An analysis of physical quality indicators of cultural centers with an emphasis on improving social interactions,) case study: Niavaran Cultural Center, Tehran)

Bahrami, Shima; Karimi Azeri, Amir Reza

doi:10.22061/jsaud.2024.11099.2249

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

¹ Guilan university

² associate professor/architecture and art faculty/Dep of architecture /university of guilan/rasht/iran

10.22061/jsaud.2024.11099.2249

Abstract

The growth of the urban population and the physical development of urban settlements have caused the social indicators in urban communities to go down. As an important issue in modern architecture, the issue that has not been addressed so far in Iran is the relationship between the physical quality of cultural spaces and social interactions in these spaces. Modern architecture and urban planning should seek to increase social interactions and human solidarity instead of separation. Today, this issue has become very rare in a large urban society like Tehran. The main purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between physical quality indicators of cultural centers in Tehran and social interaction indicators. Questionnaire method was used to collect information. 256 people participated in this process. 18 physical indicators and 13 social indicators were investigated. Data analysis was done with Pearson''s correlation coefficient and multivariate linear regression. The comparison of the average scores between social indicators indicated that the two indicators of psychological security and identification were ranked first and second with average scores of 4.13 and 4.11, respectively. The lowest average score was assigned to the memorable atmosphere index with an average score of 3.11. The average score of all social indicators was above average. The average score for the main index of social interactions was also estimated to be 3.79 based on the results of the 13 studied indicators. Based on the obtained results, among the physical indicators, two indicators of lighting design and safety and use of natural light were ranked first and second respectively with average scores of 4.18 and 4.16. The lowest average score was assigned to the index of readability and disambiguation with an average score of 3.24. In total, the average score for the physical dimension was 3.80. The results of the correlation coefficient showed that many physical indicators are aligned with social indicators. According to the results of regression analysis, among the physical indicators, six indicators of legibility and disambiguation, invitingness, flexible furniture, presence of spatial diversity, centrism and the level of human activities had the greatest effect on social interactions. The result indicates that modern architecture can increase social interactions between people through the improvement of indicators resulting from research. Improving social interactions will improve the quality of life and human development in urban communities.

Graphical Abstract

Keywords

Main Subjects

Architecture and Urban Design

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An analysis of physical quality indicators of cultural centers with an emphasis on improving social interactions,) case study: Niavaran Cultural Center, Tehran)

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Volume 12, Issue 2 - Serial Number 24March 2025Pages 15-32

Volume 12, Issue 2 - Serial Number 24
March 2025
Pages 15-32