From the first representations of the ancient city of Nippur, found in Assyrian reliefs from 1500 B.C., which show the functions of different spaces with an architectural level of detail and understanding about space and the role of “place”; to Leonardo da Vinci’s diagrams and ideograms depicting edifices, urban spaces, weapons, sculptures, and flying machines; to the manifestation of Le Corbusier’s ideas in different phases of his professional life in the form of diagrams, or the sketches he made toward the end of his life reflecting his tendency toward sculptural forms not merely as an architect and urban designer, but also as an extremely sensitive painter, sculptor, and poet; these are all examples of the discovery and understanding of space, the transference of this understanding to the hand, and ultimately its expression through sketches and three-dimensional models. Alternatively these designs and sketch models were also used to facilitate the architect and his design team in developing and completing their design ideas.

 

In the first years of the establishment of the School of Fine Arts at Tehran University, influenced by the Beaux Arts in Paris, architectural education in Iran was shaped by this form of place and space creation. The first students of this School, who later became its instructors, insisted on this method of architectural representation up to the present time, when education is going through a period of eclectic methodologies and the use of a wide range of software has led to different ways of producing and representing ideas and space. Although preliminary drawings and diagrams depicting the architect’s initial ideas, and sketches of architectural and urban spaces continue to remain an undeniable part of the design process.

 

This exhibition is an attempt to compile a history of Iranian architects from this particular period in time, from a moment in time when Vartan Hovanesian wrote, “One must constantly remain modern …”, to the different conceptual methods reigning Iran’s contemporary architecture until now …

 

Persia Gharehgozlu

October 27, 2017