A museum for the future heritage: house of Tehran’s auction with the neo-vernacular approach

ABSTRACT Museum design has always been influenced by factors such as the building site, culture, politics, economy, etc. The possibility of using the museum as a multifunctional and adaptable building has always been considered by designers, and it is always seen not as a temporary building, but as a standing work for many years. Another aspect of museums, which is perhaps less well known, is the way it interacts with its objects. After the exhibition, the objects are waiting for an unknown destiny. This is perhaps because some under the title of “ auction “ sought to sell them, trying to prevent them from forgetting. In Iran, this type of collision is very novel and different. The necessary design of the auction as a multi-functional building is undeniable. Further research shows that public spaces can contribute to creating a meaningful context for future heritage and to increasing their influence in societies to provide a context for future developments.


Introduction
With the beginning of the new era and technological developments in various fields of science and its rapid growth in recent years, buildings have always been the symbol and platform for the emergence of events and developments in the center of attention. In the meantime, museums have always been considered as a space to display objects. While museums today are mostly considered as communication tools or multifunctional environments, we try to analyze them through a heritage framework and show that they can use the art for their purposes [1]. Researchers consider museums as an important space for society to learn and educate. However, there are conflicting opinions between using the 'traditional' approach and the 'interactive' exhibition techniques for visitors. Finally, these findings are considered to be known to the museum not only as an exhibition but also as a scientific research center. We need a new narrative to guide the future [2]. Since the 17th century, with the advent of the most primitive auction houses, selling methods and choosing the right place has always been important. Historically, auction origins have been used to sell the assets of individuals seeking profits from their valuables, as well as to liquidate the assets of debtors. Today, auctions or auction houses have taken on a different shape. Auctions must fulfill their most basic function, sales, in the best possible way, on the other hand, they must meet the needs of the day in terms of space and function, and on the other hand, they must be a suitable platform for displaying and presenting works. In today's world, issues such as sustainability, technology, (neo) vernacularity, heritage, and other related issues have been involved with designing. Interestingly, at the same time, the most important reason for the lack of buildings with permanent use for auctions is the lack of economic efficiency [3]. Therefore, the possibility of using the museum as a multifunctional and adaptable building has always been of interest to designers, and looking at it as a temporary building has always been a footprint for many years. Auction houses focus almost exclusively on art and collections. Also, while auction names are often associated with the sale of famous works of art, auction houses can be used to sell a variety of assets, including a variety of goods. This article is based on applied research and is qualitative in terms of approach.

Research Statement
Art and architecture have a long tradition of interdependency, yet competitiveness and globalization challenge the perennity of attractions [4]. Furthermore, less has been investigated on the role of auction houses and their architectural features to anchor a site as a long-term tourism attraction. Therefore, this study seeks a philosophical inquiry into the future of auction houses and their attraction value. Based on a 'relational placemaking' approach that critically examines network relationships and involved processes that are framed by place, the study aims to understand the design patterns and features that could design an auction house into a new unique landmark, based on an Iranian site.
A building can be a piece of art because it is designed in a way that can both satisfy practical needs and esthetical pleasure. Over time, such places can become popular tourist destinations, many cities have been restructured as places of consumption as well as places to live and work, in which public spaces are showcased and turned into commercial products that are branding strategies aimed at attracting tourists [5]. Public spaces are assumed as a functional system for development that can gravitate people. In cities with a rich history, public spaces play several roles and also serves many functions connected specifically with heritage and the emotions that accompany their presence [6]. These attractions are the backbone of the society which can attract people in combination with public spaces. On the other hand, within an urban area, public space has always reflected the city's social, economic, cultural, and environmental well-being. The importance of emphasizing public spaces instead of private ones is due to their potential to provide a platform for attracting people that can lead to the realization of the objectives of this study.
The existence of borders in the urban context can itself cause behavioral problems in humans and manifest a kind of dichotomy, including financial, behavioral, identity, and practical. The people's perception would be varied in the face of two environments with a similar design, but with radically different ages [7]. On the other hand, due to the high sensitivity of the change in the historical context, any manipulation of it must be done very carefully and accurately. Combining or linking old and new urban context can revitalize historical context and create a kind of identity for new urban spaces. Besides, many parameters affect the composition of these spaces. Factors such as behavioral patterns, type of use, development plan, culture, and type of integration (reconstruction, change of use, adding shell or extension) are therefore effective and by studying and evaluating them in the urban context, we can create new spaces providing modern context as it shaping the identity, it also orienting the policies in city development [8].

