Many large cities of the world are quickly recognized, even be- fore hearing their names, through an everlasting architectural work serving as a symbol for the city. According to time, economic, social and political develop- ments, symbols are substituted by other symbols expressive of social, economic developments or important changes in the geographic and political domain. Great Tehran is an example of a metropolis enjoying different symbols throughout its life due to governmental changes. Construction of Azadi Tower became part of the programme of the regime when Tehran had already been a political capital for 160 years. In 1966, the second Pahlavi which was think- ing about holding the expensive festivals of 2500 years of Monarchy in the 70s, held a competition for Iranian architects to design a distinct landmark for Tehran. Hossein Amanat, a graduate of the Faculty of Fine Arts at Tehran University who was only 24-years-old at the time, won the competition. The architecture of the tower is a combination of distinct architectural emblems of the Sassanid and Islamic period. With a square plan, the tower is based on four large bases which come together in a harmonious and converging movement as the tower rises. Inspired by Taq-i-Kasra, they demonstrate this coming together in form of a huge vault which transforms into two broken arcs from the outside. The transition from the inner vault to two outer arcs happens through an ordered expand-
ing pattern of Rasmibandi which has a dazzling beauty with its turquoise and blue glazed tiles on a white background. In the middle, a view of the most important East-West axis of Tehran can be seen through the opening which has a particular visual effect on those entering Tehran. The underground storeys are considerably large. The east- ern wing of the first basement is dedicated to natural, climatic and local conditions of important cities of the country and their valuable heritage. In this section, the designer presents the attractions of the country through passing the viewers above a miniature model of the country and guiding them through suspended corridors. With the help of visual effects, different light sources and the use of sound, the grandeur of the space for historical heritage is emphasized and the quality of the envi- ronment is enhanced. When talking about Azadi Tower one cannot help noticing the existing problems and limitations as well. The Tower is cur- rently inaccessible due to the heavy traffic in the surrounding ring and lack of secure pedestrian paths, to the extent that the roundabout and the tower is ironically referred to as an island.
* Babak Zirak graduated in architecture at Iran National University. He has been director manager for Aran Consulting Engineers and chairman of some research project and has published more than 42 articles on Iran’s historical architecture and urbanism in professional journals.