The Role of the Iranian Garden in Revitalizing Contemporary Urban Spaces: A Philosophical Reading of the Continuum of Nature, Meaning, and Body in Tehran s Pardisan Park and Mashhad s Sepehr Garden

Mohammad Masoud Ghiabi¹

1) PhD student in Architecture, Central Tehran Azad University

IOI Code : ABZE-AAKDFD
Publication : 5th International Congress on Civil Engineering, Architecture, Building Materials and Environment(caucong.com)
Abstract :
    Abstract The Persian garden is a profound manifestation of the relationship between man and nature, meaning, and architecture; a structure that has been formed throughout history, both as an objective landscape and as a mental space in the cultural and mystical context of Iran. This research seeks to reinterpret the position of the Persian garden in the country s physical culture, and to examine its role and capacity in revitalizing contemporary urban spaces. The main approach of the research is a philosophical and comparative analysis of spatial experience and meaning-making in Pardisan Park in Tehran and Sepehr Garden in Mashhad; two contemporary examples with different approaches to open space design. The analyses are based on structural, symbolic, perceptual, and social elements to show how returning to the patterns of the Persian garden can help recreate space, urban semantics, and enhance the experience of citizenship. The Persian garden, relying on geometric order, the presence of the water element, native plants, and the axial-central structure, is a platform for creating spaces that have meaning both in historical memory and in contemporary needs. A comparative comparison between the two spaces under study shows that Bagh-e-Sepehr, inspired by traditional patterns, has been able to create a more integrated and meaningful structure than Pardisan Park. While Pardisan emphasizes more on naturalism and functional breadth, Bagh-e-Sepehr attempts to revive the connection between form, meaning, and ritual. This article also attempts to define a practical role for architects, landscape designers, and urban managers in the process of revitalizing the Iranian garden in contemporary urban spaces by presenting analytical tables, radar charts of qualitative elements, and conceptual maps. The findings indicate that the re-creation of the Iranian garden is not simply a revival of a visual style, but a return to the spatial wisdom and spiritual spirit of space in Iranian-Islamic architecture.

Keywords : persian garden philosophy of space urban regeneration meaning in design lived experience symbolism intersubjective spaces