Auction house activities
Auction is the process of buying and selling goods or services by submitting a bid for them, offering a price, and then selling the goods to the highest bidder. A wide range of sales outlets is called 'auctions' [9]. Traditional auction houses include an auction hall, a registering hall, a warehouse, a temporary sales storage, a cleaning room, and a resting place. Moreover, some spaces like theaters, amphitheaters, and galleries have been recently added to auction houses. The activities of this emerging building itself are a broad function of performances. First of all, the building must perform its main task, which is to selling, in the best possible way. secondly, social needs are important. Buildings should be able to communicate dynamically with the city as an element and perform part of their social function as an interactive element with the people. Thirdly, the world is facing an energy crisis. Sustainability is the key to solving this problem in this modern world. Also, one of the complexities of design is paying enough attention to the context of the site and (neo) vernacularity. Finally, the building must be able to preserve the heritage and goals of its builders and convey them to future generations [10].
This research and design are providing a new perspective in a combination of architectural design, urban spaces, and museums and clarifying the overlaid boundary. Examining the urban factors which affect auction house contexts can help preserve their originality and identity as a traditional auction house while it attracts people as a museum. The significance of the architecture of the auction house is unquestionable since it can attract amateur and professional artists together and provide a context for people to observe their arts. Also, the economic and social contributions they provide are significant because it makes the selection and buying process easier and people are easily able to compare arts to each other before making a decision. The first area is to conduct a full study on contexts of auction house design and its potentials. Studies are absent into the variances in contributions of auction houses architecture [11]. It is expected that a study of this nature will enable architecture to provide a new context for auction houses while it preserves the origin of the site allowing for insight to be given into creating shapes of the modern cities. The proposed study also has the following practical implications: Firstly, it tries to preserve the context and maintain or create a cultural identity for future heritage. Second, it has a direct impact on the life quality of the residents or city due to economic growth. Finally, it is undeniable that museums attract people from all over the world and they bring fame and wealth to the city. The output of the research would be an implanted architectural space that confirms the accuracy of the studies performed and also a strategy guide for future developments.

Museum Definition and Its Function
The role of the museum, as an organization, is to acquires, maintains, research, communicate, and exhibit for education, training, and enjoyment, financial and cultural issues [12]. The museum is also known as an institution for spreading knowledge about history, culture, and natural history [13]. Modern architecture emphasizes the importance of adapting buildings to their surroundings. Today, buildings are a new perspective for designing an important element in such critical locations [14]. The general functions of the museum can be seen as categorized by Conrad Wise [1]: Collection: Any new object that a museum adds to its collection is called an acquisition. Museums obtain objects in several ways, of which collections are one of the most useful.
Maintenance: Every business has been carefully reviewed by expert staff. As soon as objects are received, data, resources, access methods, and other information in the record are entered.
Preservation of materials: The main purpose of museums is to preserve selected objects.
Research: One of the important uses of the museum is to extract as much knowledge as possible from the samples. Many museums publish scientific journals, collections of articles, and books to make research findings available to the public.
Exhibition: The various members of the museum consider the preparation of objects for the exhibition as one of their main tasks. The samples will be exposed to the public during the exhibition. The choice of approach and method largely depends on the purpose of the exhibition.
Education: Several universities offer some courses on specific topics in the museum to use this collection. Museums, therefore, play an important role in expanding education [15].

Arrangement of Spaces
Entrance area: This area includes parts of the auction house that are dedicated to introducing and displaying objects. It is the most important and fundamental area, the role of which directly interacts with the users and visitors. Galleries, amphitheaters, and libraries are some of the spaces that make up this arena [16].
Administrative area: This field includes the field of administration and various administrative departments, which perform administrative and financial work and general planning and policy-making of the complex [16].
Research area: This area includes spaces where researchers can do research theoretically or practically and use the facilities provided in this section [16].
Educational field: through it, art can be recognized and promoted, and made available to everyone. This section is composed of spaces such as classrooms, workshops, and laboratories according to its goals and tasks [16].
Public service area: To have a special attraction for the visitor, it should be designed as a mixture of public and private spaces, so that the visitor, while forgetting the confusion, is in a state of balance and is in more contact with people and objects. These functions provide short-term rest space and places for recreation and leisure [16]. Support services area: Every building need ancillary spaces. Although may not directly be used, but play an important role in improving the quality of life of the main spaces. This area includes spaces such as a security room, warehouse, facilities, crew room, Parking spaces, and green area [17].
Exhibition area: An exhibition is a collection of objects such as arts that are exposed to the public [16].

