Rebuilding a Sustainable Image in a Cultural Landscape, Iran

Back to Student Case Studies

Name	add the project name
Place	add the city name
Country	Iran
Author(s)	Roya Sabri
Project start	enter the date of the project start
Completion	enter the date of completion
World Heritage	enter the year of listing
Client	enter the client
Project costs	enter the costs (if known)
<googlemap version="0.9" lat="41.035859" lon="29.00116" zoom="9" width="400" height="300" controls="small"> </googlemap>

Rationale: Why is the case study interesting?

Please summarise:- e.g. Design Innovation? Planning Exemplar? Theoretical Insights? Lessons from its failure?

On December 26, 2003, an earthquake struck the city of Bam in Iran. While there have been numerous quakes in Iran (caused by the unique geology of the country) with a plethora of casualties, none have ever been as devastating as the damage caused by that earthquake in Bam. There are major lessons that can be learned from the Bam experience that can be applied to other similar situations. The relationship between nature and culture adds a significant insight into the complex situation where reconstruction extends beyond bricks and mortar to the reconstruction of lives and the continuation of nature. The participation of the local people is of vital importance. In Bam, a unique approach was used to recover cultural values and reach out to a segment of population that is vital to Bam's future, its children. The procedure for reconstruction involved Bam's children in a UNICEF workshop and provided a way to involve them in the design of parts of the environment through their own eyes. The workshops not only provided insight for a better reconstruction of the city, but also hope in the midst of a disaster.

Author's perspective

What theoretical or professional perspective do you bring to the case study? Please make a short note on your personal background

The relationship between nature and culture is at the core of understanding a sustaining and flourishing desert culture with all its manifestations in Iran. Nature as a physical existence together with the mental world of man are valuable entities that have survived the earthquake. Meanings and memories which reside in the minds of the residents and in their way of life start to manifest themselves in the form of a developed culture. Cultivated nature seems to be a way toward uncovering the hidden patterns of the city. Therefore, any attempt at bringing forth these hidden spatial patterns embedded within the people and context of Bam after the earthquake, is a welcome idea in keeping with the traditional character of the city. I have personal experience traveling to the amazing city of Bam and understand the need for a deep analysis of the area before sustainable restoration occurs. We were pleasantly surprised to find out through the surveys prepared for the children of Bam that nature plays a vivid role in their minds for any future development.

Cultural landscape context

Biogeography, cultural features, overall landscape character, history and dynamics

Illustration: Map; sketches; short descriptive analyses

Built upon historic cultural traditions, the culture of Bam is further tempered by the extremes of the desert environment, extremes that demand both patience and respect. From an historic standpoint Bam, is a symbol of man’s ability to survive in a hostile environment, but more importantly Bam represents man’s ability to live in harmony with a very fragile and constraining environment. Bam is very unique in this sense. The diverse, tangible and intangible heritage of Bam also reflects values associated with the long and complex history of the city. Bam and its surroundings are a cultural landscape composed of the desert environment; an ingenious water use, management and distribution system; agricultural land use; gardens and built environment. It has not only a complex, underground irrigation system leading to an agricultural land use network that is in harmony with its built area, but also it is a network of gardens mixed into the urban fabric which extend to the outskirts of the town.The hostile environment and the enclosures protecting the city are a common feature that connects the Persian city of Bam with all medieval cities in the world. In all cases massive walls are erected to defend the city from threatening circumstances. Of course similarity of form does not always result from sameness of causes, so the "internality" of Bam, as opposed to the other medieval cities, is not a mere defense against military attacks. It depicts a similarity of process in fending off an unfriendly and harsh environment. However, in the case of Bam, a city surrounded by hot climatic conditions and sand storms, the enclosing fortress and walls create a city of hospitable, simple and beautiful, internal spaces.

Socio-political context

Brief explanation of political economy, legal framework

Illustration: Bullet points, image, background notes

Back to top

The existence of Bam and its gardens are dependent on the presence and ability to distribute water. The Persian Gardens of Bam are an example of a live micro ecosystem that has evolved from within. The gardens owe their liveliness to the internal forces of water coming from the ancient subterranean canals or qanats6 which make the vast palm groves flourish. This age-old technology was believed to have been devised 2,500 years ago at the time of the founder of the Persian Empire, Cyrus the Great. The route of these underground canals determines the capacity and direction of the growth of the city. The routes can be traced by the pot holes (Figure 4) left from the initial excavations and the subsequent repairs, as well as, the linear grove of willow trees that direct the eye toward the main form of the settlement. The complex irrigation system is a testimony to an extraordinary level of an advanced culture that existed in ancient Persia. The failure or lack of attention to the qanats could have lead to the death of the city of Bam at any time during the past 2500 years. Yet, the city of Bam currently has about 370 active qanats. The system has survived the earthquake and is producing water today. Persian culture is intertwined with the implications and meanings of the Persian Garden. A concept of internal and external worlds, which in the words of Arthur Upham Pope, is mesmerizing: “Within all is calm. The garden becomes the still point in a turning world, a field of constant and subtle change held in delicate balance by manmade design.” The garden, as an artifact created by inhabitants inside the urban fabric, establishes a relationship between the cultural worlds of its creators and the natural environment of its context. Understanding this concept of the garden in Bam is crucial in regenerating the devastated city (Figure 5). In this regard, the palm in the local culture is not a mere tree, but also a member of the family and the sign of life. Measuring units in Farsi are different for a person as compared to a thing, and as for the palm tree, it is counted as a person. According to folk tales palms are such sensitive plants that their annual products depend on the constant attention of the gardener. There are ceremonies in which the gardener pretends to cut the tree because it has been unproductive and the neighbors try tomediate between them; surprisingly the tree will reproduce in the proceeding year. In this sense man and cultivation fit into nature in a dialogue between elements and their surroundings. Gardens in Bam are also a source of relationship with the outside world. As a leading world producer of dates and their by products resulting in a viable economy, Bam has had a transactional system between inside and outside worlds that has been always dependent on the gardens. The process of making date by products, such as cookies, is depicted in a mural on the walls near the Citadel (Figure 6). From the ancient times Bam has possessed a commercial identity, since it was situated along the ancient Silk Road. Located at the centre of the known world, Bam served as the crossroads of the major trading routes, bringing the treasures of the Far East to Persia and Europe and of course the caravans did not leave the gardens of Bam empty handed. Thus, the symbolism, vivid memories and mental images of the inhabitants can best be retrieved through the restoration of the gardens as living places. As is the case with Tabas7, another Persian city in the desert devastated by an earthquake about 25 years earlier, Bam continues to exist as long as the gardens survive (Figure 7). The gardens and the irrigation system, as natural artifacts, in harmony with economy and technology, as the virtual network of relations, create a framework in which hidden patterns come to life. Accordingly, the attained patterns have led to a comprehensive plan for the city in which the physical structures are formed from the natural elements intertwined with the cultural expressions. The inhabitants have vanished in vast areas of the city, but finite patterns of interactions, techniques, customs and beliefs are laid out and ready to be reborn in an eminent culture. The green patches of palm trees all over the city are more discernible since the urban fabric is in ruins. About 80% of the buildings were leveled by the earthquake8.