Background:
 Population growth, the knowledge and information revolution, changing cultural and social realities, economic globalization, the rise of new technologies and materials, increased environmental awareness and warnings, urbanization and migration pressures, etc., pose unprecedented challenges to our lives and professions. In the 19th century, industrial progress, science, technology, and the growth of urbanization in the West caused fundamental changes in the social organization and culture of the people of the world. Alongside this progress and technology, the story of today's Iranian architecture is the story of the diminution of cultural and civilization-building values ​​and concepts hidden in a deep-rooted and dynamic architecture. For a long time, in the traditional architecture and urban planning of Iranian cities, the factor of culture has been considered as a special category in design. In any case, the cultural life of the country is in serious proportion to cultural events. However, it cannot be claimed that the capacity of cultural events is optimally utilized and the productivity of these measures is at the desired level. This weakness and lack of productivity stems from various causes, one of which is undoubtedly the lack of systematic design and implementation processes for cultural activities. A set of cultural, political, natural and historical factors have worked together to make the behavior and morale of people in different parts of Iran different. People who communicate with each other with equal value and respect and without aggression or humiliation and form a peaceful society called Iran. The cultural characteristics of each era can be recognized in its architecture, because when architecture is created under the influence of different conditions of an era, such as political, social, economic and cultural, etc., as soon as it is created, it can be recognized as independent and alive and take on special characteristics.When the effects that created a work (architecture) disappear, that architecture may continue to live. If the factors that create it are in accordance with cultural demands, that architecture will take deep root, and if those factors are unstable, that architecture will lack life and new factors will destroy it. The geographical location of Gilan, dense vegetation, humidity, access to the sea, and countless climatic factors have made the people of this province lively, cheerful, and with a different spirit from other parts of Iran. Therefore, it is essential that the architecture of the future be formed in accordance with the customs and culture of this province. The present study aims to study the future of the architectural developments of Gilan province based on the influential cultural components.
Aim:
Accordingly, the main question of the research is stated as follows: To what extent will cultural criteria be effective on the future architecture of Gilan province? Based on the explanations presented, the focus of the present study is not "culture" in the general sense, nor simply solving a cultural problem and providing solutions for it, but rather a study of future architecture based on culture and its formulation. Thinking about the future is essential for the current actions and actions of man. Humans have been eager to know about the future since ancient times. Prophets and soothsayers are examples of those who in the past tried to somehow respond to this eagerness in the eyes of the public and the private. The first serious signs of human interest in the future can be seen in the Age of Enlightenment, a time when humanity believed that science would find a solution to everything. Newton's laws of motion made it possible to understand and analyze many phenomena. As a result of the rapid growth of science during this period, thinkers of the Age of Enlightenment had truly concluded that it only takes time for all the laws and regulations of society and the environment surrounding humanity to be known and revealed. The foundations of this research are valid research and experienced models in the field related to the problem. Research conducted in the field of the future of architecture has all cultural, social and economic dimensions, either separately or together. Therefore, the present research has attempted to carefully examine the impact of culture on the future of architecture in Gilan province. Due to the multidimensional nature of the concept of development, it is necessary to pay attention to a range of main variables of different economic, social, cultural and environmental sectors.
Methodology:
This research is applied in terms of purpose and method, mixed with an exploratory approach to the future. The statistical population of this research at all stages are experts who have worked in scientific environments and in the fields of architecture, urban planning and sociology. This research was conducted in three stages; in the first stage, in order to identify the drivers, in-depth interviews were conducted with 28 experts, which were the basis for designing the interview protocol, using literature review, Postel technique and W1H5 questioning technique, and sampling continued until theoretical saturation was reached. Max QDA software was used to analyze the interviews. Interview documentation, returning the coded interviews to the interviewees for confirmation, and using a secondary coder to check the degree of code compliance (code similarity) were carried out. In this research, with the participation of experts, the best capabilities for developing the province and building a desirable future were selected.
Results:
 Among the three scenarios given by the Scenario Wizard software, scenarios number one and two were the desirable scenarios, and scenario number three was the undesirable scenario. Among the two desirable scenarios given, scenario number two, due to its higher score (186), is the desirable scenario in which special attention should be paid to cultural changes, climate change should be given more attention, users' needs and awareness should be given more attention, and special attention should be paid to immigrants. However, in the undesirable scenario, if cultural changes, climate change, user needs, disregard for immigrants, increased globalization, and construction barriers are not removed, we will witness undesirable architecture in the future.