The Iraqi Journal of Architecture and Planning

Literature pointed out the impact of contextual juxtaposition on urban dynamism at the level of the townscape, urban fabric, and economic, social, and environmental aspects to promote and support urban identity and achieve urban dynamics. The research problem was diagnosed with [the lack of clarity of the various aspects of contextual juxtaposition in the urban dynamics of the historical cities and their urban scene]. Which is determined based on the research goal of clarifying the levels and objectives of the inclusion and its most important economic, social, physical, and environmental dimensions, its requirements to achieve urban dynamism. The expansion of Fatima’s Court (PBUH)), in the city of Najaf was elected as one of the contemporary involvement projects for the case study. The research depended on a quantitative-qualitative scale to measure the indicators that achieve dynamism. The research concluded that the positive impact of contextual juxtaposition begins in the social dimension, in finding dynamic urban spaces, which enhances the public space. It shows its effects in the economic dimension of contributing to finding an economic centre that competes with the current one, raises, and finds job opportunities, creating a positive context that affects the physical dimension.

The built forms represent the words in the language of architecture. Forms represent messages that convey expressions that can be expressed and felt through certain properties carried by space, which contribute to moving human thoughts and memories. Thus, we can talk about a hidden aspect in the language of architecture that we can call the language of silence. Silence speaks of the experience of stopping at the loss of words to reveal the presence of emotions and senses, as it is a natural reaction of the human being to a specific situation that requires interpretation. From this point of view, the importance of research on the phenomenon of silence in architecture emerged because of its sublime and spiritual dimensions. Thus, the inclusion of these dimensions in architectural design. This paper examines how silence affects meaning in architecture as a research problem. The research concluded that silence is a form of metaphor, as silence can be symbolic or metaphorical representations of ideas. These concepts cannot be easily communicated through linguistic messages or whose power is more significant when not verbal, which requires silence to depend on its context to convey its meaning.

Transformation is one of the common characteristics between fashion and architecture, as the transformation is linked to contemporary intellectual trends that call for change and renewal. The research was based on the study of changes in fashion and architecture, and the research problem was identified with (cognitive deficiency about the causes and mechanisms of transformations in fashion and architecture). Accordingly, the aim of the research was determined by studying the indicators of the causes of transformation in both fashion and architecture and the mechanisms of this transformation. On the practical and symbolic uses of clothing, while exploring the role of these transformations in the performance of internal identities, architecture shares this point with fashion through the role of architectural transformations and their impact on identity, as well as the adoption by both fashion designers and architects the same technical mechanisms for transformation.

This research aims to clarify the role of art movements in urban aesthetics and to give a clear understanding of the beginnings of their emergence and the features, characteristics and types of these movements and how they affected architecture and the formation of cities through the most prominent pioneers and the most important influences that give a clear vision of these movements and their role. The research deals with artistic movements at the beginning of the 19th and 20th centuries and how they contributed to the development of the stages of architecture to build a knowledge background around it to establish an objective base. For this reason, the research came to clarify the impact of this integrative relationship between artistic movements and urban aesthetics within the structure of the urban landscape and to reach a diagnosis of the main research problem (the presence of a knowledge gap about the role of artistic movements in the aesthetic values of cities). To solve this problem, determining the causes requires researching the most important artistic movements and their role in the development of modern architecture.

The contemporary architectural reality in Iraq has witnessed a set of phenomena that led it to the apparent deterioration and decline of the architect’s role in formulating designs with sound architectural features generated through a clear architectural design methodology carried out by the designer and resulting in the emergence of the so-called random architectural product through a group of individual experiences that led To increase the urban chaos. Accordingly, the research problem was determined by the ambiguity of scientific knowledge about the concept of random thinking and its relationship to the design process, which in turn led to the emergence of architectural products that do not go beyond being irregular experiments subject to individual trends not belonging to a specific scientific thinking style within the recognized methods of thinking. The research seeks to clarify the concept of random thinking and its relationship in architecture by building a theoretical framework for the concept, beginning by reaching a procedural definition of the concept of random thinking in architecture and its relationship to the architectural design methodology used by the designer, leading to an explanation of its characteristics, causes and most important repercussions at the level of the local architectural product.

Developing smart city planning requires integrating various techniques, including geospatial techniques, building information models (BIM), information and communication technology (ICT), and artificial intelligence, for instance, three-dimensional (3D) building models, in enabling smart city applications. This study aims to comprehensively analyze the role and significance of geospatial techniques in smart city planning and implementation. The literature review encompasses (74) studies from diverse databases, examining relevant solutions and prototypes related to smart city planning. The focus highlights the requirements and preparation of geospatial techniques to support the transition to a smart city. The paper explores various aspects, such as the advantages and challenges of geospatial techniques, data collection and analysis methodologies, and case studies showcasing successful implementations of smart city initiatives. The research concludes that geospatial techniques are instrumental in driving the development of smart cities. By analyzing and synthesizing the outcomes of the reviewed articles, this study establishes the essential contribution of geospatial techniques in successfully realizing the vision of smart cities.

Morphological or typological transformations and changes within cities led to new cities with rules disconnected from the center of the existing city, both intellectually and physically. These rules prevented the master plan areas from interconnecting with each other. This research aims to achieve urban interconnection between new and existing city centers within a unified and cohesive design by relying on the most important design and planning strategies and mechanisms. The research begins by defining the open design strategy and its importance as a research topic. Then, we reviewed and discussed a group of studies through which the research problem was crystallized in “the lack of comprehensive knowledge of the impact of the open design strategy on city planning in general, and in achieving urban interconnection between new city centers and the existing city in particular”, based on which the research goal was determined to identify the most important effective terms in the open design strategy within the design strategies and mechanisms in city planning and linking them with new cities, leading to building a comprehensive theoretical framework. The results showed that the local project achieved good values concerning the clear impact in the developing master plan with special integration and interconnection with the new cities.