Civil Engineering and Architecture Vol. 5(3), pp. 89 - 93
DOI: 10.13189/cea.2017.050303
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Designing Meaningful Landscapes through Systematic Discovery of Character of Place

Rasoul Rafat ^1,*, Sara Mirhadi ^2
1 Department of Landscape Architecture, College of Fine Arts, University of Tehran, Iran
² School of Art, Architecture and Design, University of South Australia, Australia

ABSTRACT

Place is a space which takes meanings due to human activities. Perceptions and memories contribute to shape such meanings and especially distinguished character. Character of place as the general atmosphere of the place can increase place attachment which is defined as an emotional bond between place and people and causes vitality, involvement, safety and sense of responsibility. Thus, a space can be turned into a place of with a higher quality by reviving its character. Such places can become a "Landscape". This investigation aims to explore the factors which help to find character of the place. To achieve this purpose, it reviews the theories of place and landscape. It continues with defining and comparing four concepts related to place that are very close in meanings such as genius loci, place identity, essence of place and character of place. Through a major analysis, the factors that could lead us to decode the main character of a place will be extracted. A Questionnaire survey, based on the factors, is used to evaluate and discover the principal character of the place in the context of a case study of Shiraz. Results suggest that inhabitants' memories, which are latent in historical, social and cultural context, determine the genuine character of place and can recreate the missing place attachment in modern landscapes. In conclusion, character of place is a main concept which is contextual and should be discovered through the factors in the study phase in order to design meaningful landscapes.

KEYWORDS
Place Attachment, Landscape, Character of Place

Cite This Paper in IEEE or APA Citation Styles
(a). IEEE Format:
[1] Rasoul Rafat , Sara Mirhadi , "Designing Meaningful Landscapes through Systematic Discovery of Character of Place," Civil Engineering and Architecture, Vol. 5, No. 3, pp. 89 - 93, 2017. DOI: 10.13189/cea.2017.050303.

(b). APA Format:
Rasoul Rafat , Sara Mirhadi (2017). Designing Meaningful Landscapes through Systematic Discovery of Character of Place. Civil Engineering and Architecture, 5(3), 89 - 93. DOI: 10.13189/cea.2017.050303.