No One Knows About Persian Planning

#preservepersianpardis

NO ONE KNOWS ABOUT PERSIAN PLANNING

the conflic t bet ween modernization and preser vation in urban planning in Iran

Cassandra Salehi Hammerstad December 17th 2020 Student no.150401 Urbanism & Societal Change The Royal Danish Academy Characters count: 39.517

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fig 02. Twitter_@realDonaldTrump

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fig03. Twitter_#iranianculturalsites

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On January 4th 2020 US President Trump tweeted out threatening Iran with what is their most valuable possession, their cultural heritage.

On January 4th 2020 the Iranian people responded by sharing photos on twitter of their favorite historical sites in Iran with the hashtag #IranianCulturalSites. (Johnson, 2020)

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“....targeted 52 Iranian sites (representing the 52 American hostages taken by Iran many years ago), some at a very high level & important to Iran & the Iranian culture, and those targets, and Iran itself, WILL BE HIT VERY FAST AND VERY HARD. The USA wants no more threats!”

(Trump, 2020)

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“When preservationists choose cultural and place them on register of so-called resources, what they are really doing is p question that cannot be asked of society cultural object real? It is a question that cannot answer directly. But it can answ rectly through how it behaves toward the whether or not it provides a successful soci ronment for the preservationist’s not-me cr allowing it or disallowing it to go unchalle

Otero-Pailos, J., Langdalen, E., & Arrhenius, T. (2016). Experimental Preservation. p.37

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objects historic posing a y: Is this society wer indie object, ial envireation, enged.”

fig04. by author_Shiraz

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dictionary Pardis Bagh Hayat Chahar Aftab Salam Merci

Paradise Garden Courtyard Four Sunshine Hello Thank you

paradise “In most European languages the words for ‘garden’ and ‘paradise’ are both related to the Iranian term Paridiza, which in Pahlavi ( old iranian language) means ‘the Lord’s enclosure’; its equivalent in new Iranian language is Pardis, Ferdous or Beheshet.” (Manzoor, 1993, p3)

In 2008 my grandparents were offered two new apartments for their house.

Located in the center of Shiraz, Iran, developers were looking to build an apartment complex on their ground.

They declined, but their neighbors accepted. The picture on the front page is of an orange tree in my grandparent’s hayat, with the new apartment complex luring in the background.

The courtyard is a scaled down outcome of the Persian pardis, or historical Persian bagh. These gardens were built for the advantages of creating spaces with shadow and fresh air. But it was just as much about the social and spiritual space, essentially paradise on earth. However, with the rapid urbanization and influence from the West, developers and speculators have substituted green spaces with building complexes, but at what price?

The conflict between urban sprawl and green protection can be considered as a conflict between modernization and preservation. In Iran, this friction can be found on many levels, like the underground cultural site, which is a reflection on people’s thirst for modernization. In 2009, director Bahman Ghobadi released his movie Kasi az Gorbehaye Irani Khabar Nadareh, or No One Knows About Persian Cats. The movie followed two Iranian songwriters journey to form a band with other underground musicians in Iran, where “…music deemed politically or culturally incendiary was prohibited.”(Shuttlewort, 2010). The title was a response to a ban on walking dogs in public as “...dogs in Iran were front and center in Iran’s nearly 40-year long battle against Western influences...”(Erdbrink, 2019).

In this research paper I want to explore this conflict between modernization and preservation through the lens of urban planning. With increasing pressure on urban areas, as they host a little over 60% of an 83million population, we notice many issues overseen in the distribution and preservation of land.

(Population of Cities in Iran, 2020).

I will look at two larger cities in Iran with issues at different scales regarding green strategies. Tehran, the capital of Iran, is the largest and most polluted city. The lack of supervision has led to trees and gardens disappearing in the middle of the night, which is worsening the city’s poor air conditions. In Shiraz, where we find a larger number of popular historical gardens, we see the impact of these gardens slowly disappearing to make room for more housing, leaving the citizens unsatisfied.

The urban strategies are not sustainable, and the implications are both physical, or environmental, and psychological. We see this exact conflict appearing all around the world, however in a country with important cultural heritage and the need for environmental relief, the pressure heightens.

Today there are only nine historical gardens registered in the National Heritage List. Located across the whole country, these gardens are protected according to the Iranian legislation.

(The Persian Garden, n.d.). Yet, a larger number of both historical gardens, public parks, and even single trees do not withhold the same rights. With a cultural connection so strong and a climate so warm, there is a need to focus on green preservation strategies as part of urban planning, especially in the heat of urban growth.

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the conflict between modernization and preservation

ABSTRACT

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urbanization “the process by which large numbers of people become permanently concentrated in relatively small areas, forming cities.”

Britannica

preservation “the activity or process of keeping something valued alive, intact, or free from damage or decay.”

Merriam-Webster

experimental preservation “the art of choosing quasi-objects and testing out whether people will find them useful and engage with them, and in the process build a community.”

Experimental Preservation, 2016, p16

modernization “modernization, in sociology, the transformation from a traditional, rural, agrarian society to a secular, urban, industrial society.”

Britannica “the process of adapting something to modern needs or habits.”

Lexico

How do we as architects and urban planners deal with modernization in an urbanizing Iran, while preserving cultural heritage and the climate?

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research question

fig05. UNESCO_Iran

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p.15

02 IRAN

p.18

climate persian paradise

03 THE GREEN ENVIRONMENT

p.24

psychological physical

04 PRESERVATION THEORY

p.26

05 CASE STUDY_TEHRAN

p.30

disappearing trees disappearing gardens

06 CASE STUDY_SHIRAZ

p.38

disappearing gardens

07 REFLECTION

p.44

08 CONCLUSION

p.48

09 BIBLIOGRAPHY

p.50

10 FIGURE LIST

p.52

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01 BACKGROUND

TABRIZ

caspian sea

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MASHAD TEHRAN KARAJ

ISFAHAN

SHIRAZ

persian gulf

fig06. by author_ Most populated cities in Iran

the silk road

information

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BACKGROUND

By 1979, after numerous strikes and demonstrations, Shah Reza Pahlavi fled to the United States and Ruhollah Khomeini returned from exile.(Elling, 2020). The Iranian revolution was the start of the current Islamic Republic and a theocratic constitution.(Elling, 2020). “…the theocracy called on women to breed a new Islamic generation. It lowered the marriage age to nine for girls and fourteen for boys; it legalized polygamy and raised the price of birth control. By 1986, the average family had six children. A leading cleric said that the government’s goal was to increase the number of

people who believed in the Revolution in order to preserve it.”(Wright, 2019).

