Planning and Geometry of the Old City of Isfahan - Essay Example

PLANNING AND GEOMETRY OF THE OLD OF ISFAHAN By Introduction Isfahan holds an extremely distinguished place among the cities of Iran which originated in its emergence during the period of Sassanid and before the birth of Islam. In 1072, it was made the capital of Seljukid Empire which stretched from the Mediterranean shores to the Central Asian Mountains. This development made the city into one of the most famous cities of Islam and could rival other important and big Islamic cities (Isfahan, 1996). However, its best time began when Shah Abbas decided to make it his capital hence rebuilt it into one of the biggest cities in the world. The visual image was shaped by the architectural design of the city and its royal gardens. The magnificent splendor of the architectural designs of this city can be traced to the rule of Shah Abbas and his empire. The reign of Shah Abbas saw the construction of a new city square, a wide straight thoroughfare, new quarters and complicated networks of bazaars which marked the four strongest points for evolution of Isfahan. Differences between the planning and geometry of the old city of Isfahan Before Isfahan was made the capital by Shah Abbas, its old central square lay next an old Friday Mosque which had dated back about 1200 years and was believed to have been built on the site of a Zeroastrian fire temple. With time, royal urban planners under the leader created the new heart of Isfahan to the south of the city center. These planners sketched out plans to run from the city center to the old square which included complicated networks built during the reign of Shah Abbas. The creation of a new Friday Mosque to the south of the square was one of the masterpieces of world architecture. The new square was surrounded by more than two hundred handicrafts shops on the ground floor. Under Shah Abbas, the city gradually grew with many gardens, roads, bridges and buildings notable among them the avenue named, Chahar-Bagh which literally meant Four Gardens (Golombek, 2001, pp. 39). Four urban quarters were created and were named Royal, New Julfa, Abbas-Adab and Gabrian. This avenue was a paved pedestrian pathway lined with rows of trees and water channels placed strategically to serve the citizens as a public leisure and recreation place. The structure was set so as to be a connection between the two imperial garden palaces and served as a center for commercial life too. One of the many travelers in the19th century described this city as profound of gardens because of its flourish green countenance. Sir Thomas Herbert described it as the greatest and best built city around the orient and the Persian monarchy’s metropolis. General asymmetry and linear geometric patterns of Persian gardens were contrasted with disorganized and unstructured Islamic city formatting (Golombek, 2001 pp. 24). The underlying formal structure of Isfahan put into account an intentional quadripartite division with a clear relation to the external urban city expression. Construction of the new Safavid palace quarter created an affiliation between old urban and new center, but the development and city’s expansion without restricted separation of suburban gardens and old center districts by a strong city wall enhanced their gradual convergence. Shah Abbas’ design of Isfahan was a scheme deemed pragmatic and aimed at a calculated synthesis of a concept that was both symbolic and practical in nature. It was said to be a proper manifestation of a typical Islamic-Iranian community where his new developments presented explicit differences and contradictions to the old city in terms of the structure and geometry (Falahat, Shirazi, 2012, pp. 623). Previously, the residential quarters were referred as autonomous zones with religious or ethnic segregation with their pattern shaped by juridical regulations and the neighbourhoods responsible for provision of housing. The main bazaar was a multifunctional complex receiving all public facilities, but all the residential quarters functioned semi-autonomously with a duty for providing local facilities (Norberg-Schulz, 2005). The hidden geometry of Isfahan’s structure was based on several differential particularities. At the ground level, all private and public aspects were based on introversive organization where an interior courtyard contributed to the core of each building around which other rooms were arranged. This served to provide a guaranteed security and calmness and privacy of the interior. The buildings were clearly articulated on a regular geometry with classical principles of repetition, symmetry and rhythm allowing them to present a self-sufficient microcosm as a manifestation of the fundamental principle of introversion (Karimi, & Mohamed, 2003, pp. 89). There was also an irregular geometry of the street networks which was contradictory to the clear geometrical order of single buildings. The street network expanded all over the city to unite single buildings into recognizable forms like the bazaar. When Shan Abbas made Isfahan his capital, new buildings were constructed while some others went through renovations within the old city. Widening and straightening of the previously narrow streets took place but later due to specific problems encountered during the process of taking possession of the lands, the Shah withdrew from rebuilding, shifting into planning of new places. Naqsh-i Jahan Square which was originally Seljuk garden, was a rectangular 500 metres by 160 metres with its four sides hosting great monuments; to the south was the Shah Mosque, Sheikh Lutfullah Mosque to the east, to the west Ali-Qapu palace and the Qaysaria Portal which was the bazaar to the north. This square acted as a multifunctional open space and was a focal point during Shah Abbas’ rule as it was where all festivals were performed. Continuity in configuration of the bazaar was realized when the complex was incorporated into the newly established city quarters. The difference was however in the subtle functional polarity of the complex as the zone of the Old Maidan was set aside for service of low income earners and local purposes while the new bazaar served nobility and international purposes. The new developments saw the employment of the former street networks where the only difference was in the geometry of hierarchy within some axis and