Current World Environment

Introduction

Space and location are two words that their position in architecture is beyond modernism and ultra-modernism definitions, which are today attributed to them. These concepts in Jolfa coffee shops, because of their historical position and demographics, have some unique characteristics. In most of these coffee shops, the furniture including the chairs, desks and portrays on the walls mostly remember us a specific concept of the space and for the people who use that place, they create a type of fixation and make that place to be persistent in the mind and spirit of the people. Regarding to this fact, the current study emphasizes on recognizing the effective factors on this fixation creation toward the space via historical furniture in coffee shops located in Jolfa district.

The importance of this study can be categorized as follow:

• Importance of location fixation role in provoking the locational identity.
• Role of dependency to the location in persistent of architectural works.
• Role of historical furniture in creating relation between different era and styles.
• Recognizing the effective factors of space to arrange the interior elements better and better.
• The necessity of recognizing the relation between the soul of location and unconscious to create the fluid and alive spaces.

The major question in the current investigation is that what historical relation is between the furniture of coffee shops located in Jolfa district in Esfahan in the recent decade and unconscious of the customers, that creates a fixation sense toward the space? And regarding to the theoretical basics, the hypotheses of the research can be mentioned as below:

1. Any specified model should be explained as a rule which creates a relation between these three items: Background, The system of active forces in that back ground and a composition that help those forces to make themselves free in that back ground.
2. Regarding to the relation between furniture and architecture, two states can be supposed, first the furniture and interior elements are supposed as the second program and this is the architecture that helps the surfaces and clarifies the characteristics of the space. In the second state the designer plans to change the existing space; this state can be truth in the coffee shops.

Research Method

In this investigation, comparative study was used. Comparative study is a systematic and multi aspect comprehensive process which tries to recognize the differences and similarities about the investigation (Pickvance, 2005).This type of research takes the public models from the research environment and via emphasizing on the differences between the platforms of the research, helps to have a better perception of the issue. Piers (Piers et al., 2005) believes that comparative method brings a more proper analytical framework for the designers. In comparative studies there are two methods used, quality and quantity. Quality investigation tries to describe or explain the social-skeletal phenomenon in a complicated background and analyses it with a holistic view (Groat et al., 2009). The quality researchers study the objects in their normal positions and try to conceptualize or interpret the phenomenon as per the meanings that people gives them (Gall et el., 2012).In this method, valorization for the point of views of the participants in the research and try to know their point of views, besides the researcher and participant create a mutual relation together. This type of research is both, descriptive and explanatory (Marshal et al., 1998).As fixation has a social-skeletal nature and people are supposed as the original reference of the comprehensive memories, in the current investigation, the dominant approach is quality approach that emphasizes on the social nature of the realities and importance of values in the process of research. Regarding to the type of investigation approach toward the issue of furniture, there was no article, research or investigation with direct study in relation with this subject, So it was tried to collect proper data from varied sources, subjects and approaches in relation with the subject to achieve some proper and Integrated content.

Results and Discussion

As in most of the previous investigations and also existing sources regarding to furniture, there only the technical characteristics and ergonomic principles in furniture designing and only characteristics of the furniture in each era have been mentioned, And regarding to structure of the location and principles of the work persistent, only definitions and their relation with architecture and human’s reception scope have been indicated. So in the current investigation, it has been tried to clear the hidden aspects of locations components and its structure via recognizing the effective identity of historical furniture. So discovering the relation between historical furniture and unconscious of human and also the relation of these two with the persistent of work and creating fixation sense toward it are some of the exquisite and new items studied in this investigation.

Location and Spirit of the Location

“Location sense” phrase involves two words including sense and location. Sense in Oxford has three major meanings, first “one of the five attentions”, second “feeling, affection and love” which in psychology is the phantasm perception meaning the person’s judgment toward the object just after perception the meaning of the object which can be good, attractive or bad. Third “ability to judge about the abstract subject” such as meaning of the sense or orientation sense meaning the person’s ability to find the route or the ability of the rout to show it for the person (Simpson et al., 2010).Sense as a word in idiom of location sense mostly means affection, love, judgment and total experience of the location or its ability in creating a special sense or fixation in the person.

