Re-imaging the City [electronic resource] : A New Conceptualisation of the Urban Logic of the "Islamic city" /
Falahat, Somaiyeh.author.
Somaiyeh Falahat investigates the spatial and morphological logic of pre-modern Middle Eastern and North African cities, so-called "Islamic cities". She bases her argument on the fact that the city, and consequently its form and structure, similar to other human products, have deep roots in the thought-structure of the people. Thus, to know such places properly, one has to refer to this life-world and use it as a structure to observe the city. This approach aims at opening new levels of understanding of the city by grasping indigenous concepts and structures; it puts forward claims for the possibility of a new method of analysis. The author studies the historic city of Isfahan as the case study and suggests that an indigenous term, Hezar-Too, can explain the complexity of the city, which has been interpreted as labyrinthine and maze-like, accounting for the essence of the city and its form in an appropriate way. Looking at the city from this new point of view can help in observing it in its context and subsequently in discovering its real character.     Contents The Model of "Islamic City"  The Idea of Labyrinth Discovering the City Towards a New Terminology   Target Groups Researchers and students in the fields of architecture and history of urban development particularly with a focus on the Middle Eastern-North African cities Architects, historian and planner of urban development     About the Author Somaiyeh Falahat is a senior researcher and lecturer based at Technische Universität Berlin.
Description based upon print version of record.
Acknowledgements; Contents; Introduction; 1 The Model of 'Islamic City'; 1.1 Emergence and Reproduction of Clichés; 1.1.1 First Phase; 1.1.2 Second phase; 1.1.3 Third Phase; 1.1.4 Demand for New Perspectives; 1.2 Imagined Morphology of 'Islamic City'; 1.2.1 Physical Layout of the City; 1.2.2 Iranian Cities; 1.2.3 Exclusive Attributions; 1.3 Labyrinthinity of 'Islamic Cities'; 1.3.1 Labyrinth and Urban Form; 1.3.2 Labyrinth and Iranian Cities; 1.3.3 'Islamic Cities' through Eyes of Travellers; 1.4 Necessity of New Conceptualisations; 2 The Idea of Labyrinth
2.1 The Labyrinth in the Pre-modern World2.1.1 The Prehistory; 2.1.2 The Classic Era; 2.1.3 The Christian Age; 2.1.4 After the Renaissance; 2.2 The Labyrinth in the Modern World; 2.2.1 First Approach: Labyrinth as a Form; 2.2.2 Second Approach: Labyrinth as a Metaphor; 2.3 The Labyrinth: Manifestations and Interpretations; 2.3.1 Patterns of the Labyrinth; 2.3.2 Interpretation; 2.4 Labyrinth and Labyrinthine; 3 Discovering the City; 3.1 Isfahan by Safavids (17th-18th); 3.2 City Analysis Method; 3.2.1 Particularity of Safavid Isfahan; 3.2.2 Safavid Isfahan in Maps; 3.3 Isfahan Seen from Above
3.3.1 Geometric-Form Layers of the City3.3.2 Historical Evolution; 3.3.3 Mega-Nizam and Nizams of the City; 3.3.4 Simultaneous Presence of Nizams; 3.4 Isfahan Perceived from Inside; 3.4.1 Why this Route?; 3.4.2 The Journey; 3.4.3 Revealing but Hiding; 4 Towards a New Terminology; 4.1 'Islamic City' and the Concept of Labyrinth; 4.1.1 Isfahan: a Labyrinth-like City?; 4.1.2 Isfahan: a Labyrinthine City?; 4.1.3 Is an 'Islamic City' Labyrinth-like or Labyrinthine?; 4.2 Complexity in the City; 4.3 Towards a New Terminology; 4.3.1 The term 'Hezar-Too'; 4.3.2 Different Types of Hezar-Too
4.4 Isfahan, the City of Hezar-Too-sBibliography
Includes bibliographies.
Somaiyeh Falahat investigates the spatial and morphological logic of pre-modern Middle Eastern and North African cities, so-called "Islamic cities". She bases her argument on the fact that the city, and consequently its form and structure, similar to other human products, have deep roots in the thought-structure of the people. Thus, to know such places properly, one has to refer to this life-world and use it as a structure to observe the city. This approach aims at opening new levels of understanding of the city by grasping indigenous concepts and structures; it puts forward claims for the possibility of a new method of analysis. The author studies the historic city of Isfahan as the case study and suggests that an indigenous term, Hezar-Too, can explain the complexity of the city, which has been interpreted as labyrinthine and maze-like, accounting for the essence of the city and its form in an appropriate way. Looking at the city from this new point of view can help in observing it in its context and subsequently in discovering its real character.     Contents The Model of "Islamic City"  The Idea of Labyrinth Discovering the City Towards a New Terminology   Target Groups Researchers and students in the fields of architecture and history of urban development particularly with a focus on the Middle Eastern-North African cities Architects, historian and planner of urban development     About the Author Somaiyeh Falahat is a senior researcher and lecturer based at Technische Universität Berlin.
Architecture.
Urban planning.
City planning.
Architecture, general.
Architectural History and Theory.
Urbanism.