Vernacularity and neo-vernacularity
Vernacular architecture is made up of traditional buildings that reflect a morphological response to both environmental and climatic constraints as well as socio-economic and cultural factors of societies. Besides, the materials and components used in architecture are adapted 1to the specific conditions of the climate and are therefore adapted to seismic, geographical, and topographic characteristics as well as local climates [18].
Neo-Vernacular architecture is the modern interpretation of indigenous buildings. Neo-Vernacular is usually based on two approaches that are fundamentally opposite: theory and conservatism. The conservative approach to its performance and current use of traditional materials and forms suitable for the new time is limited. While the theoretical approach is only the physical suffix of the existing structure, and in its architectural sense it only follows the new functional requirements [19]. New concepts must not only reflect the fusion of dialogue between contemporary and old values but should also reflect the philosophy of the architect. Most buildings have their own identity, while Vernacular architecture includes the identity of the place. It is necessary to match past and future facilities because this is the only possible way for morphological and cultural continuity in a particular place [20].

Sustainability
The word 'sustainability' and the phrase 'sustainable architecture' have been expanded in design and architecture for two reasons: form and function. Sustainable architecture to achieve energy efficiency, positive effects on health, comfort, and improvement of life among residents have designed and built buildings to affect the environment. Areas of sustainability include: Environmental: This area addresses the capacity for human intervention to reduce and even prevent negative impacts on the environment. It also means the ability to compensate for the consequences of any artificial action and to recognize the general need to strengthen land reclamation [18]. There are 5 steps to achieve: respecting environmental context and landscape, to benefit from natural and climatic resources, to reduce pollution and wastes, contributing to human health, and reducing natural hazards effects.
Socio-cultural: This area should be considered as a turning point in relationships, a sense of belonging, identity, personal development, and communication. Efforts are being made to gather all the positive social and cultural effects visible in indigenous solutions [21]. Socio-cultural sustainability contains landscape protection, culture transformation, enhancing creativity, intangible values recognition, and social cohesion encouragement.
Socio-economic: This area forms the most sustainable area committee, and usually adopts financial and monetary values as key indicators [22]. The following steps for Socioeconomic sustainability are autonomy support, local activities promotion, construction optimizing, extending buildings' lifetime, and saving resources.

Examples
Guardian Art Center: It is designed by Ole Scheeren for China's oldest art auction house, which is now under construction just two blocks away from Beijing's Forbidden City. As the world's first major museum and auction house, Sheeran Center for the Guardian Arts provides a new base for China Guardian auctions, as well as exhibition galleries, a large space for events, and a 120-room hotel. The proposed location of the building is between the historic 15th-century imperial palace of the city and a modern shopping area. The auction house acts as a multicultural space for users and collectors. Its form is designed to fit the scale of the contemporary city, but its hollow center is set to be filled with traditional Chinese courtyard houses [23,24] ( Figure 1).
Christie's auction house in Beverly Hills: Renders provided by Christie's show that architects use a single-story commercial structure in Beverly Hills for this project. Renovated and added by the architects, the building is wrapped in an insulating curtain made of 'white aluminum' that is cut along a large gap in the clear glass in the street. Programs for the new auction house include adding a second-floor terrace and a flexible interior floor design. Interior design includes spaces for exhibitions, private events, and auctions on the ground floor [25,26] (Figure 2).
Bonhams auction house: The new building on 101 New Bond Street provides the global auction facilities in the heart of London's historic Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands. The new building is a bold piece of contemporary architecture, skillfully blended with the neighborhood to combine the existing collection of Bonham's buildings, which includes the experience of viewing and tendering for art and works of various dimensions [21] (Figure 3).
Phillips auction house: As reported by the New York Post for the first time, the MDA Architecture Studio has been used to design the 55,000-square-foot auction house. The transparent design encourages public interaction and spoils the 'classic typology' behind-the-scenes auction, according to the project description from MDA Studio, as well as its lattice structure that allows light to enter its basement. The new Phillips headquarters will be linked to an auction house, a gallery, a museum, a lecture hall, and a venue. By working on multiple cultural spaces, I believe we can create a new kind of auction house  with more exciting relationships with the city than the exhibition. In response to Phillips' expanding auction business, studio MDA designed a system of flexible 'zones' that can be divided into separate rooms or opened into vast, column-free spaces for auction and exhibition activities [27]. Unlike a museum or a gallery, Phillips cycles through different programs daily. A kit of movable walls provides the ability to respond to how art is displayed and cater to the specificity of various events and curatorial platforms. Each space within the newly developed concourse will be custom-tailored to the scale and nature of the collections on display, ranging from automobiles to paintings to watches. This flexibility celebrates the theatricality and everchanging nature of the auction house experience [26,28] (Figure 4).