Unconscious

Unconscious is a store full of some out of reach leaning, wishes and memories which influence on the thoughts and actions. Freud (Freud, 2011) divides mind into two parts including conscious and unconscious, the conscious part involves all thoughts, feelings and actions that we are aware about them. The unconscious part involves all things which are hidden from our personal awareness (Freud, 2011).He believes that unconscious involves all primary and instinctive motivations and also memories and anxiety emotions which have been forbidden from entering the conscious.

Unconscious has three models; the first one is in adjective and noun format. The second is expanded and non-theoretical. The third one is related with a specific view toward the theories about the human conditions. But all of them somehow point to a general concept which is a mind state based on lack of consciousness (Jung, 2006).

Relation Between Space and Location Fixation

Fixation sense toward the location is a process that its formation is effected by some factors such as human, location and the interaction between them. Human characteristics (including individual characteristics such as human experiences in relation with location, values and interests or common collective characteristics such as culture, tradition and religious) and also special characteristics of the location (like semantic, activity and skeletal characteristics of the location) which influence on the formation of the mutual relation of the human and location, can increase or decrease the level of human interest to the location. The effective factors on the fixation sense in the people toward the location can be studied in to two groups including meanings and activities. In meaning group, identity and beauty and in activities level, social interactions, how to connect with the location, previous experiences and satisfaction with the location are located.

Relationship Between Furniture and Interior Space

The base of primary furniture formation specially in European countries is due to the importance of the role of furniture in the culture and position of the people in the society; in fact the furniture indicates a level of culture which is higher than poverty line and refers to difference between modern human and early humans who used to live like (Lucie-Smith, 1999). In this view, chair may be the most important part of the furniture; although furniture means any moveable functional element in the environment plying a role in defining the space (Lucie-Smith, 1999).

Regarding to the relation between furniture and culture, these two items during the time and with the changes of the society have faced some general changes. All these changes have been included the historical and environmental changes e.g. knowledge limitation, instrument limitation, local wood access, economic factors, war and peace in the zone. For this reason studying the history of furniture from 14th century (when the first classic furniture was made in France) till now is effective in knowing the formic characteristics, body, decorations, sort, color and material of the furniture in different eras. Although in passing from a historical duration to another one, we face some major changes in the appearance of the furniture; their role is mostly fixed in functional aspect.

After studying the history of the furniture deeply, we see that changes in the furniture are the follower of changes in the architecture of each age. In some eras the furniture design in in positive direction and in line with architecture and in some eras these changes are in vice versa direction and with aim of creating conflict in formic perception and view aspects for example “in Robert Adam method, the height of the backrest in the furniture, in order to keep the contrast between the vertical panels and windows, is short.” (Lucie-Smith, 1999). As the height of the backrest in the furniture in the refund duration from 1660 to 1689 was higher. Besides in an era the design of the furniture was in line with the mode and in another era, beauty and comfortless of the furniture was the base of designing; for example in the furniture of Jacobin period from 1603 to 1660, change in the mode led to the chairs without date And between years 1603 to 1688 in the era of Queen, the home furniture distances from the carving characteristic which was the introducer of previous methods and comfortless and beauty became important and carving was replaced by cloth covers (Lucie-Smith, 1999). With a glancing look at the history of the furniture, it becomes important that today what position does furniture have in the architecture of the structure? Is using the furniture in line with the architecture? If in using the furniture in public spaces especially in coffee shops, their functional role is their translocation criteria in the space or they are mostly used as a decorative element? Like the past, do the environmental limitations and instrument force us to use a specific type of furniture or the existing mode in the society?

