A Study on urban plot influenced by Qajar’s gardening pattern in Tehran
Document Type : ُScientific
Author
Department of Architecture, Central Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.
Abstract
Considering the history of creating gardens in Iran, a close relationship between its natural and cultural context can be seen. The study of natural and cultural context of Qajar dynasty in Tehran reveals the relationship between mountains, foothills and the city of Tehran. The form and shape of the land used to provide a suitable and favorable climate for agriculture and horticulture. Westernization influenced by trips of Qajar men to western countries changed the form of Tehran gardens, garden-castles and mansions of Qajar royals. With the development of Tehran and its expansion in the following periods and the influx of immigrants, the increase in population and the need for housing, caused the destruction of many gardens, agricultural lands, garden-mansions in the foothills of Shemiran and the replacement of them by settlements, commercial and residential towers in following decades. This movement was shaped without considering the natural capabilities of the environment, identity of the place, culture and the values of the neighborhoods in these foothill areas and the lack of proper interaction between man-made structures and the natural environment surrounding them. Currently, the proliferation of garden and mansion-gardens destruction has resulted in fragmentation of urban landscapes.
The preset article is a historical-interpretive research aimed to study the formation and change of a spatial structure in an old urban plot, shaped in Qajr era in Shemiran district, Tehran. Data were collected from library sources, such as historical texts, travelogues, diaries as well as visual documents including photographs and maps and also field studies (semi-structured interview of old residents of the case study). Then, the collected data were analyzed by logical reasoning approach. Also, important environmental (natural context), human (cultural values) and social components in the formation of the plot were investigated in order to preserve its life and sustainability and a necessary prelude to any future intervention in it. The results showed that the spatial structure of the studied urban plot is defined as large-scale summer and private garden-mansions, garden-house or small-scale garden-house. In other words, the development of the city of Tehran in the foothills had been based on the two-way interaction of natural environment (gardens, farms, land slopes and river-valleys) and the city. A large part of the gardens in that urban plot belonged to Prince Abdol-Hossein Farman Farma of the Qajar dynasty and the garden of Abolhassan Diba, Haj Khalili, well-known Oskooi family along with small house-gardens. Its spatial structure also includes garden-mansions and communication routes in the form of narrow and dead-end alleys (garden-alley). The structure of the gardens is different from the common pattern of traditional Iranian gardens, based on axis and geometric order; a combination of traditional Iranian and western patterns (free forms) can be seen instead. In addition, the landscape of summer garden-mansions found a new definition in the transition from fenced gardens to summer foothills. Thus, the visual connection between the main mansions and the distant landscapes became important.
The preset article is a historical-interpretive research aimed to study the formation and change of a spatial structure in an old urban plot, shaped in Qajr era in Shemiran district, Tehran. Data were collected from library sources, such as historical texts, travelogues, diaries as well as visual documents including photographs and maps and also field studies (semi-structured interview of old residents of the case study). Then, the collected data were analyzed by logical reasoning approach. Also, important environmental (natural context), human (cultural values) and social components in the formation of the plot were investigated in order to preserve its life and sustainability and a necessary prelude to any future intervention in it. The results showed that the spatial structure of the studied urban plot is defined as large-scale summer and private garden-mansions, garden-house or small-scale garden-house. In other words, the development of the city of Tehran in the foothills had been based on the two-way interaction of natural environment (gardens, farms, land slopes and river-valleys) and the city. A large part of the gardens in that urban plot belonged to Prince Abdol-Hossein Farman Farma of the Qajar dynasty and the garden of Abolhassan Diba, Haj Khalili, well-known Oskooi family along with small house-gardens. Its spatial structure also includes garden-mansions and communication routes in the form of narrow and dead-end alleys (garden-alley). The structure of the gardens is different from the common pattern of traditional Iranian gardens, based on axis and geometric order; a combination of traditional Iranian and western patterns (free forms) can be seen instead. In addition, the landscape of summer garden-mansions found a new definition in the transition from fenced gardens to summer foothills. Thus, the visual connection between the main mansions and the distant landscapes became important.
Keywords
