فاطمه عزالدین لو

Gardens are one of the most important built environments throughout the history of Iran in terms of symbolism, semantics, social construction, mythical elements and physical and functional spatial relationships. The coexistence of natural and built environments is more obvious in the Persian garden compared to any other functions. In this research, the nature of Persian gardens is analysed in terms of physical and functional structures and spatial and natural relationships based on a qualitative approach and a comparative-analogous method and the data is collected through library research and field investigations. Then, the components of the living structure theory, introduced by Christopher Alexander, are surveyed as research theoretical framework. The components are analysed and scored using AHP and the comparative analogy is done by 15 scholars. The data reveal that the physical, functional and natural structures are prioritized in order of importance with weights of 0.428, 0.334 and 0.238, respectively. The total interaction of components demonstrates that Ein-al-Doleh Garden possesses a living structure better than Eshrat-Abad Garden for all three structures, but it is weaker in natural structure, the same in functional structure and stronger in physical one in comparison to the Niavaran Garden. The local symmetries (0.125), strong centres (0.214) and roughness in the cultivation system (0.194) represent the most effective factors. For today, In consequence, it is possible to revitalize living structures in historical gardens through the revival of strong centres, attendance of green spaces, spatiality of Kushks and intense relationships between gardens and the Kushks.