Four decades after the Revolution, the population had grown by almost fifty million and the number of households had quadrupled. In 1960, most of the population were living in rural areas, but as the population grew, the urban areas were under pressure, which led to a housing crisis.

In 2005, when Mahmoud Ahmadinejad became the president in Iran, he created a fund in a response to the rising cost of urban housing. (Writer, 2020). The Reza Compassion Fund, set off “…more than $1 billion to assist young Iranians in finding employment and purchasing their own properties.”

(Writer, 2020). However, once again we can see the conflict between preserving cultural values and urban growth, as the crisis “…increasing the age at which Iranians married. And given Ahmadinejad’s desire for his people to wed earlier and reproduce more, it posed something of a problem for the president.”(Writer, 2020).

Politics – “Iran’s political system combines elements of a presidential democracy and an Islamic theocracy, with the ultimate authority vested in an autocratic ‘Supreme Leader’.”(“Iran,” n.d.).

Reserves – Iran has large reserves of fossil fuels, including the world’s largest natural gas supply and the third largest proven oil reserves.(“Iran,” n.d.).

Heritage – “The country’s rich cultural legacy is reflected in part by its 22 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, the third largest number in Asia and 10th largest in the world.”(“Iran,” n.d.).

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Iran, Persian or The Islamic Republic of Iran is located in western Asia. It is the second largest country in the middle east. In the world, Iran comes in at number seventeenth at size of country and population, spanning across 1,648,195km2 with a population of 84 million.(“Iran,” n.d.). Iran is home to one of the world’s oldest civilizations, but it was during the 15th century that we see a shift in the Iranian and Muslim history, “The native Safavids reestablished a unified Iranian state and national identity, with the country’s conversion to Shia Islam...”(“Iran,” n.d.). In the early 20th century Iran’s first constitutional monarchy and legislature appeared with the Persian Constitutional revolution. This leap toward democracy and the Anglo-American coup in 1953 resulted in “greater autocratic rule under Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.”(“Iran,” n.d.). The work for “industrial growth, infrastructure expansion, land reforms, and increased women’s rights”(“Iran,” n.d.). was the Shah’s way of modernizing the country under western influence.

See article ‘GHOST TOWERS The view from Iran’s housing crisis.’

The New Yorker, 2019.

fig07. by author_Darab

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fig08. Shahab Ghayoumi_Tehran

climate

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IRAN

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Ranging from arid to subtropical along the Caspian coast and the northern forests, Iran has 11 out of the world’s 13 climates.(“Iran,” n.d.). This is due to its dynamic landscape. The Alborz mountains in the north and the Zagros mountains in the south meet in the west of Iran. This prevents humid winds coming from the Caspian Sea in the north, the Persian gulf in the south and the Mediterranean sea in the west, from penetrating into inner regions of Iran.(Haftland, 2003). For this reason the inner plateau has dry and desert like climates.(Haftland, 2003). In this dry climate, which is ¾ of the Iranian landscape, the amount of evaporation exceeds the precipitation amount, leaving no water in surplus. (Haftland, 2003).

East: The lower eastern part notice big contrast between summers and winters and day and nights.(Haftland, 2003) The annual precipitations is 680mm. (“Iran,” n.d.).

South: The southern part experience very humid and warm summers, but mild winters. Annual precipitation ranges from 135mm to 355mm.(“Iran,” n.d.).

West: In the west we find heavy snowfall and the annual precipitation is more than 1,700mm.(“Iran,” n.d.).

North: The north is humid for the most of the year and the winter temperature rarely falls below freezing point.(“Iran,” n.d.).

There is clearly a lack of water across most of Iran, which has led to dry lakes and rivers, dust storms, droughts, and extreme temperatures. In Carnegie Endowment for International Peace we read “precipitation levels decreased by

25 percent [from 2017 to 2018 ], felt even in historically water-rich areas in the country’s north and northwestern areas.”(Badawi, 2018).

But Iran is facing another urgent environmental issue, pollution. Last year, schools in Tehran were ordered to close due to high levels of air pollution.(France-Presse, 2019). The World Health Organization recommend a maximum of 25 micro-grams per cubic meter, where Tehran at this time had 133 micro-grams per cubic meter.

(France-Presse, 2019). The same trend has been seen in other urban cities in Iran, and IRNA (Islamic Republic News Agency) reported it has been the cause of nearly 30,000 deaths per year in Iran.(France-Presse, 2019).

“Due to air pollution and increased particulate matter in the provinces of Tehran, Isfahan, Markazi, Alborz, East Azerbaijan, West Azerbaijan, Qazvin and Qom, 8,296 people visited pre-hospital emergency services across the country, 5,018 of them were heart related and 3,278 respiratory related complaints,” Mojtaba Khaledi, the spokesman of Iran’s Emergency Services Organization, 2019. (Jalilov, 2019).

The worsened air conditions is an effect of industrialization and urbanization in the country. The growing cities and infrastructure has led to more heavy duty vehicles, motorbikes, refineries, and power plants, which the World Bank reported were the biggest causes of air pollution in Iran.(France-Presse, 2019). Iran is in an urgent need to end this trend.

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(mm) 200 fig09. by author_ Average precipitation distribution in Iran

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(NO2) (1015 molec/cm2)

4600

fig10. by author_ Average air-pollution distribution in Iran

persian paradise

The Iranian pardis is one of the two Ur-gardens, and it differentiate itself due to its climatic design elements coming from “pressure to protect themselves from, or to overpower, nature...”(Manzoor, 1993, p.13). But it was also about the heavenly image and the expression of good, which manifested itself in the garden before the advent of Islam. During the sevent century Zoroastrianism believed paradise could be achieved here on earth through ‘Good Thoughts, Good Words and Good deeds’.(Manzoor, 1993, p.5).

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From Socrates dialogues, Oeconomicus, we read “The great Persian king provides … in all parts of the country which he inhabits and visits … gardens, so-called paradeisoi, which are filled with all the good and beautiful things provided by the soil.”(Meyer-Wieser, 2017, p.22). The idea of the chahar bagh, has been found on pottery from around 2000BC, but the earliest example of garden known in Iran dates from the sixth century B.C.(Meyer-Wieser, 2017, p.19). It was at this time, with Cyrus the Great, that the Achaemenid Empire was built spanning across 5.5 square kilometers.(“Pasargadae,” n.d.). The empire is remembered for its success in bureaucratic administration, multicultural polity, building infrastructure, official language and civil service.(“Achaemenid Empire,” n.d.). But it was also here we saw the first appearance of a historical Persian garden, in Pasargadae, the capital of Achaemenid.(Manzoor, 1993). Today this archaeological site is listed under Iran’s UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

(The Persian Garden, n.d.).

