T
ehran, the capital of Iran is a massive, congested metropolis of
800 km2 with approximately 12 million inhabitants. The city is
set on a sloping topography bordering the Alborz Mountains to
the north and desert to the south with the highest and lowest
ground levels of 2000 m and 1050 m above sea level. Tehran’s
urbanism and architecture, based on building regulations for residential
buildings on one hand and the speculation on the other, have not left
much space for architectural creativity. Designers are obliged to solve
the problem of occupying the maximum allowed volume, reducing the
non profit-making common spaces to a minimum and arranging the
rows of columns in a way to create the maximum parking areas in the
basement floors. Residential, office or commercial buildings with high
ceilings, voids and articulated interior spaces are quite rare. As a result
of these dynamics Iranian architects have focused their creativity on the
façades of their projects. Regarding these exteriors, instead of following
the principles and character of the surrounding architecture, designers in
Iran try to distinguish their work by doing something completely different
that contrasts with neighboring buildings. This trend, justified by the
fact that in Tehran, except in a few historical urban contexts, meaningful
architectural references are rare, creates a confusion of styles that itself
ironically became an identity for the city.
In Tehran, starting from mid 20th century, the dominant style of buildings
was a kind of art deco adapted with local crafts and traditions. The façades
at that time were primarily brick. During the 1960s and the 1970s, the
capital of Iran went through significant demographic growth and the old
TAHRAN’DA BULUNAN PEK ÇOK YAPI
KENDISINI DIŞ CEPHE TASARIMI ILE
FARKLILAŞTIRIYOR.
MANY BUILDINGS IN TEHRAN DISTINGUISH THEMSELVES
THROUGH THEIR FAÇADE DESIGNS.
OCAK - ŞUBAT 2014 / JANUARY - FEBRUARY 2014 • NATURA 85