In response to these questions, the clear point in the first sight is that today furniture has a role as effective as the past in the designing the interior spaces and in some cases it is more. But in fact the thing that makes us to have a different view toward the furniture category in comparison with the past is the type of relation between them. Basically in the past furniture was a part of the space architecture and its role in the space was beyond functional element; and as the body, walls and floor defined the space, it also did it. It means furniture with the other interior elements of the space and with a common language and without any show off suggests the sense of the location to the addressed; just like a drawing that in its composition all the elements are in their own places with a unit system and any movement in the elements leads to confusion and concern in the viewer’s mind. Another point perception in comparison study between today furniture and the past one is the early changes in the mode; today in the societies, because of frequency of the life styles and also diversity in the people’s point of view toward the beauty and sometimes their incorrect perception in defining the beauty caused by change of mode in the society and aberrant perception of western concepts and forms and also aberrant usage of them in the buildings which are made as per the eastern criteria and standards, we can see production of different types of furniture and are able to buy any model of furniture as soon as we need it. But unfortunately the forgotten point is creativity and innovation in selecting the furniture. Another point in difference between the usage of the furniture for the public locations such as coffee shops in the past and present is early change in the decoration of today public locations to create diversity and get the customers’ satisfaction which is the result of development in production technology, producing the materials and fast access to the diverse material. Although this can be effective in short time but in long term leads to the disability of the customers to have a deep and long term connection with the interior space and what they can see is only a crafty and effective but temporary appearance. But in general what can help us in the first step to use the furniture correctly is recognition toward the space, basically what is the interior space what type of relation does it have with the structure of the environment? What is the relation between interior space and interior design? In sort the furniture in the interior space, what points are to be noticed? How should be the furniture sort in the public spaces specifically coffee shops?

To define the interior space we can say it is a place in which the people attend to live, work, pray, eat and enjoy (Shitis, 2009).The interior space can be completely separated with no connection with the environment or even hidden or open and fluid surrounded by a space (Shitis, 2009).

Regarding the relation between furniture and architecture there are two stets supposed, firstly furniture and interior elements are supposed as the second program and have a lower effect in the space, in this state the architecture helps the surfaces of the materials and specifies the characteristics of a space for example the saint and confining architecture of Tadao and Lokorboziye; in the second state the designer plans to change the space which belongs to the past and this can be a form of new construction and sometimes leads to change and innovation, and as the interior design in comparison with the building survives less, this state can be truth in business e.g. coffee shops and restaurants (Shitis, 2009).In the second state when the interior elements find the major position in the space architecture, accuracy in choosing and method of arranging them in the space is very important, so the concept of sort and related elements with it can be helpful.

The aim of interior sort should be reposing to the efficiency in daily offers, in this way we can get the concept of sort like general creating of the space (Shitis, 2009).As well as the mentioned items in sort the furniture, there are some other limitations that paying attention to them in performing the projects is a necessary allegation e.g. period of using the project, commercial principles, shaded provisions of the location and work and also immunity limitations (Shitis, 2009). Despite a lot of existing limitations in public space sort, this point should not be ignored that interior sort in fast foods should like the boutiques, create a very specific space and atmosphere. In fact the best answer to this question that when can we design practical is in this phrase told by Kristofer Alexander “models are organized and the discipline of the language is also organized but we can use these models in that discipline only when we want to compile the order that they give us with Spontaneity and direct independency of the sense (Ching et al., 2007). A structure can only be created in the mind-eye or by closing the eyes not on the paper (Alexander, 2002).

The Role of Furniture as a Model to Create Fixation Sense in Interior Space

All the items mentioned till now were related to observable and physical characteristics in the environment, in fact any person’s perception toward his/her surrounding environment has two aspects: one aspect which is related to the perceptional and visual characteristics of the space, in fact what the elements of the interior space, to being visible, inspires the supervisor, depended on several items from which some were mentioned till now. There is another aspect in the space which isn’t easily observable and tangible for ordinary people but anyone can feel its effect as per his/her spirits; no difference this person is an 8 year child or an adult, both of them have some expectation from the space according to their experiences. However this space how much is successful to meet their needs depends on some factors and models that recognizing them in the environment needs a complete recognition about the environment. During recognition any model in the environment, there are three basic questioned answered: “what is that model exactly? Why does that model help to vivify that location? When and where does this model exactly act?” (Alexander, 2002).

In order to create alive and fluid space in the coffee shops all the models and effective factors in the space and in the projects are necessary to be designed in harmony with the architecture space. Although in the first look it seems that a specific type of furniture, produced previously, is in harmony with our architecture space, telling this point that there is no two similar space in all aspects indicates this fact that we can’t use a similar type of furniture in two different space and at except the same result from both of them. In other words, any model achieves its own special form adequate with its background for example any room has its own skeleton of bar and column which involves the previous models however the size of bars in no two rooms is the same (Alexander, 2002).

In spite all these advantages, we criticize Alexander in this side that supposing all the models should be produced in the project, what is the people’s expanded welcoming of them despite their predesigned furniture and even in some cases their classic furniture belonged to so older eras?

