The Lens and the Frost The Role of Photography in Articulating Architectural Forms and Geometry in Cold Climates (Case Studies: A Physical Reading of Arg-e Alishah in Tabriz and the Boros Bunker in Berlin)

AMIR ALI NAVADEH SHAHLA¹

1) Master of Architecture and 3rd Degree in Photography

IOI Code : ABKD-ABKCDH
Publication : Fourth International Conference on applied researches in civil engineering, architecture and urban planning (icarcau.com)
Abstract :
    Abstract Architecture in cold and mountainous climates has always been shaped by the logic of survival, confronting harsh natural elements, and precisely controlling thermal exchange. Consequently, minimizing the surface-area-to-volume ratio (A/V) and utilizing high thermal mass materials lead to the creation of solid, enclosed, and dense forms. This interdisciplinary research aims to investigate the mediatory and analytical role of photography in representing this “thermal geometry.” By employing comparative case studies of two prominent historical and modern structures (Arg-e Alishah in Tabriz and the Boros Bunker in Berlin) and analyzing photographic techniques in cold seasons, this paper demonstrates how visual tools—such as tilt-shift lenses, depth-of-field management, and the zone system in monochrome photography—can enhance the phenomenological understanding of an edifice’s “physical resistance.” The findings suggest that architectural photography in cold climates is not merely a documentary record; rather, it is an analytical reading of the interaction between oblique winter light, rough material textures, and solid thermal geometry, translating abstract thermodynamic concepts into a tangible visual language.

Keywords : architectural photography cold climate thermal mass arg e alishah tabriz boros bunker a/vratio