Chahar Bagh, or ‘four-folded garden,’ is the most traditional type of Persian garden. It is often a formal, symmetrical, and enclosed green space. The rectangular garden is split into four quarters with water running from north to south and east to west. Each of the canals represents the river of

water, honey, wine, and milk, and the four gardens are called the Garden of the Soul, the Garden of the Heart, the Garden of the Spirit, and the Garden of Essence.(Manzoor, 1993, p.6,18).

The ‘four’ based organizational set up is for the climatic advantages of creating spaces with shadow and fresh air in the dry heat. But the symbolism is just as much about the metaphysical place. As described by the Russian composer, Stravinsky, “Natural landscapes are not yet gardens; it is only through the selection and composition of their elements and materials that the gardens are made.”(Manzoor, 1993, p.13) Saying that it is not just the water, flowers and fruit trees themselves that make the garden, but the arrangement and balance between these smells and sounds that creates this multi-sensory and spiritual space.

fig11. pottery_ca 200BC

fig12. Pasargad_6th century BC

fig13. Bāgh-e Shāzdeh Mahan

One of the main symbols is water, the symbol of life. Found as canals, ponds, pools, and fountains. These sources create the soothing sound of running water while also being practical for the purpose of cooling the air. Usually there is a larger water source in the middle of the garden that reflects paradise here on earth.

There are still a number of chahar bagh gardens in Iran, yet only nine historical gardens are registered in the National Heritage List.(The Persian Garden, n.d.). These gardens has followed Persia and Iran through a long history, and still remain a success in the country.

This for its physical and psychological presence. On one hand being a micro-cosmos or camps that protected life from the heat, creating shadow, cooling the water and distributing fresh air. On the other hand, by being paradise on earth it strengthened the Iranian and Islamic identity, where the Koran promises a garden, or paradise, to the faithful.(Manzoor, 1993, p.5).

“Throughout the long history, public gardens and private courtyards have been planned in response to the climatic and physical necessity. Later, they have been gradually developed into a spiritual and aesthetic entity and influenced not only the architecture and city planning, but also literature and arts.”

(Manzoor, 1993, p.1)

“Each garden is registered in the National Heritage List and therefore protected according to the Iranian legislation. Protection provisions established for the gardens and their ‘buffer zones’, defined according to the Iranian law in force, are also included in the Master Plans, the approval of which is issued by the Higher Council for Architecture and Urban Planning, in which sits also the Head of the Iranian Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organisation (ICHHTO).”8

Isfahan, Isfahan Kashan, Isfahan Shiraz, Fars Shiraz, Fars Yazd, Yazd Mehriz, Yazd Mahan, Kerman Birjand, Khorasan Behshahr, Mazandaran

milk

water honey

Bagh-e Chehel Sotun Bagh-e Fin Pasargadae Bagh-e Eram Bagh-e Dolat Abad Bagh-e Pahlavanpur Bagh-e Shahzadeh Bagh-e Akbariyeh Bagh-e Abas Abad

wine

The nine protected gardens

fig14. by author_ chahar bagh diagram

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As these gardens were most often surrounded by dry desert, a system for tapping underground water was developed, called the qanat system, said to have first been developed during 1st millennium BCE.(The Persian Qanat, n.d.). It links mountain sources of melted snow to channels that filter and direct it to desired destinations.(Manzoor, 1993). This is what allowed for deserts to turn into fields. The ancient system consisted of 32,000 qanats, but today only 10% of Iran’s water comes from the qanat, as it is slowly being forgotten.(Lewis, 2014). However, the system is energy efficient, as it only relies on gravity for movement. The ancient system is also sustainable, as it runs underground from the source to the target, without any evaporation. (Lewis, 2014). A big value, as “The Govern-

ment estimates that 68% of [Iran’s total runoff ]… (i.e., 281 billion cubic metres) simply evaporates.”(Lewis, 2014, p.2)

22. fig15. by author_Iran

fig16. by author_Shiraz

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“Once you have made friends with an Iranian, he may take you miles from the city to admire ‘his’ paradise, a place where water gushes and gurgles and makes its own music And then you can forget the dry soil cracked by the torrid heat.”4

Maheau R. 1976

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THE GREEN ENVIRONMENT

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This quote clearly shows both the physical and psychological assets that comes with green spaces. When we discuss it in an Iranian context, both factors become even so more important.

Iran is a county with extreme weather, varying across the country. The heat is what initially lead to the construction of the historical Persian gardens, but later the social and spiritual aspect has become just as important. These historical gardens originated in Iran and has ever since spread across the globe.

But the green environment is just as much about the exterior as it is the interior. Philippe Rahm is looking at architecture from a new perspective, which he calls Meteorological Architecture. Rahm states, “Climate change is forcing us to rethink architecture radically, to shift our focus away from a purely visual and functional approach towards one that is more sensitive, more attentive to the invisible, climate-related aspects of space. Slipping from the solid to the void, from the visible to the invisible, from metric composition to thermal composition, architecture as meteorology opens up additional, more sensual, more variable dimensions in which limits fade away and solids evaporate.”(Filipendin & Bradić, 2014, p.1).

Architecture, Rahm replies to a question on certification for promoting green architecture, when he replies, “I think that the regulations and rules for buildings were never set / made by architects. In 2005, when we started to deal with these regulations, the general community of the architects was not interested in green buildings at all. It was more like a business or a political approach... Therefore, it is in a certain way the responsibility of the architect to know that these rules do exist and what they are.”(Filipendin & Bradić, 2014, p.2). As architects and urban planners we have to be more involved in implementing climate regulated structures, that means both sustainable buildings as well as preserving existing green infrastructures.

Rahm is known for his dwellings, where he introduces “phenomena such as convection, conduction or evaporation…[as] new tools for architectural composition. This is the architecture where vapour, heat or light become the new bricks of contemporary construction”(Filipendin & Bradić, 2014, p.1).

In an interview in 2014 with the International Journal of Contemporary

fig17-19. Philippe Rahm Architects

The investigation showed that 50% of the people asked, visited one of the gardens at least once a week, due to the nature of the garden and the individual attitudes.(Aliyas & Nezhad, 2019). Aliyas and Nezhad conclude that “Based on the results of the study, psychological features play a significant role in the successfulness of historical Persian gardens… Attachment to place is important because it raises protective behaviors of that place. Frequent visitation of the place increases affective, social, functional, and cognitive bonding with a place. In this regard, the attachment to the gardens may be due to the historical background and high greenery of these spaces that lead to higher frequency of visitation.”(Aliyas & Nezhad, 2019, p.136).