new quarters like Abbas Abad. The new Naqsh-i- Jahan Square was developed to serve as the main city center. However, this was not realized fully as the Old Maidan remained relatively active with the new square having the same components as the Old Maidan with a mosque, bazaar and a palace but with notable regulated, geometric and planned configurations. Although the main goal was to reproduce the same focal structural development through centrality of the new maidan, the originalorder was changed into a bifocal-linear order. The former structure of the residential quarters that was ethnic, religious and professionally segregated continued to exist (Golombek, 2001, pp. 31). The new quarters replicated the older ones’ self-contained character where urban facilities were concerned and each boasted of a small bazaar, a bath and a mosque. However, the regular patterns were a contrast to the irregular patterns developed before. The structure of the city demonstrated several characteristics; new buildings were constructed on a basis of the older introversive order. The gardens which served as more recreational facilities than residential places, this same introversive pattern was applied by use of enclosed high walls. Single buildings were constructed on the original regular geometry where the two new mosques adopted geometric and regular designs completely (Falahat, Shirazi, 2012, pp.628). There was also a centripetal configuration where it was the main purpose around the Naqsh-i Jahan Square where there was a turn as the mono-focal order adopted in buildings of the old city was turned into a bi-focal linear order. Despite of the changes, the urban components were the same but the framework and the arrangement of the buildings and structures in the city had changed remarkably. When the new square was created, Shah Abbas built a six-storey palace named Ali-Qapu and it dominated the eastern side of this square. This new square was used for holding of festivals, as a market and holding games of polo. The second floor of this square was allocated to travelers and holding of periodic ceremonies. There is clear continuity from the old city of Isfahan to the new developments that took place later which show that the changes were a re-interpretation of the old existing characteristics. The Zayande-Rud River penetrated extensively into the city, the bazaar was expanded into the new developments that were put in place, the hierarchy of the street networks was considered into the new urban developments and the new residential quarters were created with their own local public services (McChesney, 2008, pp. 15). Old principles were interpreted in similar ways and were used to result in a clear continuity though the order of arrangement in the new developments proved to be contradictory to the old one. However, the morphology of the city from a macro level reveals a disjuncture between the old city and the new developments that were realized which can be said to have originated from the big difference and considerable contradiction in the planning of the structures. The geometric patterns of the new city and the irregular and organic patterns of the old city presents a difference observed widely. These new developments arose essentially from a decision that was political and aimed to transform Isfahan into an ideal city. This contradictions can be explained in various ways; previously, Isfahan was as a result of a long-term evolution that originated in the pre-Islamic era and intensified after introduction of Islam. However, the new developments were required to be realized in a shorter period of time which meant that these rushed plans did not leave room for organic evolution (Falahat, Shirazi, 2012, pp.620). The new developments were an indication of the power of Shah Abbas and therefore they needed to show regularity because they represented the authority of the king in power. The irregularity and sense of chaos represented by the old city therefore needed to be ironed out. The old city was developed from a bottom up perspective where the neighbourhoods in the residential quarters and the elites in the bazaars decided on the construction and the developments to take place. During the reign of Shah Abbas, the royal family became the main developer with the elites having to follow the plan put forward and the proposed instructions. Such planning therefore took the power from the residents and gave it to the ruler (Falahat, Shirazi, 2012, pp.613). The new developments were conducted mainly outside the old city in the southern agricultural lands and their sore purpose was recreational purposes. The planning of residential houses was changed into garden houses and were free from restriction of the previous old and densely occupied quarters. This notable difference in function created layout and configuration differences in the garden models which can be described as walled and enclosed green pieces of land with central pavilions and flowing water. Conclusion The city center under the reign of Shah Abbas encountered a smooth development to the south with respect to the many historic buildings and the urban class which had been created in the earlier eras. The concern for the natural resources and the inhabitants of the city was put into consideration by the city planners put in charge of sketching saw that these resources were preserved and not destroyed. Isfahan was referred to as the ideal manifestation of the typical Islamic-Iranian community but the developments that took place presented explicit differences to the old city in terms of structure and geometry. Despite the continuity at the macro-level the distinguishable differences at the macro-level are evident. It is also evident that both organic and geometric patterns have shaped the development of the city with the new developments expressing a disjuncture with the old city at a higher level. The older city lived and practiced neighbourhood and quarters while the new city under Shah Abbas responded to his ambitions though different and unfamiliar with geometry and new structures being incorporated to their system. References Babaie, S. (2008). Isfahan and its palaces: statecraft, Shiism and the architecture of conviviality in early modern Iran. Edinburgh Univ Pr. Borzabadi-Farahani, A., Borzabadi-Farahani, A., & Eslamipour, F. (2009). 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