Investigating the Effective Physical Factors on Promoting Social Interactions in Cultural Complexes

The success of urban spaces is proportional to the extent in which that space is being used and to human presence. In fact, architecture and urban planning should attempt to enhance social interactions and human solidarity rather than differentiation and separation. However, today what is witnessed in most of urban spaces is reduction of relationships and social participation of those residing in these spaces. On the other side, in recent decades, with the increasing progress of technology most of traditional patterns have been changed, and these changes have altered culture and life appearance in Iranian community. What is observed in today’s societies is the reduction in level of people’s social interactions. Regarding the role and function of cultural complexes as a space for improving social interactions, the physical structure of cultural environments should play a significant role in boosting people’s social interactions. The purpose of this research is to identify social interactions and effective physical components affecting promotion of social interactions among people in cultural complexes which provide an opportunity for individuals to take a relief from daily tensions, to gather together and interact. The methodology used in this research is descriptive and analytical, exploiting library studies in order to achieve the desired results. Finally, after studying various theories and effective physical components in promotion of social interaction in public urban spaces such as cultural complexes, appropriate architectural strategies have been provided. The results of this research indicate that six components of stagnation, aggregation, integrity, vitality, spatial determination and flexibility are among most important physical factors affecting the promotion of social interaction in cultural complexes