The gardens are both a protection for and against the climate. On one hand it helps give shadow and cooling down the air, but the greenery also helps clean the air. In the Guardian we read, “New research estimates that a worldwide planting programme could remove two-thirds of all the emissions from human activities that remain in the atmosphere today, a figure the scientists describe as “mind-blow-

physical advantages

psychological advantages

ing”.”(Carrington, 2019). Stating that planting billions of trees is the biggest and cheapest way to tackle the climate crisis.

Trees has multiple environmental advantage, like supplying oxygen, improving air quality, water protection, soil preservation, and encouraging biodiversity. (Importance and Value of Trees, n.d.). They absorb carbon dioxide, during the photosynthesis, and create oxygen that we breathe. Trees, and even single leaves, helps moderate the effects of sun, rain and wind. By absorbing and filtering energy of the sun, they help cooling down the air.(Importance and Value of Trees, n.d.). Below the ground, the roots of the trees help retain the soil and prevent erosion, at the same time as they collect rainwater.

(Importance and Value of Trees, n.d.).

And let’s not forget the nectar for birds and insect, who helps spreading nature over larger distances.

The responses on twitter after President Trump’s threat, clearly indicate Iranians connection with their historical sites.(Trump, 2020). The strong cultural connections is a common heritage the citizens share. In Experimental Preservation we are presented with philosopher Johnny Goldings idea of the surface methodology. Where one “..intervene upon objects that are not enclosed by physical boundaries but rather expand across a spectrum of tangible and intangible qualities.”(Otero-Pailos et al., 2016, p.15). Architect Rahm also considers the physiological elements, in additions to the tangible meteorological elements, as he “…incorporates basic elements of comfort and atmosphere as his concept and builds his ideas around different perspective of the ambient.”(Filipendin & Bradić, 2014, p.3). In this case, these physical and metaphysical aspect are considered in relation to the green environment. Preserving the green infrastructure will have positive implication on the environment, as well as the Iranian citizens.

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Due to the population growth in the larger cities in Iran, the government has welcomed new urban parks, for environmental and social benefit. However, research has shown that these parks are not being utilized to the extent expected. However, the historical gardens remain successful urban spaces in Iran.

In the Article The Role of Historical Persian Gardens as Urban Green Spaces, Zeinab Aliyas and Sara Masoudi Nezhad collected 775 questionnaires “on physical, social, and psychological aspects to identify their [iranian citizens] associations with the utilization of these spaces.”(Aliyas & Nezhad, 2019). ‘These spaces’ being four historical garden in Shiraz; Hafeziyeh, Jahan Nama, Afifabad, and Bagh- e Eram, the latter being one of the protected gardens.

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PRESERVATION THEORY Preservation can mean many different things; preserving a tree, preserving a monument, preserving a plumb, preserving a painting, but one can also preserve intangible things, like an idea, or a system, or the environment, which are often related to physical objects.

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Traditional preservation is a top-down system, where the government decides what withholds historical significance.

(Otero-Pailos et al., 2016). Tayfun Serttas, a Turkish artist, “argues that there is no cultural heritage, only political heritage created by regimes whose interest is consolidating and perpetuating their own power, sometimes at the expense of the common good.”(Otero-Pailos et al., 2016, p.15). The traditional discipline of preserving, established during the nineteenth century, is important today, but there is a need for new ways of preserving.

Traditional preservation looks for something that withholds beauty or is educational, to be considered of having historical significance, in order to preserve it. Preserving, in this case, often means invisible interference with the ‘object.’ Similarly, Preservationist Adrian von Buttlar states “Every day Germans are told by our leading politicians to ‘look forward’- which essentially means backwards.”(Otero-Pailos et al., 2016, P.21). Preservation therefor holds a connotation that it does not allow for any modernization; That what belongs to the past should be kept and maintain as it, without understanding the needs of the future.

Experimental preservation is a new upcoming terminology, which might seem like a paradox. In their book, Otero-Pailos, Langdalen, and Arrhe-

nius analyzes what this new generation of preservation can be. The hope is to change the way we consider and work with preservation, understanding that there is a need for different ways of preserving.

Unlike traditional preservation thinking, experimental preservation considers any object, ask and evaluate how this object may, or may not, become useful and create a community.

Asking the question, who decides and who knows what is worth preserving?

Cultural heritage is a common understanding, not individual. Therefore, it can often become a conflict between the ones in power and the voice of the citizen. However, experimental preservation attempts to bring the individual into the process. Like Reinhard Kro-

fig20. Beatriz Ramo The Future Monument: Preserving Ideas to Ensure their Implementation, by Beatriz Ramo, STAR strategies + architecture, takes a wry look at the criteria sanctioned by UNESCO in determining World Heritage Sites.

preservation, all looking for the balance between protection and production, invisible and visible, the past and the future, the individual and the common, where “…the new generation is working mostly outside of the traditional governmental and nonprofit organizations, and in many ways are challenging the authority of these heritage institutions to define the standards of practice. They reject the perception that preservation is the post-factor protection of culture. Instead they explore preservation as a new form of cultural production in itself.”(Otero-Pailos et al., 2016, p.8).

“…the quasi-object is not just the physical building but also the group of people and a whole system of social relations in which they engage through, the quasi-object is both tangible and intangible heritage.”

(Otero-Pailos et al., 2016, p.16).

Iran has a rich cultural legacy, with its 22 UNESCO World Heritage Sites. (“Iran,” n.d.). However, as the new generation of preservationist are questioning; how do we preserve for cultural production rather than political heritage?

fig21. Azra Aksamija_Future Heritage Collection #2

fig22. twitter_ @ACTMIT

In Experimental Preservation, we learn about Azra Aksamija, a Bosnian Austrian artist and architectural historian.

Having grown up just as the communist world broke down, late 1980’s, she lived through a stateless reality, to the Bosnian generation.(Otero-Pailos et al., 2016). Her work with preservation and ethnography asks, “how… do people reify that present into cultural objects in places where states have either vanished or completely abdicated their duty of care for heritage, such as in the former Yugoslavia?”(Otero-Pailos et al., 2016, p.30). Having applied to the people to send her their heritage objects, Aksamija is attempting to have the state recognize these objects as culturally significant.(Otero-Pailos et al., 2016). However, in Iran, the importance of historical gardens, and other green structures, has always been considered as important heritage. Therefor the issue in Iran regarding preservation, is the method and supervision.

