A Phenomenological Comparison of Traditional Houses in Iran and Iraq Based on Gaston Bachelard's Theories

Ahmad Ali, Shahba; Mahdi Khalil, Safiya; Valadbeygi, Saeid; Hassanvand, Hojat Allah

doi:10.22034/bagh.2026.584238.6061

A Phenomenological Comparison of Traditional Houses in Iran and Iraq Based on Gaston Bachelard's Theories

https://doi.org/10.22034/bagh.2026.584238.6061

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 28 September 2026

The Monthly Scientific Journal of Bagh-e Nazar

Document Type : Original Research Article

Authors

shahba Ahmad Ali ¹

Safiya Mahdi Khalil ²

Saeid Valadbeygi ³

Hojat Allah Hassanvand ⁴

¹ دانشکده مهندسی، دانشگاه مستنصریه، بغداد، عراق

² College of Applied Arts, Middle Technical University, Baghdad, Iraq

³ Department of Persian Language and Literature, University of Guilan, Rasht, Iran (

⁴ Department of Graphic, sah, c. Islamic Azad University, sahneh, Iran

Abstract

This paper explores the phenomenological aspects of traditional houses in Iran and Iraq through the lens of Gaston Bachelard's theories. Drawing on his seminal work The Poetics of Space, in which he describes the house not just as a physical structure but as a space for imagination, memory, and existential experience, the study compares two traditional house typologies: Iranian courtyard houses and traditional Baghdadi houses. The aim of this research is to examine these dwellings through Bachelardian concepts such as "intimate immensity" and "corners of memory." The paper addresses key questions: How do traditional houses in Iran and Iraq embody existential qualities such as protection, intimacy, and imagination? How do architectural elements like courtyards, light, thresholds, and verticality reflect Bachelardian ideas? And how do cultural rituals and domestic habits shape the phenomenological experience of dwelling? This study contributes to the broader discourse of phenomenology in architecture and enhances the understanding of how cultural memory and poetics are inscribed in vernacular forms of architecture.

Keywords

phenomenology

mtraditional houses

Gaston Bachelard

Iranian architecture

Iraqi architecture

architectural space

Subjects