Case
Building Types & Urban Fabric
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University:
Massachusetts Institute of Technology -
Course:
4.175 | Case Studies in City Form Academic year:
2021
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Views:
395
Pages:
15
Author:
Sporkz
Old Neighborhoods-New Developments
The municipality of Isfahan has divided the city to eleven neighborhoods. For our study, a few of them will be combined and studied together because they have the same characteristics. Basically neighbor- hoods 1,2 and 3 are the traditional part of the city which still has kept the old values and make the "Museum city of Isfahan". Neighborhoods 7 and 8 are newer developments which share the Chaharbagh street and its extension. Neighborhood 5 is the old Armenian district called Julfa which still has a big population of Armenians. Neighborhood 6 accommo- dates a poor architecture and is developing slowly. Neighborhoods 4, 9 and 11 contain more residential areas and they also accommodate some historical sites. Present day Isfahan continues its life within the boundaries of the old city. Its modern sections are ac- tually born and grow in the Safavid gardens that were considered dead land. Its active center formed along the Chaharbagh axis in the western portion of the new square in continuation of the linear center of the old town which is still alive.
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3
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5
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Official municipality neighborhoods
quarters, has been provoking lively controversy ever
since Isfahan became subject to a master plan and its
consequences. In these neighborhoods, the center of
quarters are still based on the old pattern and although
there have been some demolitions, the organic patterns
still exist and density is still the same. The pedestrian
paths are still alive and car access has been provided
as well. The Qanats or water channels are preserved
and is a place for people's gatherings.
Neighborhood 3: Dardasht, map
Dardasht-Neighborhood3
Dardasht, located in the 3rd neighborhood, is the old quarter north of bazaar and west of the Friday mosque.
It has been brutally cut in half by Abdolrazzaq Avenue. This fact, along with a standard of services which is low when compared to new development areas in sub- urbs, has caused a gradual exodus of population and abandonment of the traditional courtyard house.
Although the medieval quarters continued to grow and change during the whole of the Safavid period, they assumed an increasingly residential character by comparison with the official center of government which developed in the new city. Whereas a quarter in the middle ages incorporated all public buildings, including religious monuments, the Safavid city cre- ated a division between official space and residential space. Thus, seventeenth century development in the old quarters consisted of houses which fitted the exist- ing forms and patterns of growth. The old quarters survived as areas of private houses until '40s of this century. Over a long period of time, therefore, the typology of the house remained essentially the same throughout the old city. Wherever there was contigu- ity in the urban structure, not only the house but every kind of the building was characterized by a centralized order from within and attached continuous shapes from without.
The demolition in the area around the Friday mosque, which began immediately after the second world war was intended to provide car access to the old
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Neighborhoods
ISFAHAN
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Julfs-Neighborhood 5
This neighborhood contains the old Armenian quarter of Julfa which is famous for its churches cause it is a Christian settlement. In 1604 Shah Abbas I ordered the valley of Ararat on the Ottoman frontier to be evacu- ated, and several thousand Armenian families from the region were established in a suburb of Isfahan south of the Zayandeh River. Known from 1606 as New Julfa, after the town they had been forced to leave, this quarter of Isfahan flourished as an Armenian Christian community, and between 27 and 30 churches were built there. The 13 surviving examples, dating between 1606 and 1728, combine Safavid style and building techniques with elements imported from the Armenian homeland. Liturgical requirements dictated that the plan developed for churches in Julfa be retained in the new buildings. Traditionally, the exteriors of Armenian churches were relatively plain, and the impact of the buildings derived principally from their form and massing. In New Julfa, the form of the churches, apart from the belfries and crosses crowning the domes, was derived from the Persian architectural tradition, with shallow ovoid domes and pointed arches. The construction of these churches also followed local Traditions: baked brick replaced the stone typical in Armenia. Many of the churches also have underglaze- painted polychrome tile panels or friezes depicting scenes from the New Testament, landscapes and animals. In addition to Armenians, such foreign Chris- tians as Carmelite and Capuchin missionaries lived in New Julfa. The finest residences, such as those along the Chahar Bagh Avenue, were garden villas modelled on detached royal pavilions. Even modest dwellings were enriched with refined decoration in tile and paint. There are some new streets that cut through the neigh- borhood.
A drawing showing Julja in old times
Julfa, new housing development
Neighborhoods
Neighborhood 11
This area contains more suburban areas which new residential developments are located partially there. Neighborhood 11, except for the older part, is not following rules of traditional place-making. It contains large areas of tall apartment buildings accommodated in large sites in western parts.
Further west, this is the border of the city of Isfahan, and is counted as suburb. Thus, parks and large green areas can be found.
These lands were agricultural land before the continu- ation of Chaharbagh to north. After the city expanded towards north, it started stretching out to east and west. In west, the city is now built on agricultural lands and accommodates al range of residential devel- opments from mid-income apartment complexes to high-income villas.
Building Types & Urban Fabric
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