A Comparative Study on Traditional Architectural Openings Based on Fundamental Concepts (Case study: Persian Orosi and Japanese Shoji)

Volume 13, Issue 47
Spring 2025
Pages 62-77

Document Type : Review

Authors

1 Associate Professor in Architecture, Saba Faculty of Arts and Architecture, Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman, Iran.

2 Lecturer in Architecture, Saba Faculty of Arts and Architecture, Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman, Iran.

3 M.A. in Architecture, Saba Faculty of Arts and Architecture, Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman, Iran.

Abstract
Communities, based on their specific cultures and climates, have developed different architectural styles. However, there can be found similarities and differences among the characteristics of some instances of architecture; caused by common human creative thinking and diverse contexts, presenting features of architectural elements. Opening elements in architecture are important, as they control relationships between different spaces, such as the inside and the outside. Naturally, designing them is influenced by some source concepts, that originated in cultures of communities, which appears in the formation of the architectural openings and somehow the whole identity of that architecture. From this point of view, openings have an outer layer, which includes the morphological aspects, and an inner layer carrying meanings and ideas. “Orosi” is a type of opening in traditional Persian architecture and “Shoji” is a type of opening in traditional Japanese architecture. Each is a distinctive element of its region’s architecture. Notwithstanding the evident difference in their appearance, they both are openings that create flexible interaction between the interior space and the exterior. To understand the characteristics of these two openings, especially in their inner layers, this paper investigates their significant similarities and differences through a comparative study of three dimensions: morphological, technical, and inner. Main Similarities are found in fields of spatial influence, adjusting in/out relation, fuzziness and flexibility in enclosure, and cultural/environmental characters. The main differences found are geometric complexity vs. simplicity, dominant function turning to climate or boundary, non-minimalism vs minimalism, and preferring color or shadow designing.  

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