Iran - Serial Nomination of Tehrans' Modern Architectural Heritage

"Development in the historical structure of the Iranian architecture has begun from the second half of the 19th century and contemporaneous with establishment of Dar al-Fonun College which was the first training center for new sciences in Iran since 1851. At the outset of this development, there was a tendency toward the European architecture and employment of some elements of the Neo-classicism. But the early decades of the 20th century and contemporaneous with the end of the Qajarid dynasty and beginning of the Pahlavids, modernization was precipitated. Along with the elites’ and individuals’ interests, new centralist and bureaucratic government made this choice of development. The very crystal clear instances of such development are urban changes and architectural properties for example contemporaneous establishment of a large number of public buildings such as schools, universities, industrial factories, state buildings and ministries. In this way, a number of architects who were familiar with architectural changes of the 19th and 20th centuries in Europe found job opportunities. This group of architects consisted of a number of Iranian and several foreign architects who were the pioneers of such changes. Finally, in 1940, they established the first architecture college in Iran.....

Late Modern Style
There exist a number of experiences within the Modern style that tried to include some elements of vernacular culture such as Azadi Tower, Imam Sadegh University and the headquarters of the Iranian Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts. In this style, the architects tried to give some kind of local identity to the Modern architecture that was employed in Iran..."

Source: UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List


A nice postcard of Azadi Tower in Azadi Square, Teheran, Iran. Nice stamps too. Thanks to Ingrid.


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