Features of District 6 of Tehran
The selected site for design is located in District 6 of Tehran, the capital of Iran. District 6 is close to the geographical center of Tehran and on the other hand, in terms of location and proximity to the old center of the city, is influenced by the actions taken by the first regarding Tehran's development. This region with a population of 251,384 people (2016) and an area of 2137.9 hectares from four directions west, east, north and south are surrounded by highways of Chamran, Modares, Hemmat, and the axis of Enqelab-Azadi, respectively. Also, the region, with an area equivalent to 3% of the area of Tehran and 2.9% of its total population, currently houses more than 30% of governmental buildings, public and private institutions and banks, and the main organs of the country. The above set of factors, together with its special urban access and transportation network (hierarchical diversity of the network in the region from urban highways to neighborhood access), has provided a kind of comparative advantage for the region in providing demand for regional, urban, and national uses.

Intra-regional Divisions
District 6, in addition to the six divisions of urban areas, is divided into smaller units called neighborhoods. This area is divided and demarcated into the same 6 districts and 14 neighborhoods according to the approved and official borders. In these internal divisions, the average area of 357 hectares, and its average population was approximately 38,330 people. The smallest neighborhood in terms of area is Nezami Ganjavi neighborhood and the largest neighborhood is the Amirabad neighborhood, the least populated neighborhood is Tehran University and then Iranshahr neighborhoods, and the most populous neighborhoods are Yousefabad, Fatemi, and Amirabad neighborhoods, respectively. The results of the study of the neighborhood structure of District 6 show that the weakening of the neighborhood boundaries in the south and the reduction of the sense of belonging of the place and the citizens has gradually proportioned and expanded its effects in the next layers over time.

Site Plan and General Requirements
The museums should be located in areas that are easy for everyone to access, and on the other hand, due to its cultural features, it is better to be located next to the library, universities, and other cultural centers. One's experience of the three-dimensional space of the exhibition is the result of quick perception. This perception is achieved in an environment with a clear structure, easier, and with less fatigue than in an environment that has a weak and illegitimate composition. An exhibition is a special type of space in which is not only a link between the human and space, but there is also a complex relationship between space and the object. In parts of the exhibition that have fixed exhibition collections, Architecture can be adapted to objects as much as possible, but for flexible parts, this is only possible through a lot of decorations and arrangements ( Figure 6).

Spaces Requirements
To explain the space requirements of the project, the spaces were first redefined based on the general architectural plan, and multifunctional spaces and intermediate spaces that are in line with the project fluidity were added to it. Considering the volume of space instead of the surface, in other words, studying the quality and function of space along with the level of its occupation, is another factor in space allocation. Finally, the summary of the total area of the spaces is shown in Table 1.
Facilities: The location of the facility room should be chosen in such a way that it is as close as possible to the most consumable part of the building. Also, the location of the facility room should be chosen in such a way that it can be used with the least accuracy and cost. Also, for the initial estimation of the facility room area in the initial design, we consider a surface between 4 to 5% of the architectural space for it. The height should be such that the tallest equipment can be easily placed in. Some standards suggest a minimum space of the tallest device in the facility room to its ceiling of 2 meters. In general, we consider the height of the motorhome to be 1.5 to 2 times the height of the other floors. Also, air conditioning ducts and utility pipes require 0.6 to 0.9 meters of space, which should be considered in the design. Air conditioning systems for buildings, skyscrapers, and towers require a lot of energy, so that about 30% of the total energy of the building is spent on ventilation, so according to the needs of today's society to build buildings following the environment and proper use of resources and the energy and pollution prevention, sustainability in buildings is essential.

Concept and the Final Design
In the design process, many elements have been effective in shaping the volume and connection of spaces. On the one hand, the position of the site and its proximity to the important museums of the country and the need to attract a wide range of its audience, has led to the formation of the auction house as several separate modern buildings. The broken form of the primary element with sharp angles is due to show a kind of reaction to the structure of the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art and the Museum of Carpets, and also to show its structure and content different from the context. conversely, the symbolic elements and consecutive views toward the mentioned museums are a kind of indicator of paying attention to its valuable context.

Locating Different Parts of the Building According to Site Analysis
Upon arrival, the building is a place to display the cultural products of ordinary people or emerging artists. The central building is the main building of the auction, which includes the auction hall and its administrative sections, and important VIPs pass through the parking lot. In the northern part of the site and the auction center, facilities are located. In the western part, there are 2 buildings, which include galleries, a restaurant and cafe, training classes and a conference hall. The entrance to the parking lot is from the Mesri Alley in the north of the site.