Today there are multiple systems of

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pf & Siv Helen Stangeland, at Helen & Hard Architects in Stavanger, who «look[s] for buildings that are considered waste…and test their capacity to participate in new forms of social interactions, even play” include community in determining how to preserve “backand-forth process between people and buildings… how they occupy the space and recognize other with shared interests.”(Otero-Pailos et al., 2016, p.16).

It allows for unintentional monument, out of the “quasi object.”(Otero-Pailos et al., 2016, p.16).

fig23. by author_Darab

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fig24. by author_Darab

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CASE STUDY_TEHRAN

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Tehran is today the capital of Iran. It first became the capital of Iran in 1786 during the Qajar dynasty under Agha Mohammad Khan.(“Tehran,” n.d.).

This was decided for the purpose of being closely located to the Caucasus, which was later lost after the Russo-Persian wars. After a few other cities having been the capital of Iran, Tehran became the capital again in 1907. (“Tehran,” n.d.). As Iran’s thirty second national capital, Tehran has now been the capital through the Qajar dynasty (1789-1925), Pahlavi Dynasty (19251979) and the Islamic Republic of Iran (1979-present). (“Tehran,” n.d.).

Tehran is not only the most populated city within Iran, but also the most populated city in western Asia, and second most populated, after Cairo, in the Middle East. Tehran’s urban area is 1,200km2, with a population of 9,033,000.(“Tehran,” n.d.). This leaves a density of 11,800/km2. If we consider the metropolitan area of Tehran, the area is 2,235km2 and houses a population of a little over 16million.(“Tehran,” n.d.).

We can see this population growth as an outcome from the Iranian revolution in 1979. The capital began major constructions programs, which led to mass immigration to the Iranian cities in the nineties, in search of education and work. (Writer, 2020). However, the rapid growth in Tehran has led to poor air conditions, due to its location south of the Alam-Kuh mountains, “Each winter, Iran’s sprawling capital suffers some of the worst pollution in the world through thermal inversion -- a phenomenon that traps hazardous air over the city.”(France-Presse, 2019).

Even worse, a report from 2006 “…estimated that air pollution causes more than 25 Tehran residents to lose their lives each day.”(Writer, 2020).

The air pollution in Iran was therefore looked to be resolved by decentralized planning. Not only by “encourage millions of Tehran’s residents to relocate elsewhere in the country by rolling out financial incentives”, but also through the Reza’s Compassion Fund. (Writer, 2020). However, this has proven to be a problem in itself, with poor planning having left multiple unfinished project in the outskirts of Tehran and other urban areas.(Wright, 2019).

However, this road toward construction in Tehran has proved to neglect green infrastructure. Poor planning and supervision regulations has caused, unintentional or intentional, drying up of trees and parks. With the worsening pollution in the capital there is an urgent need to preserve each tree.

fig25. by author_Map of Tehran

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Valiasr Street Tajrish Shoppingmall

fig26. brainin_Tehran

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fig27. Majid Haghdoust_Tehran

Tehran_disappearing trees 34.

In 2017 a number of videos began appearing online, in which trees, or even entire gardens, were being cut down during the night. In the article By night, Iran’s urban gardens are disappearing, the author reasons it as “Usually it is private companies cooperating with local authorities, or even the local authorities themselves, who replace trees and green spaces with buildings, seeking profit.”(Ershad, 2017). A dozen of these videos has appeared, from other cities than Tehran as well. The damages were done during the night, in order to sneak away from media and activists.

But the act is more so than just cutting down trees, as “cutting a living tree is illegal, so they deliberately kill trees first.”(Ershad, 2017).

fig28. Tehran Bureau_Tehran

In the urban area of Tehran there are trees planted along the streets outside of shops, yet some shop owners find the trees to be in the way of, or hiding their shops. Therefore, in order to have them removed, legally, they “put oil or even acid on the roots of the trees in front of their store, in order to kill them and dry them up.”(Ershad, 2017).

There has been launched judicial investigation, and the authorities has attempted to solve the problem by cutting of the top part of the tree, only leaving the trunk. Also, at a few locations where trees have been removed, new saplings are being planted, these are trees with typically slender trunks.

A larger case was the trees along Valiasr, a well known street that connects Tajrish Square in the north with Rah Ahan Square in the south. Here “the roots of the trees have suffered extensive damage due to development projects along the street. “They’re not as lively as they used to be; they’re dying” said Mohammad Hossein Bazgir, the head of the provincial office of the Department of Environment. (Financial Tribune, 2017). Not only are some trees deliberately being removed, but the

fig29. Tehran Bureau_Tehran

fig30. Tehran Bureau_Tehran

poor supervision also causes green areas close to construction sites to dry up.

fig31. Tehran Bureau_Tehran

35.

In these cases, it is the lack of supervision that allows existing green structures to disappear. The need for modernization and expansion due to urban growth, leaves the country in a conflict.

Allowing this mentality of cutting down the trees to be the solutions, lets the preservation question to go unchallenged. Urban planners have to clearly prioritize and project how trees is environmental heritage that needs to be preserved. They need to be protected, just like they physically protect the citizens from sun and pollution.

Tehran_disappearing garden 36.

But this is only a part of the problem. The larger problem is the loss of gardens. There are laws in place that says “neither government nor private companies have the right to destroy green spaces and replace them with buildings.”(Ershad, 2017). Or more accurately, “it is authorized to build upwards in a garden, and to use up to 30 per cent of the surface of a garden.”(Ershad, 2017). Yet this leaves room for the removal of trees, within the 30 per cent of the surface. It also results in, deliberately or not, larger parts of the gardens being dried up during the process, allowing for a larger construction site.

2004

“According to the deputy minister of Roads & Urban Development of Iran, 4,000 gardens in Tehran also have been destroyed in the last 10 years because of wrong policies’.”(Ershad, 2017). Bazgir states that the “urban green areas and gardens, particularly in northwestern Tehran, have been destroyed to make room for the construction of high-rises.”(Financial Tribune, 2017). However, this has led to unhappy citizens, rising environmental problems, and only a handful of pomegranate trees left in the capital.

A clear case of the modernization being an antonym of preservation is in the case of a large new shopping mall in the area Tajrish, north in Tehran.

