Thirteenth International Conference on Design Principles & Practices

Abstract

Nowadays, designing temporary and flexible spaces, and consequently, creating some related and corresponding occasions and events, is considered as a common device for enlivening the available spaces. This idea can also be traced back in the past, and shouldn’t be considered only as a modern practice. This paper reviews “Iranian Sofreh”, as an important food-related cultural icon in Iranian tradition, and considers how this element forms specific spaces. In a general regard, Sofreh can be defined as a square or rectangular piece of cloth being spread on the ground for the food to be placed on, and the people to sit around for having a meal, it, then, can easily be wrapped up and be put aside for the next meal. But the important point about the Sofreh is that it is not merely a physical object, but it is also a space-creator element which can bring about some meaningful events and rich cultural concepts. The Iranian people use Sofreh in different occasions; occasions like: breakfast (in Ramadan), Suhur, votive offering, couple engagement, Haft-sin, etc. It gives specific meaning to the space and the time, and defines them as “localized time” and “temporalized place”. This paper discusses how the Iranian Sofreh creates temporary spaces, and how it defines time and space.