[Ms. Parvin Pezeshki]
[The New City of Shushtar] / 1
The New City of Shushtar
(And The Iranian Museum of Contemporary Art)
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AmirHessam Rezaei
Arya Oskui
Lena Khoshbin
Narges Afshar
Modern Iranian architecture has many facades, and has grown with the help and contribution of influential figures like Mr. Kamran Diba , and Mrs. Parvin Pezeshki. On January 29, our class was honoured to receive Mrs. Pezeshki and was introduced to some of her work prior to the Islamic Revolution of Iran.
Mrs. Pezeshki studied at HadafHigh school in Tehran, and did her bachelors and masters studies at TehranUniversity. Throughout her thesis Ms. Pezeshki examined the ancient layout of cities like Florence, Rome, Venice, Isfahan, and Yazd and explored the fundamental structural elements of these cities that are developed over the years. For her master’s thesis she worked on the architectural similarities between Cities like Esfahan and Florence or Yazd and Romeand compared theirconstruction arrangements and designs. During her early university years, she was introduced to Mr. Kamran Diba the head of Daz Construction Company, and a pioneer In Iranian post modern designs.
One of her most successful, world renowned works was the design of the new city of Shushtar, which was meant to be a new town, for workers in the neighbouring area. This work has won numerous awards over the years, and has been regarded as one of the most successful new cities in the world. The city is not praised for its fancy designs or luxurious attributes as it is not intended to bare any, however, it is praised for a gradual blending of the old and the new side with the use of noble architectural techniques and not creating a division between the old and the new Shushtar. In fact the city has a very similar design to the old town, but is built in a more modern and improved manner.Moreover the city is successful for its combination of tradition, attention to details and simplistic style. The city was meant for workers; therefore everything in which a worker would consider in daily ordeals was applied.
Fig 1. The New City of Shushtar (Preliminary Design Stage)
The city bares the centrality aspect of Iranian Architecture, Mandalism, and combined traditional and modern attributes into its design. The city has a main “back-bone” which is the main street stretching from the east to the west of the town and series of so-called “negative spaces” that are known as markets and social areas.
Phase one of this project was completed in 1978, a year before the Islamic Revolution of Iran, and has served as a source of pride for Iranians, for its success in the international architectural arena.
Another one of Ms. Pezeshki’s distinguished works was the design landscaping of the Iranian museum of Contemporary Art, and a prayer room she designed for workers connecting the Art museum to the Rug museum. The design is very simplistic, yet perfect in every aspect. The prayer room is in shape of two squares with the inner square being on an angle. The prayer room has a line which points to the direction of Qeblah, and a hand monument of Imam Ali. This work has been highly distinguished in the international architectural realm, being published in the Book of Century.
Fig.2 The Prayer Room Situated between the two museum Fig.3 Iranian Museum of Contemporary Art
As Mrs. Pezeshki stated architecture is best described as “solidified music”, and it is the architect’s responsibility to make such music get played well since the work it leaves behind will remain for future generations. We are therefore honoured to say, Mrs. Pezeshki and her associate Mr. Kamran Diba have left wonderful works behind that serve as a source of pride for all Iranians.