Eduardo Oliveira

Urban commercial quarters such as bazaars can be found all over the world, from Turkey to Egypt, from Tajikistan to Iran. In Iranian cities, bazaars have very specific and unique architectural features and they have played an important role as economic and social engines. In addition, bazaars are an integral part of the cultural geography of Iran and have contributed to the definition of urban development patterns. This paper aims to critically explore sustainable architectural elements in historic bazaars and their relation to social and cultural components. This paper’s theoretical exploration is developed by detailing relevant findings from a case study on the significance of the sustainable architectural elements of the historic Bazaar of Tabriz, and it debates the relationship between those architectural elements and socio-cultural and economic components. A qualitative methodology, specifically in-depth interviews with shop-owners and customers and in loco observation, was employed. Findings show that the Bazaar of Tabriz has preserved its sustainability both in terms of architecture, by rigorous preservation, and in terms of sociocultural and economic components, by maintaining an exciting daily dynamic and a healthy relationship between shopowners, customers, local administration and the city of Tabriz. The preservation of unique and authentic sustainable architectural features, together with the maintenance of public spaces, such as mosques and schools, benefits the population of Tabriz and brings visitors every day to the shopping area of the complex, thus maintaining a constant flux and social, cultural and economic dynamics.