Iman Soltanifar
About me
I am a PhD researcher in Architecture at Newcastle University, working at the intersection of hermeneutical philosophy and architectural design theory. My research develops a critical hermeneutical account of architectural design, focusing on the formation of pre-understanding (preliminary projection), the nature of evaluation, and the dynamics of meaning-making in design processes. Grounded in the philosophies of Martin Heidegger and Hans-Georg Gadamer, my work seeks to refine existing hermeneutical models of design and to articulate a normative and critical evaluative framework that supports reflective and dialogical architectural practice, particularly in the context of contemporary digital and AI-driven design environments. This research contributes both to architectural theory and to design pedagogy. I hold an MSc in Architectural Engineering from the University of Tehran, where my thesis explored hermeneutics as an architectural design tool-process, and a BSc in Architecture from Islamic Azad University, Shiraz. Alongside my academic research, I bring nearly two decades of professional experience as a lead architect, urban designer, and construction director, managing and designing a wide range of residential, commercial, cultural, and institutional projects. This integration of theory and practice informs my interest in bridging philosophical inquiry and architectural application. Beyond my research and professional practice, I have contributed to architectural education through design workshops and university teaching, and I maintain active interests in phenomenology, philosophy of technology, photography, literature, and film.
Project Title
Knowing design: A critical hermeneutical approach to the pre-understanding of architecture
Abstract
This research investigates unresolved ambiguities in the hermeneutical understanding of the architectural design process, with particular attention to the formation of pre-understanding (the first projection), evaluation, in which projections are evaluated and revised during and after the design process, and meaning-making. While existing frameworks proposed by scholars such as Schön, Snodgrass, and Coyne emphasize design as a reflective or dialogical practice, they leave insufficiently articulated the origin of pre-understanding emergence and the normative and critical grounds upon which evaluation operates. This study addresses these gaps by developing a hermeneutically grounded evaluative framework that is similar to, but not identical and reducible to, syntactical or grammatical rules.
Grounded in a critical interpretation of Heideggerian and Gadamerian philosophy, the research adopts a hermeneutical methodology that integrates conceptual analysis with case studies. Key concepts such as fore-structure, readiness-to-hand, circumspective concern, and effective history are critically reinterpreted in order to investigate how pre-understanding (preliminary projection) shapes design, and how evaluation occurs within the hermeneutical circle and in interpretations of architectural works. The empirical component is organized into two interrelated phases: the first examines the formation of pre-understanding, and the second investigates the normative and critical framework of evaluation during designing and subsequent interpretation. I will work with first-year architecture students at Newcastle University and expert architects, exploring emergent and sedimented forms of pre-understanding. A study of their designs, accompanied by interviews, informs a critical iterative interpretive analysis moving between part and whole.
The research contributes theoretically by critically refining hermeneutical accounts of design to provide theoretical insights and practical tools for architects, emphasizing how design remains a dynamic, critical, dialogical, and evaluative process of meaning-making.
Supervisors
Qualifications
Master of Science in Architectural Engineering, University of Tehran, Iran (2013-2017) Bachelor of Science in Architecture, Islamic Azad University, Iran (2001-2006)
Conference papers and publications
Soltanifar, I. (2025). An Inquiry into Technology, Science, and Thought in Martin Heidegger's View. (Submitted to Human Studies Journal).
Soltanifar, I. (2014). Bar Karaneie Masael-e Asasi-e Padidarshenasi (On the shore of The Basic Problems of Phenomenology). Mehrnameh Humanities Monthly Journal. (In Persian, not peer-reviewed)
Kodokan Judo Institute. (2024). Ketab-e Marja Katai-e Kodokan (Kodokan KATA Textbook) (I. Soltanifar, Trans.). Hatmi Publications.
Soltanifar, I. (2016). Ziarati bar Khod, dar Arz-e Ashraf (Pilgrimage to Self, On the More Honorable Land). Shiraz: Shahecheragh Publications.