IDENTIFYING PERSIAN TRADITIONALSOCIO-CULTURALBEHAVIORS FOR APPLICATION IN THEDESIGN OFMODERN HIGH-RISERESIDENCES Shahab Abbaszadeh, Rahinah Ibrahim, Mohamed Nasir Baharuddin, and Azizah Salim Arc hne t-IJAR, Inte rna tio na l Jo urna l o f Arc hite c tura l Re se a rc h C o p yrig ht © 2009 Arc hne t-IJAR, Vo lume 3 - Issue 3 -No ve mbe r 2009- (116-132) 116 Abstract O ur c o nc e rn is the inc re a sing d up lic a tio n o f We ste rn hig h-rise re sid e ntia l b uild ing s (HRBs) c o mp le xe s in me tro p o lise s o f Ira n. By sta c king ho use s, the ho me ha s no w b e c o me me re p hysic a l she lte r b ut la c king the so c io -c ultura l me a ning tha t the Pe rsia n tra d itio na l ho me ha s p ro vid e d . The so c io -c ultura l va lue s o f tra d itio na l ho me s tha t sup p o rt the ho use ho ld s’ life q ua lity b y sup p o rting the ir so c io -c ultura l ne e d s a re lo st in to d a y’ s mo d e rn re sid e nc e s. This is a p o sitio n p a p e r a b o ut tho se missing fe a ture s with the inte nt o f re info rc ing the ric h so c io -c ultura l c o nne c tio ns a nd sp iritua l a sp e c ts tha t a re e nd e a re d b y tra d itio na l Pe rsia n ho use ho ld s in ne w HRBs c o mp le xe s. The so c io -c ultura l c o nte xt in Pe rsia n ho me s e mp ha size s the b e ha vio ra l ne e d s a t two d iffe re nt so c ia l le ve ls: 1) p e rso na l sp a c e a nd p riva c y re q uire me nts within the p riva te and se mi-p riva te b o und a ry (e .g ., fa mily te rrito ry o f a ho me ), a nd 2) se mi-p ub lic a nd public spaces related to the home environment (e .g ., ne ig hb o rho o d c o mmunitie s surro und ing the ho me ). La te r, the p a p e r d isc usse s the Pe rsia n so c io - c ultura l b e ha vio rs in c o nte mp o ra ry ne ig hb o rho o d c o mmunitie s in HRBs c o mp le xe s. It c o nc lud e s with re c o mme nd a tio ns fo r future stud ie s to sup p o rt the d e ve lo p me nt o f stro ng ne ig hb o rho o d c o mmunitie s in no n-We ste rn me tro p o lise s in c o nte mp o ra ry so c ie ty. Keywords Pe rsia n tra d itio na l ho me , HRBs c o mp le xe s, so c io - c ultura l c o nte xts, ne ig hb o rho o d c o mmunitie s Introduction Ma slo w’ s (1954) hie ra rc hy o f huma n ne e d s sta te s tha t the me nta l a nd p syc ho lo g ic a l ne e d s will emerge when the basic needs of humans ha ve b e e n me t. The re fo re , a d d re ssing the re sid e nts’ me nta l a nd p syc ho lo g ic a l ne e d s is mo re c o mp lic a te d tha n b a sic a nd p re limina ry ne e d s. It sho uld b e g ive n p rio rity in o rd e r to imp ro ve the ir q ua lity o f life , a nd we p ro p o se to me e t the m thro ug h the a rc hite c tura l d e sig n pro c e ss. He re , we wo uld like to d e sc rib e ho w the q ua lity o f life c o uld b e imp ro ve d b y p ro vid ing q ua lifie d sp a c e s to me e t re sid e nts’ p syc ho lo g ic a l ne e d s ma nife ste d b y the ir so c io -c ultura l b e ha vio r. To a c hie ve this p urp o se , the ric h sp a c e s a nd a tmo sp he re o f d istric t will b e d e sc rib e d a nd a na lyze d fro m Pe rsia n tra d itio na l re sid e ntia l fa b ric s. The Pe rsia n tra d itio na l ne ig hb o rho o d c o mmunitie s a re g o o d e vid e nc e illustra ting the stro ng sp a tia l te rrito ry o f p riva c y hie ra rc hy