How gender and privacy affect the public architecture of historical baths(Garmabeh) in Safavid Period in Isfahan

The identity of people in the society is expressed through various things, including gender, and it is explained according to factors such as socio-cultural values, religion, freedom of men and women in the family and society. The purpose of this article is to investigate the concept of gender and privacy derived from the cultural-religious structure in the Safavid historical period and to analyze its impact on the public architecture of bathrooms as widely used spaces for women in the city of Isfahan. With the assumption that the relationship between gender and privacy in public bathrooms has changed since the Safavid period, the research question is raised as follows: How are the architectural features of public baths in the Safavid era influenced by gender and privacy? The current research is qualitative and the historical-interpretive research method and the descriptive-analytical method have been used in a mixed manner. In this research, by selecting and analyzing three case samples, their physical elements in the entrance and access sections, the shape relations of the plan and decorations in the female and male spaces have been compared with each other in a comparative manner, and it shows that the factor of culture and religion has influenced the concept of gender identity and this concept has caused obvious differences in the amount and method of creating privacy for women and men in the physical structure of public bathrooms. The results of the presented analysis show that in Safavid double or twin baths in Isfahan, access to the entrance to the bath for women is a controlled and hierarchical access that reflects the introverted culture; However, the way of entry for men has reduced privacy and provided through the main passages. Spatial relations, the dimensions of spaces and their decorations are also different in women's bathrooms and men's bathrooms, and the relationship between gender and privacy, influenced by the cultural structure, has created significant differences in the body of bathrooms.