Lifestyle; The Neglected Element of Islamic Architecture

Islamic architecture is considered as an important and significant historical tradition. For Iranians, this tradition is more than historical and is mentioned as a part of the identity of architecture in Islamic Iran. Many theories have tried to explain Islamic architecture but could only determine a part of its coordination possibly due to their adopted methods. These theories have lost their capability of effective application because they have neglected the practical and concrete aspects (which all can be named under the title of “lifestyle”). The goal of this article is to include the concept of lifestyle in the definition of Islamic architecture, after presenting and criticizing theories mentioned in the research literature. This article emphasizes that lifestyle is the missing element of theories on Islamic architecture and that Islamic architecture can be applicable in the social life of the Iranians by including lifestyle in its definition.