The reason isn’t only the appearance of the furniture and its application in the space but the main reason is its historical nature and hidden secret in it. Putting furniture with a design belonged to Baroque’s era in 14^TH century in a coffee shop with today design criteria is an exquisite and innovative, because putting this furniture in such space like the memories leads us to the door past and events of that time period. Although this recreation for an Iranian in comparison with an western person who is aware about his/her historical past effects differently, all the people according to their recognition toward the history, recognize the hidden concept in the furniture and in comparison with the other furniture are more polite in comparison with it, because this furniture in the modern and machine society yet seems pure and clear so that has been made by an artist. Now this question should be answered that when do we can use a good model in another place and convert it to a common model?

This isn’t a correct idea that a model can be used directly in a design only because of its good definition. In order to make a model common, first we should be able to criticize it and in order to criticize it, we have first to know its practical purpose and then to specify the case with a collection of forces which can be balanced by this model and finally to specify the range of fields in which these system of forces is located and also the place which is balanced by this model of skeletal relations practically and really (Alexander, 2002).

In general we understand that any specified model should be explained as a commander relating the three followings: 1-background, 2-system of active forces in it, 3-the composition that able the forces to make themselves free in that background.

But is really the effective factor in a small coffee shop located in a corner far away from the crowd in Jolfa district of Esfahan making it so attractive that motivates us to come there from a long distance only having specific furniture? Is any furniture absolutely the definer of a specific quality or does the process of its mixture with other factors create this quality? How can we make the space of a coffee shop so alive and relaxer?

It is clear that any element in defining its meaning lonely is as effective as when it is in a collection of models and elements and generally in an organized system. But type of our awareness and view in the environment supposes a different between these two concepts, in fact having entered in to a coffee shop located in Jolfa district, in the first sight we receive a quality of the environment which although is a mix of all its manufacturer factors including furniture, light, color and etcetera but analyzing them separately is a difficult and somehow impossible thing. In fact the anonymous quality of the phenomena reveals the hidden horizons and under layers of the phenomena; this quality is an elegant kind of the ways in interior conflicts. Any system has this quality as long as having this interior unity and will lose it as soon as facing any violence; however we can’t suppose any name for this quality (Alexander, 2002).

Although this anonymous quality isn’t recognizable apparently, creating this quality is an achievable thing and its necessary condition isn’t having a specific instrument and only must be ordinary as long as possible and we did nothing more than what was necessary (Alexander, 2002).In fact we should let our surrounding phenomena to stay together not necessarily in a way that the society says. In fact the ability of beautification is in all the people b tore natural, but the common mode in the society stops its presentation. Behind all the processes which able us to vivify the structure, there is a common and fix process which is completely objective and specified. But after looking at it we find that this recognition return us back toward the forgotten part of ourselves; in fact this recognition show us the things that we knew from the past but didn’t have enough brevity to accept them because they seem to be so childish and primary (Alexander, 2002).

Structure and Quality of Interior Space in Relation With Human Unconscious

Another event which happens in related with the coffee shops in Jolfa district of Esfahan is creating the fixation sense toward the location in the customers, in a way that while watching or using specific furniture in the coffee shop, we achieve a specific kind of interaction. In this state the space by which we are surrounded, converts to a part of our insight and in interaction with this system; we achieve a common language received from the space structure. In the Preliminary discussion about the location, we concluded that the location structure is analyzed by the space character (Maith, 2005). As the space refers to the three dimensional system of the elements those make the location, character refers to the general atmosphere which is the most comprehensive characteristic of any location (Norberg-Schulz, 2009). In other words character is related to our receiving area from the space, so in defining space, we suppose a difference between its two applications: 1-space as a three dimensional geometry 2-space as a receiving area (Norberg-Schulz, 2009). In fact it can be mentioned that the result of our receipt from the space is in two types, objective and qualitative; the qualitative one is the result of objective views and life experiences in facing with different spaces and adapting them to the space.

