Iranian Architecture

Contents

Preface by Jörg Kurt Grütter

Introduction

Part 1: A Brief History of Iranian Architecture

Part 2: Architecture Types

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Introduction

WhenI was a young architecture student, I noticed that architectural learning is mostly visual. When I began teaching architecture, I had the same experience. It was so hard to put architectural concepts into words. Sometimes you can talk on and on about a subject but, at the end of the lecture, if you find that the faces of your students are confused, then you haven’t succeeded. Just one picture, however, can save you: ‘Here is the plan of the building where you can see the hierarchy that I am talking about’ or ‘Here you can see the gorgeous plasterwork or ceramics that I mentioned’, can speak a thousand words.

After graduating, I began travelling and visiting historical monuments and buildings, which was a magnificent experience. Nothing is more inspiring for any architect than travel. The result was a large archive of pictures, which, at first, I wanted to publish as a photo book. However, after selecting and arranging the photos and showing them to some of my friends and colleagues, they suggested marrying the pictures with architectural text so that it would be more useful for fellow architects and students. I knew that there were numerous photographic books and textbooks about Iranian architecture at the time, so I decided to create a visual reference that contains all the necessary academic information, alongside beautiful and elegant pictures that can take the audience on a virtual tour of Iran’s important monuments, in other words, a basic visual course in Iranian architecture.

This book has two parts: in Part One, I have given a brief overview of the history of Iranian architecture. Divided into eras, the main characteristics of each period aim to give the reader a general concept of how Iranian architecture has changed over time. My principal reference has been the

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Right: Jameh Mosque, Gonabad, Iran

books of prominent historian of architecture, Mohammad Karim Pirnia, who has written extensively on the history of Iranian architecture and whose work is considered to be the primary academic reference within Iran.

Part Two, which is the main part of the book, gives examples of different buildings and is divided into chapters based on each building’s function and its evolution through time. I haven’t limited this selection to only famous buildings. On the contrary, if a building is not a tourist attraction because of its location, it became more important to me, like Faryumad Mosque, for example, which is hard to find in books due to its location. I have tried to include a good variety and all the most influential buildings, even if they are remote or in another country. I therefore had to extend my travel outside of Iran to Uzbekistan, which is home to some of the great masterpieces of Iranian architects in the ancient cities of Samarkand and Bukhara. While not an easy project, the results confirmed that it was worth the time and effort. I hope you will find this book as useful as I intended it to be.

Dr Sohrab Sardashti

Right: Ganjali Khan Complex, Kerman, Iran

Naqsh-e Jahan Square, Isfahan, Iran. View from the top of the minaret of Shah Mosque. Left to right: Ali Qapu Palace, the portal īwān of the bazaar, and Sheikh Lotf-Allah Mosque.

Nasir al-Mulk

Shiraz, Iran

Mostly known as the ‘Pink Mosque’, Nasir al-Mulk was built by order of one of the lords of the Qajar dynasty, Mirza Hassan Ali Nasir al-Mulk, in 1888 CE. The mosque has a bizarre plan, consisting of two īwāns that lead to nowhere, with their function purely as north and south façades of the courtyard. The southern īwān is not the focal point as is usual, instead it is shallow with two maazaneh. The northern īwān is deeper and covered with beautiful pink ceramics and muqarnases. In addition, the main prayer hall is on the west side of the courtyard instead of the south. It is this that the mosque is famed for, with its wood and coloured-glass doors and their effects on the interior of the hypostyle space. Once the sunlight hits the stained glass, the entire chamber is filled with a rainbow of colours which reflect on the carved-stone columns, brick walls and tiled ceiling, creating a memorable spiritual experience for any visitor. There are 12 monolith stone columns, representing 12 Shia Imams, in the western chamber. The eastern, or winter, chamber is much simpler in its ornamentation, with only seven simple stone columns.

Right: Western chamber.

Agha Bozorg

Kashan, Iran

Agha Bozorg was the title for the famous clergyman, Mulla Mahdi Naraqi. His father-in-law, Mohammad-Taghi Khanaban, was a wealthy man who built this mosque-madrasa in 1851 for Naraqi to hold religious meetings and classes.

This mosque-madrasa from the Qajar dynasty is very important from an architectural point of view because it doesn’t follow the dominant patterns of its era. Instead of using a four-īwān plan and including mahtabis, like Seyyed Mosque-Madrasa (p198), the architect Haj Sha’ban, employed a popular local residential element: a sunken courtyard. Houses in Kashan consisted of anything from one to three storeys and were built into the ground around a sunken central courtyard. This had many advantages: the soil excavated was used to build bricks and make mortar; the walls leaned on the surrounding ground acted as both a great insulator and a great support for arches; and finally, it protected people from the harsh desert climate.