A 10,000 sqaure-meter historical garden was substituted by shopping mall with “200 shops over four floors, nine cafes, two restaurants, a theatre, a food court, an indoor amusement park and a carwash.”(Ershad, 2017). Not only was there protest from the media for a decade, but it was also seen from members of the City Council, without any result.(Ershad, 2017). From 2004, when the garden was untouched, already a year later most of the trees were gone. In 2009 the area was ready for construction, and in 2016 the shopping mall was open for the public.

2005

2009

fig32. google maps 2004_Tehran fig34. google maps 2009_Tehran

fig35. google maps 2016_Tehran

fig33. google maps 2005_Tehran

37.

Even though “In recent years, Tehran Mayor Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf faced heat for allowing unrestrained construction and land-use change in the city, and Tehran City Council has been criticized for ignoring his violations.”(Financial Tribune, 2017). there seems to be no sign of understanding preservation as part of urban strategies in Tehran. Therefore there needs to be an understanding that not only does historically significant places have the right to be preserved, but also the green areas that provides an environmental relief and a social outlet.

2016

information

6

CASE STUDY_SHIRAZ

38.

Shiraz, the capital of Fars Province, is located in the southwest of Iran. It is one of the oldest cities in ancient Persia, and has been the capital of the country at multiple times; Buyid dynasty( 934– 1062) Injuid dynasty (1335–1357) Muzaffarid dynasty (1314–1393), Salghurid dynasty (1148–1282), and , Zand dynasty (1751–1794). (“Shiraz,” n.d.).

Shiraz’s urban area is 240km2, with a population of 1,565,572, resulting in a density of 6,670/km2. The metropolitan area of Shiraz houses a population of 1,870,000 inhabitants.(“Shiraz,” n.d.). Similarly to the issues explored in Tehran, Shiraz has also experienced rapid urban growth. Over 53 years the city grew from 170,656 to 1,455,073.

(Shiraz - The Green City, n.d.). Again resulting in numerous construction projects, in order to house more people and for profit, yet forgetting the environmental and cultural importance in green structures.

For a number of Iranians, Shiraz is considered the garden-city, after Isfahan. “During the Zand dynasty when Shiraz was the capital of Iran, it was a small village limited around the Arg of Karim Khan… The north part of old Shiraz (now Qasr Dasht and Chamran) was completely covered with gardens and green trees.”(“Shiraz,” n.d.). However, even though Shiraz is known as one of the garden cities and probe to less air pollution, at least compared to other larger cities in Iran, the urban planning still at times puts the environmental and social values of green space on play.

fig36. by author_Map of Shiraz

39.

Chamran Gardens

fig37. by author_Shiraz

40.

41.

fig38. by author_Shiraz

Shiraz_disappearing gardens 42.

In 2008, the municipality presented Shiraz – the Green City, which “encourages inhabitants to plant on rooftops, and the private sector to construct projects according to the city’s development plan… 2,876 hectares around the city were transformed into forests of olive trees. The municipality also created green spaces, recreational areas, linear parks along streets, and roof parks.”(Shiraz - The Green City, n.d.).

However, at the same times as western influenced urban parks are appearing, historical green spaces are being substituted by building complex. The urban planning in Shiraz has therefore not only forgotten the climatic importance of green spaces, but also the successful design ideas from the historical garden.

On the other side from the Shiraz – the Green city we find the case of Chamran Gardens. Zahra Barzegar and Seyyede Elaheh Beladi resolves in their paper, Urban Growth and Destruction of Urban Gardens with an Ecological Approach- A Case of Gardens in Shiraz, Iran, how the destruction of Urban Gardens in Shiraz has affected the city and its inhabitants.(Barzegar & Beladi, 2016). They conclude that “… with a population growth of about 5.9% between 1996 and 2011, more than 124 hectares of gardens and over 24 hectares of agricultural lands destroyed in MansourAbad region to be able to increase about 42 hectares of lands to urban construction.”(Barzegar & Beladi, 2016, p.112).

The rapid urbanization in Shiraz forced the city to urbanize, as in “2001, there were about 206 hectares of green gardens in this area; this amount decreases to 81.5 hectares in 2015. The best gardens of Shiraz, the lung of the city, were sacrificed about 124 hectares during this short period due to the rapid urbanization.”(Barzegar & Beladi, 2016, p.114). The tangible profit from urban growth has proven to be the sacrifice of green gardens. However, urbaniza-

tion cannot exclude the need of preservation. Therefore, “Researches indicate that rapid and unplanned urban growth threats the environment and citizens’ security and health in Iran. It is hoped that by changing policies and planning in the future, more sustainable and habitable cities create.”(Barzegar & Beladi, 2016, p.116).

fig39. google maps 1996_Shiraz

fig40. google maps 2018_Shiraz

Otero-Pailos, J., Langdalen, E., & Arrhenius, T. (2016). Experimental Preservation. p.15

43.

“Experimental preservation put pressure on this traditional identity of preservation with the governmental protection of cultural objects, and on the largely unquestioned narrative that government preservation bureaucracies always act in the interest of the common good.”

7

REFLECTION

44.

The conflict between preservation and modernization in Iran can be found within many aspects of the country.

Much of it may source from the generation gap we find in the country, where “Iran’s youth — under-40s make up 60 per cent of the 80 million-strong population.”(Khalaf, 2015). In the article Iran’s ‘Generation Normal, the author, Roula Khalaf, met up with the modern youths. One of them, Hamid-Reza Jalaipour states “There is a big diversity: there is religious youth, there is ideological youth, modern youth and postmodern youth... Money is important to them… Individualism is high. They don’t live according to what their parents want; they do what they want.”(Khalaf, 2015). Iran is rapidly changing, or modernizing, which has led to tension. In 2015, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader and highest authority, hinted at his frustration,“They [the youth] are intellectually exposed to dangerous threats — the ways of corrupting them are many, there are communications media that can . . . spread a wrong thought or comment. Today the country is not involved in the military war but it is involved in political, economic and security wars — and, above all, the cultural wars.”(Khalaf, 2015).

This cultural war is what experimental preservation attempts to tackle, “Experimental preservation put pressure on this traditional identity of preservation with the governmental protection of cultural objects, and on the largely unquestioned narrative that government bureaucracies always act in the interest of the common good.”(Otero-Pailos et al., 2016, p.15). As the youth is developing, the ways of preserving needs to follow.

