Interactions and Contradictions of Preservation and Modernization: the Case of Isfahan, Iran

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Interactions and Contradictions of Preservation and Modernization: the Case of Isfahan, Iran Copyright by Mehdi Azizkhani 2014 The Thesis Committee for Mehdi Azizkhani Certifies that this is the approved version of the following thesis: Interactions and Contradictions of Preservation and Modernization: The case of Isfahan, Iran APPROVED BY SUPERVISING COMMITTEE: Supervisor: Michael Holleran Christopher A Long Interactions and Contradictions of Preservation and Modernization: The case of Isfahan, Iran by Mehdi Azizkhani, BA; MUD Thesis Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of The University of Texas at Austin in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Historic Preservation The University of Texas at Austin May 2014 Abstract Interactions and Contradictions of Preservation and Modernization: The case of Isfahan, Iran Mehdi Azizkhani, MSHP The University of Texas at Austin, 2013 Supervisor: Michael Holleran This Thesis addresses the meaning, the origins, and the formation of preservation in Isfahan, Iran, in relation to the state’s modernization process. In the course of this narrative the internal and external forces stemming from the interaction and contradiction between local and global values, traditionalism and modernism, their advocates, and the changeful socio-political geography of place within a fast process of urban development will be discussed to answer the question. The findings show that in contrast to the formation of preservation within and through a course of modernism movement in West—although first opposed and then integral to modernism— in Iran, generally, and Isfahan, particularly, this is the preservation’s thought which develops modernism—first integral and then opposed to preservation. The findings suggest that preservation and modernization in Iran interact with each other through three main conduits. These include tomb architecture, industrialization of the city, and the imported modernism mainly through American urban plans. In the case of tomb architecture we observe an interaction iv between modernization and preservation, while as in the case of other two subjects the contradiction is more dominant. This contradiction, however, as we explore in Pahlavi II founded and developed the theory and practice of preservation in Iran. The focus of the current study is on Isfahan which distinguishes it from other similar studies on Iran. v Table of Contents List of Figures ....................................................................................................... vii SECTION 1: INTRODUCTION Chapter 1 Literature Review: The Discourse on Preservation, Modernization, and Their Relationship ........................................................................................1 SECTION 2: PAHLAVI I Chapter 2: Inventing Persian Modernism . ...........................................................9 Chapter 3: Reinforcing the Interaction of Preservation and Modernization: the Attendance of Orientalists.............................................................................15 Chapter 4: Preservation and Urban Development in Pahlavi I ...........................27 SECTION 3: PAHLAVI II Chapter 5 Preservation and Developing Modernism ..........................................47 Chapter 6 Preservation Theory and Practice .......................................................61 Chapter 7 Preservation and Urban Development in Pahlavi II ...........................75 SECTION 4: AFTER REVOLUTION Chapter 8 The Change of Values in Preservation and Modernization................90 Chapter 9 Conclusion ........................................................................................103 Bibliography .....................................................................................................109 vi List of Figures Figure 1: Teymurtash, in traditional and modern costumes along with Reza Khan’s son: .......................................................................................12 Figure 2: Arthur Ophum Pope at the Exhibition of Persian Art New York, 1940 ................................................................................19 Figure 3: Left: Iran-e Bastan Museum (National Museum, 1936) by Andre Godard inspired by Tawq-e-Kisra in right image built in 241-651 CE in Ctesiphon during Sassanid Era .........................................................20 Figure 4: Campus of the University of Tehran and one of the university’s buildings at the College of Fine Arts inspired by architectural features of Persepolis ..........................................................................................22 Figure 5: Ernest Herzfeld, the German orientalist ............................................23 Figure 6: Andre Godard, the French architect and archeologist .......................23 Figure 7: Figure 7: Tomb of Ferdowsi built in 1933 based on the Godard’s design proposal .............................................................................................24 Figure 8: Karim Taherzadeh Behzad with his brother Hussein in Berlin .........24 Figure 9: Design proposals for the Tomb of Ferdowsi by Karim Taherzadeh Behzad...............................................................................................25 Figure 10: Tomb of Cyrus and Ferdowsi’s mausoleum......................................25 Figure 11: Seyyed Reza Khan Map of Isfahan 1923 .........................................29 Figure 12: Reconstruction of Safavid Isfahan and its gardens ...........................34 Figure 13: Namakdan Mansion and Pashmbaf Textile Factory..........................35 Figure 14: Sio-Se Pol in the 1930s .....................................................................39 Figure 15: Khajo Bridge in the 1960s .................................................................39 vii Figure 16: Marnan Bridge today .........................................................................40 Figure 17: Felezi Bridge today ...........................................................................41 Figure 18: Shahrestan Bridge at the beginning of Pahlavi Era ...........................42 Figure 19: The Dome of Sheikh Lotf Allah Mosque at the end of Qajar ............43 Figure 20: Reza Shah, Mohammad Reza, and Herzfeld in Persepolis ...............46 Figure 21: The location of the Saeb Garden today ..............................................51 Figure 22: Local authorities and SNH members visiting Saeb's Grave before restoration C.1963 .............................................................................52 Figure 23: The Tomb of Saeb Today ...................................................................53 Figure 24: Tomb of Saeb: interior space and the garden .....................................53 Figure 25: Tomb of Saeb: interior space ..............................................................54 Figure 26: Tomb of Saeb: garden and the elongated pool ...................................54 Figure 27: Representation of the Mausoleum of Amir Ismail Samani in Arthur Upham Pope’s book ..........................................................................57 Figure 28: View towards the Tomb of Arthur Upham Pope ...............................58 Figure 29: The Entrance to the Tomb of Arthur Upham Pope ............................58 Figure 30: Map of Isfahan's Histroric Buildings y mid 1970s………………… 60 Figure 31: Bagher Ayatollah Zadeh Shirazi sat on the ruins of Bam Citadel ......65 Figure 32: Lutf-o-Allah Honarfar in his 80s ........................................................65 Figure 33: The Vocational School of Fine Arts ...................................................68 Figure 34: Haghighi Safavid House .....................................................................69 Figure 35: Haghighi House courtyard ..................................................................70 Figure 36: A comparsion between two arial photos of one historic area in Isfahan and the location of Avicenna Street:1955 and today .............81 Figure 37: Kocks report showing the area in front of the City Hall ....................82 viii Figure 38: Kocks proposal for the city center ......................................................82 Figure 39: Naqsh-i Jahan Square in Kocks proposal: historic fabric replaced by modern cubic volumes ......................................................................82 Figure 40: Shrine of Imam Reza, Meshed, in the1970s .......................................91 Figure 41: Hamam Khosro Agha in Eugene Flandin's drawings and after demolition in 1995 ..............................................................................97 Figure 42: Jahan Nama before and after altering its skyline ...............................98 Figure 43: Atiq Square and its changes from Early Islam until 1990 ..................99 Figure 44: Naghsh-e-Jahan Pars Consultant's proposal for Atiq Square ...........101 Figure 45: Atiq Square in a model and graphic reconstruction .........................102 Figure 46: Atiq Square during its construction in 2013 .....................................102 ix SECTION 1: INTRODUCTION Chapter 1: Literature Review: The Discourse on Preservation, Modernization, and Their Relationship The discourse of the relationship between modernization and preservation in western literature is rather extensive; however narrowing the focus to developing countries, the lack of this review is understandable. Here through a literature review I will try to explore the meaning of the major components which constitute this relationship. This includes ―destruction‖ and ―memory‖, two controversial terms
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