About this event:

With her age-old history stretching ten-thousand years, the land of Persia boasts a unique geographical and climatic diversity. It owes this to the Alborz and Zagros mountain ranges. Over the centuries this climatic and geographical diversity has contributed to a distinctive cultural and vernacular architectural diversity in Iran.

The first half of the lecture will focus on the wide-ranging vernacular architecture in Iran in a variety of geographical and climatic settings including the hot and arid (arid and semi-arid), hot and moist, cold and temperate, and moist climatic regions.

In the second half, using Hawraman/Uramanat Cultural and Natural Landscape as an example, Professor Talebian will delve into the significance and values of this World Heritage site including its intangible cultural heritage, the way local communities take pride in their identity, traditions and way of life, and the challenges faced in the protection and management of this exceptional landscape.

Hawraman or Uramanat, inscribed in 2021, is located at the core of the Zagros mountain ranges, in West Iran, between the two provinces of Kermanshah and Kurdistan. The history of settlement in this region dates back to a period prior to the dominance of the Greeks and the rule of the Assyrians, the Mud and Achaemenid dynasties. The harsh environment of the region, its many mountain ranges, valleys and fierce flowing rivers have paved the way for the inhabitants to interact with their environment and transform natural threats to unique opportunities for living and enhancing their quality of life. It has led to various creative approaches to architecture, well-displayed in the terraced builds and terraced gardens set up on rocky plains, a lifestyle based on animal husbandry (the setting up of temporary colonies for nomadic lifestyles), various festivities, rites, arts and handicrafts that are all authentic and original to the region.

Dr. Hossam Mahdy, President of ICOMOS’s International Committee for Vernacular Architecture, will briefly respond to the lecture before a Q&A session with the audience.

Speakers

Associate Professor Mohammad Hassan Talebian

Mohammad Hassan Talebian, architect and Associate Professor at the University of Tehran, has been active in the conservation, restoration and management of Iranian national and world heritage sites for three decades. He has long served as site manager at Chogha zanbil, Persepolis and Pasargadae world heritage sites as well as the Bam Cultural Landscape. Additionally, he has functioned as supervisor for many conservation activities at important cultural heritage sites in Iran. He has played a key role in the preparation of at least twenty nomination files for inscription on the World Heritage List. His exemplary experience in the management of Iranian cultural heritage sites includes different scopes and dimensions at the national level, running from a single site to an entire province.

Dr Hossam Mahdy

Dr Hossam Mahdy is currently the President of ICOMOS’s International Scientific Committee for Vernacular Architecture and a member of ICOMOS-UK. He has more than thirty years’ experience of working as an architect, researcher, consultant and lecturer on the conservation of built heritage across many countries including in Egypt, Abu Dhabi, UAE and Saudi Arabia. Hossam currently practices as a freelance consultant and researcher on the conservation of built heritage. His work focuses on built vernacular heritage, nominations to UNESCO’s World Heritage List and the conservation of built heritage in the Middle East.Hossam is a member of the Board of Trustees for Paul Oliver Vernacular Architecture Library (POVAL), Oxford Brookes University and a consultant to the Heritage Commission in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. He earned his PhD from Glasgow University, MSc from Raymond Lemaire International Centre for Conservation, Leuven and BSc from Ain Shams University, Cairo.

ICOMOS-UK supports international collaboration and understanding in the promotion of cultural heritage and World Heritage sites. The charges for event like this will go towards supporting ICOMOS-UK’s ambition to create a more sustainable, dynamic and internationally connected organisation.

Lecture on Iran’s vernacular architecture

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