In Tehran urban planning and preservation seem to be two different task, when instead they should be considered together. The maintenance of gardens, but also of trees along the streets, should be a focus when it comes to preserving the environment and green lungs of the highly polluted city. In the case of Shiraz, it is the symbolism and ideas behind the historical gardens that needs to be preserved when introducing new parks. In these and other cities in Iran the gardens and green spaces were created for physical and psychological advantages, and to offer both tangible and intangible necessities to the inhabitants. Therefor preservation can no longer question only the physical object, but also “…the group of people and a whole system of social relations in which they engage through.”(Otero-Pailos et al., 2016, p.16).

These dualities and opposites askes for a balance, where modernization does not oppose preservation. Each case asks for a different combination, or a specific “selection and composition,” like Stravinsky hinted at.(Manzoor, 1993, p.13). Where the urban planner needs to understand not only the common heritage, but also the need of the citizen, in a similar manner as to Helen and Hard Architects works.

In his dissertation Policy Making in the field of Urban Gardens and Agricultural Land’s Preservation, Parisa Arjmandabbasi, resolves that “fast undeveloped spatial organization which stems from the rapid population growth and the considerable migrations to the capital has decreased people’s local identity...

The new developments do not consider the green areas as an integrated part

and are more focused on providing the living or activity space for the growing population. Thus, the green spaces have become a separate part of the urban plans with a weak position and a low priority.”(Arjmandabbasi, 2015, p.1).

What we preserve is cultural heritage or that ‘object’ with historical significance. But considering the persian garden, we can question if all that is the green environment can be considered as heritage, or more importantly something worth preserving. Where the tree is the quasi object and the garden is the unintentional monument.

preserving

urban intagible aged

wet local tangible new

invisible

visible

political

cultural

old construction inside communal architect environmental warm physical government current

young destruction outside induvidual urban planner economical cold psychological citizen historical

fig41. by author_Dualities & Conflicts

dry

45.

modernizing

fig42. by author_Darab

46. fig43. by author_Darab

47. fig44. by author_Darab

8

CONCLUSION Preservation is under change; considering new ways of preserving, but also a new understanding of what preservation means, as both cultural, political, and environmental heritage.

48.

If we go back to the definition of ‘modernization,’ I believe it clarifies the misconception, the conflict between transforming or adapting the current environment for new needs. On one hand modernization can be seen as an acronym of preservation, but on the other hand it can be a synonym; Preservation is a way of modernizing, and modernization reflects on the preservation of existing.

Iran is a complex country with a rich history. Today it is facing harsh climate and water scarcity. But it is also under high urban pressure, resulting in poor air conditions. All this in the midst of cultural modernization war. The old and the young, the aged and the new, the past and the future; or preservation and modernization.

What the trump tweets showed us was how important cultural heritage is for the Iranian people. But this heritage includes not only the tangible sites, but also the intangible aspects. As the home to the Persian pardis and chahar bagh, Iran has proven its successes in urban planning. But today the rising environmental and social issues are forcing us to rethink preservation as part of urban planning. Initial design ideas, the gardens and the single tree. It is not only the need to preserve green spaces, for environmental advantages, but to also preserve the social and spiritual aspectst that once made the historical gardens the success they have been up to today.

Back in my grandparents entrance we are once again faced with the image of urban growth closing in on green preservation. The image on the right was taken last time I was in Shiraz, two years ago. Before you turn the corner to the hayat with the orange trees, there is only one grape tree left clinging on to the entrance door.

49.

fig45. by author_Shiraz

Books

8

BIBLIOGRAPHY Haftland, D. K. K. (2003). The book of Iran. A survey on the Geography of Iran. https:// books.google.dk/books?id=Gecy7sqblqoC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false Manzoor, S. (1993). Pardis Gardens in Iran. Chalmers University of Technology.

50.

Meyer-Wieser, T. (2017). Architectural Guide - Iran From the Safavids to the Iranian Revolution.

Publications

Otero-Pailos, J., Langdalen, E., & Arrhenius, T. (2016). Experimental Preservation. Lars Müller Publishers.

Aliyas, Z., & Nezhad, S. M. (2019). The Role of Historical Persian Gardens as Urban Green Spaces: Psychological, Physical, and Social Aspects. Environmental Justice, 12(3), 132, 136. https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/pdf/10.1089/env.2018.0034 Arjmandabbasi, P. (2015). Policy Making in the field of Urban Gardens and Agricultural Lands’ Preservation.

Barzegar, Z., & Beladi, S. E. (2016). Investigating Urban Growth and Destruction of Urban Gardens with an Ecological Approach- A Case of Gardens in Shiraz, Iran. Journal of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Research, 112, 116. https://www.jocpr.com/articles/investigatingurban-growth-and-destruction-of-urban-gardens-with-an-ecological-approach-a-case-ofgardens-in-shiraz-iran.pdf Filipendin, M. U., & Bradić, H. (2014). The Meteorological Architecture of Philippe Rahm.

International Journal of Contemporary Architecture, 1(2), 1, 2, 3. https://neufeld-bradic. com/assets/files/the-meteorological-architecture-of-philippe-rahm.pdf

News Articles

Lewis, G. (2014). The need to restore Iran’s Qanats – the “V1. Lewis G.

Badawi, T. (2018). Iran’s Water Problem. Carnegie Endowment. https://carnegieendowment. org/sada/77935 By night, Iran’s urban gardens are disappearing. (2017). The Observer. https://observers. france24.com/en/20170315-night-iran’-urban-gardens-are-disappearing Carrington, D. (2019). Tree planting “has mind-blowing potential” to tackle climate crisis. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/jul/04/planting-billions-trees-best-tackle-climate-crisis-scientists-canopy-emissions Erdbrink, T. (2019). More Bark Than Bite in Iran’s Ban on Walking Dogs. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/01/world/middleeast/iran-ban-walking-dogs. html France-Presse, A. (2019). Share on Twitter Share via Email Print this page Middle East Air Pollution Shuts Schools in Iran’s Capital. Voa News. https://www.voanews.com/middle-east/ air-pollution-shuts-schools-irans-capital#:~:text=Air pollution was the cause,hazardous air over the city.

Jalilov, O. (2019). Severe Air Pollution In Iran Turns Into Major Public Health Crisis. Caspian News. https://caspiannews.com/news-detail/severe-air-pollution-in-iran-turns-into-majorpublic-health-crisis-2019-12-25-59/ Johnson, J. (2020). Iranians Flood Twitter With Photos of Favorite Cultural Sites as Trump Threatens Them With Destruction. Common Dreams. https://www.commondreams.org/ news/2020/01/05/iranians-flood-twitter-photos-favorite-cultural-sites-trump-threatens-them

Shuttlewort, A. (2010). “It will rock your house!” Inside the Iranian electronic underground.