After passing the phase of recognizing the structure of the space and location, the relation between this concept and human unconscious in creating the fixation sense is the case being able to answer this question that how do furniture change a space to a location with special sensory and behavioral characteristics. Human scares by his/her lack of perception and his/her relation with the surrounding world and fixation here is a shelter to drop the human from the suspension, in other word fixation is the result of our sensory perception from the location (Lynch, 1976). This location sense is a factor to create relation between human and the location and also unity. Location sense means the people mind perception and their more and less conscious feeling from the environment that put the person in an interior relation with the environment (Norberg-Schulz, 2009). By this inner relation we mean matching with the environment and being familiar with a specific environment; as a Scandinavian person should be familiar with fog, ice and cold winds and enjoy the sound of snow under the feet, as an Arab should be familiar with a unlimited sand desert under the hot shining and as an urban person should be familiar with human made things such as streets, houses and furniture (Norberg-Schulz, 2009).

Another item related with the interior space of the coffee shops and the process of selecting the proper furniture for them which we can mention in this research is the reason of success and persistent for the interior design of some coffee shops due to usage of furniture belonged to the previous eras. The secret of these designs persistent should be found in the historical styles. Most of the buildings with the historical styles have a common quality and this Subscription is for this reason that all these buildings are old and people have been able to discover the secret hidden in their architecture (Noghrehkar et al., 2009). In fact it can be said that the rules causing the building to be alive and persistent are so simple and clear and they directly follows the human nature and nature rules; and anyone who perforates in these rules will be close to this tradition more and more. This tradition insight the human has always been searching for one thing and has always received the same results and knowing this unique skeletal identity hidden in everything is the timeless way to make the work (Bosch, 2009).

Any phenomenon in the nature has its own skeletal identity, oceans, rivers and forests all have their own skeletal identity (Panero et al., 1998). All the interior elements of a space have their own specific identity and if they are organized in a way so that they can behave in front of the environment positively, they will be able to convert the location in which they are located to a framework with an anonymous quality.

While selecting the furniture during designing the interior space of the coffee shop, following some the points which cause the persistent of the work are very important because the persistent phenomenon stay during the time a and is converted to a part of collective memories. So paying attention to the persistent in designing the space increases the fixation sense toward the space and in this state the space has another time different from the present time (Gillett, 2009). After perception the position and importance of persistent, it is time of recognizing persistent concept and answering these questions that what is the meaning of immorality? What is the difference between meaning of immorality and persistent of a work?

Persistent mostly refers to the physical aspects of a work and its skeletal insistence against the erosion caused by passing the time and different factors as immorality as well as semantic, means a kind of life, efficiency and attraction (Ching, 2009). Although the framework of most of the persistent work yet exists, as it isn’t alive and doesn’t make culture for the people so it doesn’t have immorality and is dead as the same time of being persistent. In immorality of a phenomenon not only its characteristics but also some other items such as method of facing with it in the next eras and its surrounding conditions are effective. So we should ask ourselves why is a mosque in Esfahan, a tomb in Kerman or a statue or painting of Mike lange effective and finally we should search the majority of architecture not in its bigness, newness or popularity but in its effect and immorality in the user’s mind.

From all the discussions presented in this research, it can be concluded that the best furniture for the coffee shops is furniture created by the designers’ thought and imagination and as much as possible in line with other interior elements and also in a positive direction with effective forces. The work producer should avoid any fashion victim and what is in progress in the society, think simple as much as possible follow the simple and alive models with positive effect on the addressed mind. The last one is in opposite of what we see today in the most designs in which the furniture is supposed as a subsidiary plan and attached element to the architecture space leading to a framework with not so hearty and neutral covering and sometimes even conflict with the space. It not only doesn’t make the space effective and alive but also in long term cause the braveness of the addressed and his/her lack of interest and fixation. Now these models can be a reminder of a specific era of the past history by a typical kind of furniture or even today models which are more familiar with the modern users’ mind and spirit.

The important point in using these models is type of our perception toward the location and the location sense which defines them. So we can’t make a building alive unless we think so freely that be able to put some useful models away. Finally the buildings are alive only if the person who uses the language is free and without any carnal desires. Only in this way it is possible to create an effective and alive building. The existing secret in the historical furniture indicates this truth that in the past historical architecture, vice versa today that complication and variety is a positive point in the interior architecture, simplicity and clearness in presenting the concepts was the base and these rules also entered in furniture designing of that era. These are the rules which follow the tab of human and nature rules and using this type of furniture in modern buildings especially in coffee shops share this historical fact for modern human in a way that person for release of the current progress in the society, refuge to it and this is in fact a return to the self or being in line with the nature and historical furniture can influence on the human unconscious like this and makes him dependent to itself.

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