Economics and Architecture: The Impact of the Economic Situation in Qajar Iran on Architectural and Urban Planning Patterns

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 PhD student in Architecture, Department of Architecture, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Architecture and Art, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.

2 Full Professor, Department of Architecture, Faculty of Architecture and Urban Planning, University of Arts, Tehran, Iran.

3 Associate Professor, Department of Urban Planning, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Architecture and Art, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.

10.22034/ias.2021.301956.1705

Abstract

 The arrival of capitalism in Iran was accompanied by extensive changes in the economic system. While the structure of the country's production in the early Qajar period was based on the production of agricultural products and handicrafts and its export, recently with serious decline and damage, the country became a major importer from European countries and Russia. Attempts to internalize capitalism failed with the closure of domestic factories, and the inability of the private sector to compete with foreign capitalism led to the profitability of trade based on imports, rents, and the stock market. As a result, the country's architecture and urban planning are focused on two aspects: one is the increase in the population of cities and the need to develop them, which was accompanied by new street construction and the presence of buildings with new functions. An event that led to the land exchange and emphasized the separation of social classes. Second, the indirect impact of foreign capitalism, which led to the presence of European citizens in Iranian cities and intensified the process of acquainting Iranians with the culture and manifestations of Western civilization. The construction of foreign embassies and houses of European character is one of its examples. In this research, with interpretive-historical methods and logical reasoning, the interrelationship between the economic situation and the architectural and urban development developments of Iranian cities in the Qajar period has been studied. A relationship that not only affects the shape of cities and the appearance of buildings, but is also accompanied by broad socio-political and cultural ties that have made its consequences more complex and influential.

Research aims:

1. Examining the economic conditions and specifically the capital flows to what extent on the developments of Iranian cities.
2. Recognizing the architectural patterns used under the influence of the economic developments of the Qajar period.

Research questions:
1. To what extent have economic conditions and specifically capital flows influenced the developments in Iranian cities?
2. To what extent have the architectural patterns used influenced it?

Keywords

References

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Islamic Art Studies
Volume 18, Issue 42 - Serial Number 42
February 2021
Pages 188-202

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