The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/music/2019/mar/25/inside-the-iranian-electronic-underground-ata-ebtekar-set-festival-mahdyar Tehran Green Spaces Vanishing. (2017). Financial Tribune. https://financialtribune.com/ node/64826 Wright, R. (2019). GHOST TOWERS The view from Iran’s housing crisis. The New Yorker. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/10/21/ghost-towers

Websites

Writer, S. (2020). This Desert Wasteland In Iran Is Filled With Hundreds Of Eerie Ghost Towers. Magellan Times. https://magellantimes.com/environment/desert/desert-wastelandiran-is-filled-hundreds-eerie-ghost-towers/40/

Achaemenid Empire. (n.d.). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Achaemenid_Empire Importance and Value of Trees. (n.d.). Save A Tree. https://www.savatree.com/whytrees.html#:~:text=Trees contribute to their environment,produce the oxygen we breathe.

Iran. (n.d.). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran Mashayekhi, A., Hosseini, S., & Sadri, A. F. (2014). Instant Past. Shab Office. http://shaboffice. com/portfolio/instant-past-la-biennale-di-venezia/ Pasargadae. (n.d.). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pasargadae Population of Cities in Iran (2020). (2020). World Population Review. https://worldpopulationreview.com/countries/cities/iran Shiraz. (n.d.). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shiraz Shiraz - The Green City. (n.d.). Urban Sustainability Exchange. https://use.metropolis.org/ case-studies/shiraz-the-green-city#:~:text=Massive urbanization has occurred all,pollution%2C and high energy consumption.

Tehran. (n.d.). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tehran The Persian Garden. (n.d.). UNESCO. https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1372/ The Persian Qanat. (n.d.). UNESCO. https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1506/

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Khalaf, R. (2015). Iran’s ‘Generation Normal.’ Financial Times. https://www.ft.com/content/ b110ec2e-04b0-11e5-95ad-00144feabdc0

Lecture

Milani, A. (2014). The paradox that is Persia. TEDxStanford. https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=k-y93AZhsBU Elling, R. (2020). Iran i det 21. århundrede. Folkeuniversitetet.

Other

Yalda, T. (2016). Iranian Architecture: A Hidden Treasure. TEDxUniversityofTehran. https:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5_qDQxtlfo

http://shaboffice.com/portfolio/instant-past-la-biennale-di-venezia/ Trump, D. (2020). @realDonaldTrump. Twitter. https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1213593975732527112

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photographs

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FIGURE LIST fig01. by author_Shiraz fig02. Twitter_@realDonaldTrump. Available at: https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1213593975732527112 fig03. Twitter_#iranianculturalsites. Available at: https://twitter.com/hashtag/IranianCulturalSites?src=hashtag_click fig04. by author_Shiraz fig05. UNESCO_Iran. Available at: https:// w h c . u n e s c o. or g / e n / l i s t / 1 3 7 2 / mu lt i ple=1&unique_number=1768 fig07. by author_Darab fig08. by Shahab Ghayoumi_Tehran. Available at: https://caspiannews.com/news-detail/severe-air-pollution-in-iran-turns-intomajor-public-health-crisis-2019-12-25-59/ fig11. Pottery_ca 200BC. Available in: Architectural Guide - Iran From the Safavids to the Iranian Revolution fig12. Pasargad_6th century BC. Available at https://www.tripadvisor.fr/LocationPhotoDirectLink-g10592314-d501838-i6112719 0-Pasargadae-Pasargad_Fars_Province.html fig13. Bāgh-e Shāzdeh Mahan. Available at:

https://irantour.tours/iran-blog/persian-garden.html fig15. by author_Iran fig16. by author_Shiraz fig20. by Beatriz Ramo_ Future World Heritage Site. Available at: https://www.architectural-review.com/essays/experimen fig21.

Azra Aksamija_Future Heritage Collection #2. Available at: https:// www.architectural-review.com/essays/ experimental-preser vation-challenging-what-we-keep-and-why fig22. twitter_ @ACTMIT. Available at: https://twitter.com/ACTMIT/status/914162697972969472 fig23-24. by author_Darab fig26. brainin_Tehran. Available at: https:// theculturetrip.com/middle-east/iran/articles/the-7-most-beautiful-religious-sites-intehran/ fig27. Majid Haghdoust_Tehran. Available at: https://en.mehrnews.com/photo/140247/ Air-pollution-in-Tehran fig28-31. Tehran Bureau_Tehran. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/world/

iran-blog/gallery/2013/oct/09/iran-tehranchenar-trees-vali-asr fig32. google maps 2004_Tehran. Available at: https://earthengine.google.com/ timelapse/ fig33. google maps 2005_Tehran. Available at: https://earthengine.google.com/ timelapse/ fig34. google maps 2009_Tehran. Available at: https://earthengine.google.com/ timelapse/

fig37-38. by author_Shiraz fig39. google maps 1996_Shiraz. Available at: https://earthengine.google.com/timelapse/ fig40. google maps 2018_Shiraz. Available at: https://earthengine.google.com/timelapse/ fig42-44. by author_Darab fig45. by author_Shiraz

diagrams

fig46. by author_tweet fig06. by author_ Most populated cities in Iran fig09. by author_Average precipitation distribution in Iran. Data source: https://water. fanack.com/iran/ fig10. by author_Average air-pollution distribution in Iran. Data source: h t t p s : / / w w w. i j h s d m . o r g / a r t i c l e . a s p?issn=2347-9019;year=2015;volume=3;issue=4;spage=212;epage=217;aulast=Rashidi fig14. by author_chahar bagh diagram fig17-19. Philippe Rahm Architects. Available at: http://www.philipperahm.com/data/ projects/interiorweather/index.html fig25. by author_Map of Tehran fig36. by author_Map of Shiraz fig41. by author_Dualities & Conflicts

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fig35. google maps 2016_Tehran. Available at: https://earthengine.google.com/ timelapse/

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No One Knows About Persian Cats Kasi az Gorbehaye Irani Khabar Nadareh Bahman Ghobadi, 2009

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fig46. by author_tweet

I love going to the bazaar, for all the colors, patterns and metallics. I can spend hour after hour in one little jewelry shop. I love going to the Tomb of Saadi Shirazi, to smell flowers while water is running in the background. But my favourite place is my grandparents courtyard. Sitting in the hammock under orange and clementine trees with my cup of tea.

#preservepersianpardis

56.

Cassandra Salehi Hammerstad