For Agha Bozorg Mosque-Madrasa, Haj Sha’ban arranged hojrehs on three sides and a winter mosque on the fourth side of a central sunken courtyard. When one steps through the portal īwān, into the upper courtyard, one is basically standing on top of the winter mosque (see picture). To get to the summer mosque, which was originally a chartaqi open on four sides (like the pre-Islamic fire temples), one must pass around the sunken courtyard. There are steps on both sides providing access to the lower level. The shabestan (prayer hall) on the western side of the dome chamber was added later, disrupting the original pure form. Despite its lack of ornamentation and luxury, Agha Bozorg is a masterpiece in terms of design.

Mosque on the ground level.

Madrasa in the sunken courtyard.

Madar-e Shah caravanserai, Isfahan, Iran.

Ali Qapu

Isfahan, Iran

Shah Abbas had great plans for Isfahan as his new capital. He built Naqsh-e Jahan Square in the new city centre, with two mosques and a ceremonial gate for the bazaar. The Ali Qapu Palace was originally designed to be the entrance to the royal residential complex located on the west side of Naqsh-e Jahan Square. Originally only two floors, over the next century it expanded to become the beautiful five-storey palace overlooking the square that it is today.

The construction of Ali Qapu went through several phases. The first building was a two-storey atrium which was built around 1590–1595 CE. Then, when the square was renovated in 1602–1604 CE, two more floors were added. And finally, around 1614 CE, a final floor which became the hall of music (because of the acoustic feature of hollow muqarnases in the ceiling) was built at the top. As the building had initially been constructed to be an entrance, another twostorey gatehouse was built in front of it. In 1643 CE, the palace was completed with a columned porch like the one in front of the Chehel-Sotoun Palace, on top of the newly built gatehouse, which was used for special occasions such as watching polo played in the square.

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Right: Five floors were built on foundations that were only meant for two floors, and yet the building remains standing, intact, after more than 400 years.

Vank Cathedral

Isfahan, Iran

The All-Saviour’s Cathedral, known locally as the Vank Cathedral or the Church of the Saintly Sisters, was one of the first churches to be built in the Julfa quarter of Isfahan by Armenian immigrants. The original building was established after the Ottoman War of 1603–05 CE. Between 1655 and 1664 CE, the church was reconstructed, and major alterations made to become what is today’s current building. The Armenians built their churches in Isfahan using the same plans as their original churches in Armenia. But in terms of form and material, they were very much influenced by the local architecture of the Safavid era. All Isfahan churches were built in brick, and all have spherical double domes. Unlike the mosques, however, they didn’t disappear into the city fabric but stayed independent. Based on Islamic law, there were limitations on height, whereby the height of the belfry and dome were not to exceed the height of nearby mosques. In terms of decoration, Armenian methods were combined with local traditions. The interior of Vank Cathedral is covered with beautiful, gilded murals on the ceiling, depicting biblical stories, such as the creation of the world or the expulsion of Adam from Eden. Dados were made of Safavid ceramic with Persian geometrical or vegetal designs. The exterior used the same approach and was decorated with a combination of stone carvings and brickwork.

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Biography:

Dr Sohrab Sardashti was born and raised in Gorgan, a beautiful city on the shores of the Caspian Sea in Iran. While studying architecture as an undergraduate student, he took a photography course which then became his passion. Alongside studying and teaching architecture, he has worked with some of the best photographic agencies and magazines in Iran. In 2019, he graduated from the Isfahan University of Art with a PhD in Islamic Architecture.

Acknowledgements:

I would like to thank everyone who has helped me during the process of creating this book. Mr Jurg Grutter, who honoured me by writing the opening of the book. My dear friend, Dr Nima Deimary, for his valuable guidance. All those professors who, during my architectural studies, gave me, not only an advanced and critical insight into architecture, but also precious life lessons: Dr Heshmat Allah Motedeyn, Dr Hamid Nadimi, Dr Minoo Shafaie and all the other teachers whose classes I have had the privilege to attend. I would also like to thank my family for their unconditional love and support throughout these years. Finally, many thanks to ACC Art Books for their help and support during the process of publishing this book.

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Right: Portal īwān of Atiq Mosque, Shiraz, Iran.