Background and Objective: This paper affirms that creativity is one of the important features of architectural designs and a major concern for designers. Nevertheless, it seems that creativity has received less attention from the builders of industrial units. In this regard, the present article seeks to analyze the reasons, barriers, and solutions for enhancing creativity in the architectural design of industrial units. To this end, it evaluates formal and constructional innovation (as one of the main components of creativity) in the design of these units.
Methodology: The current study is based on a mixed-methods approach and secondary analysis. In the quantitative section, it utilizes survey data from a previous study on the architecture of units in the Caspian Industrial Estate. These comprise 63 industrial units, whose formal and constructional status was determined through observation. In the qualitative section, it cites the findings of a previous study regarding the nature of the design process in industrial complexes. Subsequently, through rational argumentation and data comparison, it analyzes the reasons, barriers, and solutions for enhancing creativity in the architectural design of industrial units.
Results and Findings: The results indicated that the use of novel forms has not been a concern for the designers or builders of industrial units. Furthermore, the results confirmed that despite a higher level of constructional innovation, this novelty was primarily concentrated in the area of modern materials and prefabrication, and did not extend to novelty in structural systems. The industrial nature and its relationship with the reduction of creative dimensions in design, the failure to generalize innovation to other technical areas, and the repetition of clichéd designs are the most significant challenges or barriers in the path of promoting creativity in these designs. Finally, the article presents solutions to overcome these conditions.