Reading the Design of Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque from the Perspective of Layered Semiotics based on the Originality of Meaning
Subject Areas : شهرسازی اسلامی
Minoo Laffafchi
1
,
Mahsa Razzaghi
2
1 - Assistant Professor of Architecture Department, Karaj Branch, Islamic Azad University, Karaj, Iran.
2 - Ph.D Student in Architecture, Karaj Branch, Islamic Azad University, Karaj, Iran.
Keywords: Architecture, Coding, Semiotics of Authenticity and Meaning, Sheikh Latafullah Mosque.,
Abstract :
The present research has studied the reading of Sheikh Latafullah Mosque with a semiotic approach based on the originality of meaning. It seems that the art of Iranian architecture, especially in the design of mosques and religious places, was formed with the principles of semiotics, especially based on the originality of meaning. The purpose of this research is to find a suitable model for reading the structures of Sheikh Latfullah Mosque. The basic question is how to analyze the structural reading of Sheikh Latfullah Mosque from the semantic point of view. The research method is theoretical with qualitative variables and logical and philosophical reasoning. The generalities and structures of the studied building were made in the five systems of the text creation platform, and then with the initial coding and classification, the concepts in three levels of explicit, implicit and symbolic meaning; has been extracted. The results show that the symbolic meaning of the mosque can be expressed under the title "Architecture of the Sheikh Latfullah Mosque, a phenomenon for the actualization of the divine word in the direction of refining the human soul".
Keywords: Architecture, Coding, Semiotics of Authenticity and Meaning, Sheikh Latafullah Mosque.
Introduction:
One of the important topics in semantics is the issue of different levels of meaning. The first level is the main meaning or reference; which shows the main performance (achievable performance) of a subject. The next level is called implied meaning or reference, which is symbolic in nature. These different levels of meaning make it possible to distinguish between the function or the way of direct use of an object and the social recognition of that object (Eco, 1968:18). In some cases, echo expresses implicit meanings for usually visual mediators, which at the same time cannot be understood without the system of signs. He calls these two aspects of meaning one explicit meaning and the other implicit meaning and introduces two different aspects of communication between the work and the experiencer (Eco, 1980:20-24). Although the term meaning obviously implies something that cannot be quantified (Schultz & Schultz, 1998:85). The explicit meaning in the recognition of architecture can be interpreted as the visual perception of the works in the first encounter, which may be considered abstractly as the visual manifestation in the first moment of encountering the work, without being affected by all inner senses (Necipoglu, 2000:274). Nevertheless, it seems that the explicit meaning of architecture includes that aspect of architectural expression that shows the intended functions of architecture openly and in a conventional and conventional way. In addition to the explicit expression of concepts, every architecture expresses aspects of life in an implicit way, which is synonymous with the phenomenon of perception in architecture, and in this intellectual system, the various aspects of architecture are in reality consistent with each other and do not precede or follow each other. Embertovaco interprets these meanings in relation to the function of architecture as primary and secondary use. The first gives the explicit meaning of architecture and the second gives the implicit meaning to architecture. At the same time, he points out that these interpretations do not mean the priority of the primary function over the secondary one, but rather the realization of the secondary function behind the primary meaning (Eco, 1980:25).
The main question for this research is how to analyze the structural reading of Sheikh Latufullah Mosque from the semantic point of view. The purpose of this question is to provide a model for a better understanding of the layers of mosque construction, so that according to it, lasting and popular mosques can be designed for the future generation and also perform the best performance in the restoration of old works. To compile the analysis; The generalities and structures of the studied building have been carried out in five systems of text creation, and by analyzing them, the concepts and signs used in them have been obtained, and then by coding and categorizing the concepts in three levels of explicit, implicit and symbolic meaning; has been extracted.
In this research, a selected and famous example of Iranian architecture has been analyzed, in order to try to extract and revive the signs through the reasons for creating layers based on the originality of their meaning through the context of reading the architectural design with its codes and signs by means of semiotics based on The originality of the meaning as well as its effect in Iranian architecture by studying a case study by proving the existence of signs in that era, emphasizing its physical element in architecture, because it seems that the art of Iranian architecture, especially in mosques and religious places; It is formed with the principles of semiotics, especially based on the originality of meaning. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to prove the existence of signs based on the originality of meaning in Iranian-Islamic architecture.
Structural layers of the building:
In this research, in order to categorize and codify the data, layers for the Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque, in five layers with the names of construction, access, landscape, functional physical and environmental layers; considered because the words of the text here are structural elements, masses and volumes, access ways, spaces and elements around the collective and environment and the dimensions of the forms, then by coding them into three levels of explicit, implicit and symbolic meanings, and finally the meanings Their symbols have been extracted, therefore, in this part, the layers in the buildings are explained first, and the structure of the layers of the Sheikh Latfullah Mosque is also introduced.
First, relying on the previous stage, that is, the stage of specifying the architectural layers of the building, the element or elements that are important in the architecture of the building and have the potential to be signs; extracted, which are basically the representation of signs. After extracting the elements related to the representation of signs, in this stage, the concepts and meanings related to the architectural layers are categorized and extracted at the first level of categorization and their explicit meanings, and then at a higher level, i.e. the second level, as implicit meanings, and finally at a higher level from that means the third level; Meanings and concepts have been classified and categorized in a more symbolic and abstract way.
Conclusion
To achieve the goals of the research, a model was used for semiotic analysis in the building of Sheikh Latfullah Mosque, which was based on the content analysis of the data of the article and their coding in order to achieve its different meanings and levels.
As it can be seen, the mass of Sheikh Latfullah mosque shapes the space and in the text of the form, the following concepts are noticeable:
- Being required to accompany all the text layers with their own special features, which leads to the text texture process.
- The continuity of the building layers of the Sheikh Latfullah Mosque creates the texture based on the principle of coexistence.
According to the studies, the symbolic meaning of this magnificent mosque can be expressed under the title "Sheikh Latfullah mosque architecture, a phenomenon for the actualization of the divine word in the direction of refining the human soul".
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