Design Process
First, the plan and access to the main hall are designed and then different sections are added to it. In general, the growth of design has been from internal to external and self-made. The interior design of spaces is based on the needs of every individual space, such as vision, light, safety, and security. The colors used include neutral colors, and in some cases, elements with specific colors have been consciously used to disturb the uniformity of the environment. In the next step, the structure is added as a plugin to the form and volume, and the necessary changes are made to the plan. The next step is to design the site according to the available elements and add the necessary facilities and elements for energy optimization. The last step is adding a dynamic shell to the facades for visual beauty and controlling the natural light ( Figure 5).

The Structure
One of the structural design problems is the large spans required for this building because the columns can cut off the direct view of the main halls and cause many serious problems. On the other hand, instead of hiding the columns, displaying them as an exposed object in spaces can be useful for separating the spaces. The required span for the main auction hall is 13 meters, which can be achieved by the Cobiax system. The ceiling thickness is 70 cm, which has been used for facilities in addition to the needs of the structure. The general principles of this system are to create a flat slab through in-situ concreting with permanent cavities in two directions. The purpose of using these cavities (spherical and flat parts) is to remove unnecessary concrete. Cobiax slab can reduce the weight of one square meter of slab up to 30% compared to a flat slab with a similar thickness. As a result, the bending capacity of this type of slab is significantly increased compared to its flat slab. Depending on the needs of the design, the Cobiax roof system can be prefabricated, semi-prefabricated, or in situ. Also, this system can be easily combined with other systems such as prestressed systems. Cobiax is often used as a column slab system with shear walls. In this case, while saving the consumption of concrete and steel, a smooth surface without beam suspension is created in the structure. Cobiax is compatible with many architectural shapes. The arrangement of hollow balls, the size, and shape of the concrete slab is determined based on the requirements of the project.

The Facilities
Due to the energy crisis and the high cost of electricity supply and heating and cooling of public spaces, optimizing energy consumption has become a design requirement. Concurrent use of simultaneous power and heat generation systems (CHP), solar systems, geothermal energy, as well as moving awnings, and dynamic facades can be important in achieving this goal. The facilities of the building are located on the underground floor and Outside the building and separate access is provided for it (Figure 7 and 8, 9, 10).

Discussion and conclusion
This paper presented a design for an auction house in Iran on the interrelated topics of architecture, art, public spaces, and their impact on the contemporary architecture of Iran. Design of auction houses is a brand-new topic that has the potential to be involved with other related subjects. The growing interest of academics in this topic is demonstrated by the radical increase in the number of publications in the last decades. This trend suggests the existence of an emerging interdisciplinary research area at the intersection of architecture and public spaces. For example, museums  are particularly popular topics for many years, but it remains as a single functional building. On the other side, auction house design is a new topic all around the world. Several interrelated aspects are important here, which raise issues that are undeveloped in public spaces and architecture and therefore warrant further discussion in this final section of the paper. These are the axiomatic status of the auction house, public spaces, and how they can be adopted over years. Under the first topic, auction house, the structure of the auction house in the world has been separate from its context and has always functioned in the same way, but when we look at it as a non-independent building connected to the city, its context, and its side functions become remarkable. Although the auction buildings have a long history, they have been designed as an independent building for less than a decade. This building can well meet the needs of a wide range of audiences and adapt to the needs of the new age and make a significant impact on the environment. The auction building preserves the heritage and messages from the past in terms of identity and structure and transmits it to the future, and this is the primary task of the building while playing its functional role.
The second topic is the public spaces. Public spaces are undeniable parts of the new world's societies. It also emphasizes the importance of diversity of people that can be used with potentially considerable positive effects on not only authenticity but also innovation and employment. It is not possible for people to enter the working community all at once without its infrastructure and it needs gradual reforms. Public spaces provide a good platform for social activities that prepare the context for gathering people from different classes.
The challenges and conflicts in presence of people in public places remind us of the contradicting interests that might exist in every society. Although, as mentioned in this article, provided design eventually exert their influence in various parts of society, especially architecture, the publicity of these influences improves their growth rate and influence.
Overall, the findings revealed the necessary design of the auction as a multifunctional building. Our findings have powerful living condition implications. In the same way, some recent literature has underlined the synergy between heritage and museums within the context of architecture, but most articles are still mono-discipline oriented. Maybe this aspect represents the larger gap identified. Furthermore, the analysis did not demonstrate an evident pattern of relationships between art and public spaces or underlined existing competition and synergy. Further research is needed to identify the mechanisms through which strategies embedding public spaces can contribute to creating a meaningful context for future heritage and to increasing their influence in societies like Iran and also provide a context for future developments.