An investigation into the former consulate of Britain as one of the first samples of modern architecture in Iran

Peer review under responsibility of Housing and Building National Research Center.

Figures & data

Fig. 1 Sabzabad edifice (photograph by authors).

Fig. 2 The position of Sabzabad edifice and belvedere toward each other and Persian Gulf (photograph by authors).

Table 1 The causes that engendered modern movement and thought in architecture.

Scholars	Factors and situations
Curtis [1]	• Emphasizing on the idea of developing (the modern building must represent the feature of its era) • Mistrust toward the tradition of Renaissance and the partiality theories in that field • Industrial revolution and new methods of constructing • New needs and issues and alternation in the social, economic and political structures • Creating new styles and avoiding imitating or duplicating the past
Benevolo [2]	• Rejecting traditional thoughts and historicity • Separating from the past and refrain imitating the past styles • Technical, social and cultural developments resulted from industrial revolution • The idea of creating new style • Minimum use of ornaments
Giedion [3]	• Growth and emerging the tradition • Redefining the human values in architecture and urbanism • Adapting the human life with the requirements and facilities of its era • Defining the new relation with the past (expressing the inner continuity of the past and present) and avoid imitating it • International architecture and new spatial imagination • Considering the formal compositions and optional form
Norberg-Schulz [4]	• Sense of relief in new world (identifying itself by natural and social environment) • Providing new settlement in new world for human • New international condition for building and rejecting the past forms • New spatial and formal imagination • Believe in logic in modern art and scientific studying of artistic phenomenon • Enhancing the dualities of logic and emotion
Ghobadian [5]	• Influences of Renaissance era and advent of rationalism, humanism and realism • Avoid from religious • Scientific tendencies • Enlightenment era • Industrial revolution

Fig. 3 The plans and spatial organization of Sabzabad edifice. A: The current status of building (produced by the administration of Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism of Bushehr province) and B: The basic status of building without changes (corrected by authors based on the current status plans).

Fig. 4 The composition of forms and the open, semi-open and close spaces (designed by the authors).

Fig. 5 West façade, deep veranda, no ornaments, opening similar to Bushehr traditional buildings without colorful glasses and rectangular mesh above (photograph by authors).

Fig. 6 The space syntax in Bushehr traditional architecture (left, [22]) and Sabzabad edifice (designed by the authors). A: Accessibility pattern on ground floor and B: Accessibility pattern on first floor.

Table 2 The reasons which led Iran to a modern society.

Scholars	Reasons
Habibi [6]	• The domination and influences of European colonial governments in Iran • The tendencies of politicians and merchants in relation to Europe and visit it • European graduated students and academic education arrival in Iran universities • The entering of European advisors and engineers to Iran • Importing the new technology such as telegraph, telephone, printing machine. • Emerging the new functions such as cinema, theater, bank, hotel.
Ghobadian [7]	• Entering the Foreign counselors • Sending the educators and labors to abroad • Constructing some new industrial institutions based on new style • Translating the foreign books to Persian • Coming of the European and Armenian merchants and missionaries to Iran • Infrastructural and qualitative reformations and changes in government structure • Social, cultural and economic structures reformation (new educating system and establishment of school and university) • Colonial influences of foreign countries, especially British and Russia • European Travels of the King, courtiers and merchants • Importing the new technologies
Bani Masoud [8]	• Organizing the stable and powerful central government • Attending and entering the powerful European governments to Iran • Sending the Iranian students to Europe and reforming program of ‘new system’ • Using the foreign counselors and technicians • Establishment of new university, factory and institutions based on European style • Traveling to Europe (The king, courtiers, merchants) • Importing new inventions and technologies • Political, social and economic reformations and western capitalists influences

Table 3 The features of early modern architecture samples in Iran (from 1785 to 1925).

Scholars	Features
Habibi [6] and [9]	• Modernization and tend to modernity • Innovation in a traditional architectural method • Indigenous interpretation from the European architectural styles • Rise of western architectural elements in the architecture of buildings • Eclectic architecture • New functions and buildings such as theater, cinema. • The embassies of European countries and special architecture of their building, especially Britain and Russia
Ghobadian [7]	• Appearance of European elements in architecture • The influences of European arts and architecture • Combining the symbols of ‘Isfahani’ method with European styles (neoclassic style) • Using abstract and realistic ornaments • Traditional and European materials • Locating the stair in the main axis of building
BaniMasoud [8]	• The advent of eclectic or hybrid forms (creating hybrid concepts and forms) • The emergence of some kind of external demonstration of western concepts along with inner dependence to the past • Tendency to European styles and some imitation from European palaces and buildings, especially France • Increasing spatial creativity and space diversity • Architectural evolution in fields of openness, transparency and lightness of spaces • Declining in architecture in field of proportions, sizes, shapes and ornaments • Entering new elements and functions in the structure of the city

Table 4 The factors and situations which were put Bushehr in the process of modern movement arrival in Iran.

Factors and situations

• Political relations and entering the European governments such as Britain, France, the Netherland and Russia • Economic and commercial relations with foreign nations such as India, north of Africa and China • Importing new technologies to the city which are the first time imported to Iran same as electricity generating system, airplane. • Some new functions such as cinema • The interest of Bushehr merchants in European styles and constructing similar edifices • Locating the consulates and political and economic agencies of various countries (Britain, Russia, Portugal, France) with their special architecture

Table 5 The analysis of architectural physical structure of Sabzabad edifice.

