their interpretations. On the other hand, in the specialized literature of architecture, this issue is being examined and the issues that have been mentioned in this topic are extracted. Then, by analyzing and categorizing the findings, the principles related to contentment, which are feasible in architecture, are extracted. Due to the lack of specialized resources in relation to the various methods of presentation of the principles obtained, from the point of view of experts and architects also used for this purpose. Finally, after extracting the parameters related to each principle the depiction of the obtained items in the Mortaz House collection is analyzed as a case study. The results of the research showed that the concept of contentment in the architecture of Iranian traditional homes is based on four principles of Avoidance of futility, self-affirmation, moderation, and Rule of no injury.