Amir Sarabi - Department of Architecture, University of Kurdistan, Sanandaj, Iran.
Bakhtiar Bahrami - Department of Urban Planning and Design, University of Kurdistan, Sanandaj, Iran

The present study is focused on place attachment from environmental designers’ point of view. The study’s aim is to offer a helpful and practical model of place attachment for its audience; this is done using the Spatial-Social Place attachment(SSPa)model. Based on this model’s hypothesis, place attachment has two aspects: spatial and social; a purposeful and methodical (systematic) study of these two aspects produces reliable and practical results on the subject of place attachment for architects and environmental designers. To study and complete the proposed model, the writers selected architecture schools located in Tabriz as their behavioral settings. Based on the SSPa model, visual base systematic field studies, mental mappings, behavioral mappings, deep interviews, and direct observation of case studies were conducted. Ultimately, designing recommendations in the form of factors influencing place attachment in faculty’s gathering places are as follows: 1) physical form; 2) activities; 3) climate; 4) views and landscapes; 5) privacy; 6) elements and furniture; 7) places in the vicinity of a gathering place. By specifying the factors influencing place attachment in behavioral-social settings, the practical outputs of this study intended for designers and architects proved the validity and efficiency of the SSPa model.

Place attachment, Spatial-Social Place attachment, Architecture Schools, Sociable Places, Iran