“Tabula Rasa” Planning: Creative Destruction and Building a New Urban Identity in Tehran

Abstract

The concept of Tabula Rasa, as a desire for sweeping renewal and creating a potential site for the construction of utopian dreams is presupposition of Modern Architecture. Starting from the middle of the 19th century to the first half of the 20th century, Iranian urban and architectural history has been integrated with modernization, and western-influenced modernity. The case of Tehran as the Middle Eastern political capital is the main scene for the manifestation of modernity within it’s urban projects that was associated with several changes to the social, political and spatial structure of the city. In this regard, the strategy of Tabula Rasa as a utopian blank slate upon which a new Iran could be conceived “over again” – was the dominant strategy of modernization during First Pahlavi era (1925–1941). This article explores the very concept of constructing a new image of Tehran through the processes of autocratic modernism and orientalist historicism that also influenced the discourse of national identity during First Pahlavi era.

Gio Ponti and Villa Namazee: (De)listed Modern Heritage

“…It is essential to ensure that modern heritage sites are protected and preserved for future generations to appreciate and learn from. When the national authorities decided to delist and remove modern buildings such as Villa Namazee in Tehran from the cultural heritage list due to real estate development, they threatened and ignored the cultural values and national identities [17][18][19][20]. While this Italian architectural modernist symbol in Tehran has recently survived demolition and raze due to several petitions and public outrage, many other endangered modern heritage and mid-century buildings exist.…”

Glocalization Challenges and the Contemporary Architecture: Systematic Review of Common Global Indicators in Aga Khan Award’s Winners

“…However, due to the flexibility and capability of these indicators in translating complex qualitative architectural concepts into measurable information and optimizing design results in the decision-making process, they would enhance the users' quality of life (Rajali & Bakri, 2018). The application of commonly used global architecture indicators would be useful in collaborative efforts to link the globalization experiences with contemporary ar-chitecture management over the long term (Mehan, 2017;Beckman, 2016).…”