Vahideh Rahimi mehr, Heshmatollah Motedayen, Mehrzad Mehrbani
Historical and beneficial buildings in Iran are honorable parts of Iranian architecture and also an expressive language of the rich culture dominated in Iran. One kind of these buildings are traditional baths. Baths are amongst the most beautiful, public, technical and various environments. Unfortunately, however, its social and cultural aspects have been more considered in books and articles than its hygiene –Therapy ones, and the relationship between the body of the building and human has been focused less; hence the aim of this study referring to Iranian traditional medicine texts is to discuss the relationship between elements and organs of the bath and human’s health and the formation of the bath due to four elements (water, wind, earth and fire), temperaments and humors (melancholia, bile, phlegm and blood). The main purpose of the study is to analyze the influence of shape, structure and elements of traditional baths from human and the influential designing factors of these kinds of baths on human. On the base of the theory discussed in this article, designing baths has been on the foundation of traditional medicine, and the elements and organs of the bath used to be designed to influence on human’s temperament and soul in order to keep his health and cure him. The research, with this theory that the hierarchy system in bath follows specific medical instructions, goes on to study this assumption expresses that architecture in traditional baths has been formed regarding to two medical branches, physical and spiritual, that beside matching with the four elements and temperaments, has been designed to make balance between human’s humor and spirit, and also it shows the relationship between architects and physicians. This study aims to examine the theory on the basis of descriptive and analytical method, and to explain the quality of architecture by considering the human hygiene and certifying that architecture is human’s home and his existence survival. The result of the study focuses on this point that there is a mutual relationship between the shape, structure and elements of human and those of traditional baths that the purpose of the relationship is to create a suitable environment with human nature for your body, soul and psyche and it can be observed in studying the architecture of traditional baths and referring to the mentioned points in Iranian traditional medicine texts.
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