Learning From the Past: Recreating Historic Persian Gardens in Downtown Tehran

Abstract

Persian Garden is a cultural, historical and physical phenomenon in the land of Iran. One of the main purposes of creating these gardens was to provide space for leisure and meditation. “Pairi Daeza” from which we have “paradise” is a Persian phrase meaning surrounded enclosure or fortification. This term was also adopted in Judeo-Christian tradition to define and describe paradise on earth, i.e., Garden of Eden. In the past, Tehran was nicknamed Baagh-Shahr or the “garden city” as it held many gardens in it and nature was an inseparable part of the urban area. However, after the advent of modernism and urbanization in the 20th century, modern buildings, high-rises, and highways replaced the historic gardens, destroying the historic visage and classical character of the now metropolis Tehran. Looking at the history of Tehran, it is evident that the city was originally developed in distinct harmony with nature, showcasing the pristine natural scenery courtesy of its location on the footsteps of Alborz mountain range. However, in recent decades, the historic gardens have been neglected due to the misguided urban planning carried out in Tehran disregarding the city’s unique history. As a result, the city is now struggling with environmental pollution, ecologi-cal disruptions, and generally a broken landscape. This thesis is aimed to locate the lost gardens in downtown Tehran and identify those gardens which now have been replaced by small scale urban fabrics filled with storages and garage facilities. The goal is to redesign these locations to incorporate traditional garden design within modern urban land use. As the most magnificent of classic Persian gardens were private property and thus effectively available solely to nobility and royalty, the new gardens were designed with keeping public interests and access in mind: a communal space providing different programs such as childcare, healthcare, retail store, theater, etc. As a result, these public gardens are not only accessible to the public by being knitted into the urban fabric, but could also offer the local population with new opportunities for both business and pleasure.