The colleagues at Memar magazine offer their condolences on the passing of Dr. Mozayyeni — a master and great writer of Iranian architecture and urban planning — to his honourable family and to the scholarly and professional community of architecture and urban planning. The empty space left by his learned and literary writings in Memar will always be felt with deep regret.
Manoochehr Mozayyeni's heart ceased to beat on 19 Bahman 1381 (8 February 2003), and contemporary Iranian architecture lost one of its principal scholarly references. Architects and researchers, with deep sorrow, laid a beloved friend to rest. At the funeral, held at the Hojjat ibn al-Hasan Mosque, hundreds of engineers, cultural figures and government officials attended — yet they were only a small fraction of his friends, admirers and devoted readers.
Mozayyeni was one of the pioneers of authorship and translation in the field of architecture. A great many articles and books remain from him. He had complete command of several foreign languages and knew Persian extraordinarily well. Before the Revolution he worked at the Academy of Persian Language and contributed to its activities.
I first came to know him personally on the jury of the Cinema Azadi design competition (1376 / 1997). Within a few minutes — although there had been no prior acquaintance between us — a sympathy of mind and mutual interest arose that endured to his very last days. He was sharp-witted, with a piercing gaze, and spoke with an inimitable wit and gentle tone. From science, philosophy, literature, art — and even anecdotes drawn from his personal life — he would draw illustrations to clarify the most complex and fundamental architectural problems. He did this so well that everyone was captivated by his discourse.
Although Mozayyeni was already among the senior figures, his pace never slackened and he remained a pioneer to the end. On the Cinema Azadi jury he favoured the most innovative projects. His book Deconstructive Architecture (translation) covered the most recent developments in world architecture. In Of Time and Architecture — the most authoritative book ever written in Persian on modern architecture — he examined the latest events in architecture with exceptional care and depth. His superb translation of Sigfried Giedion's Space, Time and Architecture went through several editions, first as the best contemporary guide to architecture and then as a standard reference for understanding the period that had passed.
Mozayyeni always kept up with the times. Among his pre-Revolution writings one may cite "Structure, Construction, Tectonics" (translation, Tir 1350), Pier Luigi Nervi's "Does architecture tend toward unchanging forms?" (translation, Khordad 1350) and "A Glance at the Plan and Architecture of Brasilia" (authored, Esfand 1350 / Farvardin 1351).
With several articles, and with the books Image of the City (translation of Kevin Lynch, Tehran National University Press, 1355), Articles on the City and Urban Planning (a selection of translated essays), and The Public Realm and the Private Realm of Life (translation, Tehran University, 1353), he played an important role in advancing urban-planning discourse in Iran.
He was a capable speaker and teacher and worked steadily at this throughout his professional life. Beyond teaching at the foremost architecture schools in Iran — Shahid Beheshti, the Faculty of Fine Arts, Islamic Azad University (Tehran), heading the architecture and urban planning group at Tehran University and the doctoral programme in urban planning at Azad University — he also achieved notable success at the international level. For about a year he taught at Boston University and at King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah.
Like other distinguished cultural figures, Mozayyeni's outstanding personality took shape early. In 1336 (1957), after three and a half years of study at the Faculty of Fine Arts of Tehran University, he travelled to America and continued his studies at the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT). In that period he was the student of such prominent figures as Mies van der Rohe. In 1349 (1970), after four years of research and study at the Technical University of Munich, he received his doctorate in urban planning, and in 1359 (1980), after ten years of residence in Iran, he travelled again to Europe and pursued research in Holland on urban-renewal projects.
He achieved much in his professional life as well. During his Chicago years he worked in various architecture offices. In 1350 (1971) he founded the consulting engineering office Tarh-o-Pajouh (Plan and Research Consulting Engineers). He played an important part in shaping urban-planning projects, including the Yazd Master Plan, the development plan for the villages of Kermanshah, and the expansion plan for Masouleh.
Mozayyeni stood apart not only by his learning and culture but also by his individual character — rich and deeply attractive. Those who knew him — myself among them — were powerfully drawn to him. The day after his death a journalist telephoned me, apparently seeking an interview. He asked: "What is the news in architecture?" I answered: "Nothing. Manoochehr Mozayyeni has gone." Some time later, when we spoke again, he explained that he had known Mozayyeni intimately and had recently conducted a long conversation with him. When I look back on the great figures who have left a deep mark on my life, I see that there have been some whose words, but also whose mere presence and manner of engaging with problems, have been instructive — those who taught not only how to think but how to be. Mozayyeni was one of these. Among those who, without saying a word about scholarly or technical matters, can move and instruct those around them — he was a true teacher in the full sense of the word, and he did so with a deep humanity and a profound civility that set him apart. May his memory live forever.
