چكيده لاتين :
Centralizing ethics in sustainability has led to an evolutionary process towards ethical
approach as a holistic approach of sustainable development. This approach, deep in
concept, has evolved sustainability and endures the most fundamental relations of human
and environment. The most recent definition of ethical sustainability, describes this
approach as a complex of human relations, including human relation with contemporaries,
human relation with nature and human relation with future generation. Urban spaces,
and particularly the plazas, are the grounds of social interactions which present living
dynamism through the presence and activity of citizens. This space has been considered
as a highly important urban landmark among citizens, and it could be said that residents
of a city are usually aware of different city zonings on the basis of their city plazas. What
people expect of a plaza is a public space with high diversity and eventful environment
which allows the possibility of social interactions. With profound changes occurring
in all aspects of current era, most of urban plazas have been affected by market forces.
As the result, proper principles have not been applied in the formation of these spaces,
which has led to a sharp reduction in the space efficiency and the presence and vitality of
people in current urban areas. Therefore, these plazas would not be capable of creating
human relationships as the main theme of ethical sustainable architecture. In order to
analyze sustainable relations in the plazas of Iranian cities, it is necessary to compare
a traditional case study of the Iranian urban plaza with a modern, more contemporary
designed plaza of this land, on the basis of ethical sustainability. The aim of this research
is to illustrate the triple sustainable relations, in the traditional, historical plaza of Naghsh
Jahan in Isfahan, and the contemporary designed plaza of Imam Hossein in Tehran,
based comparative analysis. The selected methodology of this research is comparative
method. A comparative study is a comprehensive, multidimensional, and systematic
process that seeks out differences and similarities in research. This kind of research will take generic patterns from the research environment and by emphasizing it on the differences
between objects of research context, will help to seek a better understanding towards the
main subject. In this comparative study, both quantitative and qualitative techniques have
been used, yet, qualitative approach is dominant, in which the researcher studies objects
in their natural situations and tries to conceptualize or interpret phenomena in terms of the
meaning that people give them. In fact this research emphasizes on the social nature of the
facts and the importance of human values and relationships with nature, contemporaries and
future generations in the research process.
In this research, common patterns of both plazas are driven out of the case studies and their
discrepancy reveals the studied comparison in three steps. Related literature is reviewed in
the first step, followed by detailed examination of Hanover Principles, as the first established
sustainability principles which states ethics as one its main roots, on the basis of sustainable
relations. In this step, Hanover Principles are categorized by their capability in realizing
each of the trial sustainable relations. Finally, based on their related Hanover Principles,
each ethical relation is analyzed separately in the case studies and the findings are compared
through a visual diagram. This comparative analysis reveals higher attention on ethical
sustainable priorities in the historical plaza of Naghsh Jahan in compare with the comparative
plaza of Imam Hosein. Results show that in Imam Hussein Plaza, human relation with nature
has been revealed only through plantation of trees in the margin of main plaza. However, in
the Isfahan Plaza, the use of semi-open spaces, direct visual connection between the plaza
and the sky, besides Suitable orientation, in order to benefit most from sunlight and wind,
has played significant role in creating human-natured connections. Human relation with
contemporaries in the Naqshe Jahan plaza has been considered in the edges of the plaza,
which creates the confinement and separation between the main part of the plaza and the
surrounding urban spaces. The use of natural elements in the space and the placement of
stores around plaza, has offered comfort for the people who are enjoying the inner core of
the plaza. This is while in Imam Hossein plaza, this relation has only been reached through
the benches, which are designed and located randomly on the hard flooring of plaza’s inner
core. Research results show that considering the use of local materials, use of water and
plants in plaza’s inner core as natural resources, locating the functions around the field in
accordance to natural lighting and reachability, besides field formation design in accordance
to the orientation of sun and the dominant wind, and finally an adjustable design of the plaza
for multi-purpose activities, are the priorities which can strongly affect human relationship
with future generations. On this basis, it has been concluded in this research that this human
relation is completely neglected in the plaza of Imam Hossein.