Analyze	Results
Building configuration	• The orientation of building is toward a sea in main view (west façade, Fig. 2)
	• Based on the building plans (Fig. 3), the general form was resulted from a free and fluid composition of two pure rectangular cubic forms which were linked in one head
	• The form of the building is a combination of open, semi-open and close spaces (Fig. 4)
	• The building has a compact form and does not have any central courtyard (in contrast, the central courtyard is common in Bushehr traditional architecture and the form is created based on central courtyard)
	• Symmetry was not considered in plans and form, although the building is integrated and balanced, totally (Figs. 3 and 4)
	• The building has a veranda in south and west façades which are like a shell for inner spaces (two-shell form)
Ventilation and lighting	• All the spaces have openings in each side which provide ventilation and lightening (same as the spaces in Bushehr traditional buildings)
	• Every space is lighting by the openings in each side. Therefore the spaces are fully transparent
	• The deep veranda, in south and west façade (Fig. 5), controls the sunlight and provides shadow for inner spaces, so that they stay cool
	• In the other facades, the window is placed only in depth of the walls and there are no signs of veranda or Shenashir^a (in traditional architecture of Bushehr, Shenashir is a common element [10]), although the semi-open spaces have done a same function as Shenashir
Ornaments and details	• There are low or even no ornaments in facades or inner spaces
	• The details of openings are same as in Bushehr traditional architecture except the glasses whereas in Bushehr traditional openings the colorful glasses were used
	• There are no rectangular mesh^b above the openings
	• In some spaces, there is a fireplace which was new and European elements and it was not seen in Bushehr traditional buildings^c
	• Around the fireplaces, there is a tiling which was tried to show the fireplace as Iranian and local elements
	• There is a U type stair in lobby with a decorative railing which is made of wood, entirely. The steps of stair are wide with low height. Ground floor and first floor are connected by this stair. The stair is not continued to roof
	• The type, proportion, ornaments and also the position in spatial organization are creative and novel and it does not have similar sample in Bushehr traditional architecture
	• The stair with new and appropriate proportion is located in main entrance and lobby symbolically (see Fig. 3)
Proportions and scale	• The spaces proportions are similar to Bushehr traditional architecture. The ratios of width to length are about 1 by 2 or 1 by 3. The height of spaces is about 4 m
	• The openings proportions (windows and doors) are similar to traditional architecture of Bushehr (the ratio of width to height is about 1 by 2) [11]
Material and color	• The materials are local and same as those in traditional buildings
	• The buildings are covered with a grayish-white coating
	• The structural system and construction technology are same as Bushehr traditional buildings

a In traditional architecture of Bushehr, Shenashir is a semi-open and interfacing space between interior and exterior space and it is like a veranda that is made of railings and canopies by wooden material [25].

b The rectangular mesh is a kind of fixed, lattice and colorful window which is placed above the openings proportionately and it is common in Bushehr traditional buildings (Parsaee et al. [22]).

c However, as it mentioned above, some merchants, who had economic relations with foreign countries, used these new elements such as fireplace in their buildings (such as Dehdashti and Rashidi mansions).

Table 6 The analysis of architectural spatial organization of Sabzabad edifice.

Analyze	Results
Spatial organization	• The spaces were organized linearly from the lobby and the spaces were organized around the lobby and the corridors (see Fig. 3)
	• There is a corridor behind the stair in the lobby of ground floor which is accessible by passing under the stair. The corridor links to some rooms and the backyard
Spaces sequence	• The space syntax is analyzed based on justice graphs. Therefore, the spaces sequence in Sabzabad edifice and traditional architecture of Bushehr are illustrated in Fig. 6. This comparison figure demonstrates the differences between space relations in both Sabzabad edifice and traditional architecture, as well, although they are both located in one region
	• The depth of space relations is diminished compared to traditional architecture of Bushehr
	• The spaces relation in Sabzabad edifice is created close and compact based on lobby but in Bushehr traditional architecture the spaces relation is open and widespread based on central courtyard
	• The entrance was connected to the lobby without any filter or pre-space while in Bushehr Buildings there was an intermediate space (vestibule or corridor) between entrance and courtyard
	• It can be claimed that the connection between inside and outside is created explicit and direct in Sabzabad edifice (see Figs. 3 and 6)
Functional areas classification	• There is no classification same as in traditional buildings of Bushehr, although first floor has more spaces for winter settlement
	• It seems that the spaces, which are located on south and west sides, were used for living rooms and guest rooms and the east and north sides were used for services functions such as kitchen, storage, Bathroom and restroom
Private and public zones	• The public spaces were organized on south and west sides and private spaces were organized on east and north sides
Circulation system	• The access to some spaces is done by the corridors and lobby (see Fig. 3)
	• The access to some spaces is done by passing another spaces (see Fig. 3)
	• The ground floor and first floor are connected through two stair boxes in which one of them is located in main axis of entrance and the other is in corner
	• The connection between first floor and roof is done only through the corner stair box
Behavioral pattern	• There is no evident that shows similarity between the behavioral pattern in this building and those in traditional zone, although it seems that first floor was used for winter settlement, mostly
	• There is a semi-open space in first floor for seasonal living which is similar to Tarmeh^a, in Bushehr traditional architecture

a Tarmeh is a space which has at least one open side and sometimes has no roof. It is used as a temporary seasonal living, corridor or to connect several spaces [25].

Table 7 The result of Sabzabad edifice analysis.

Architectural features of Sabzabad edifice
Attendance to form and form composition instead of working on mass
Free and fluid forms and using pure forms
New spatial organization and spaces sequences and eliminate central courtyard
Non-symmetric
Simplicity and avoid using ornaments in inner spaces and façades
Explicitly and direct relation between inside and outside
Transparency in inner spaces and form
Emerging new elements such as fireplace, entrance lobby and decorative stair
Locating the stair in the main axis of building
Using some elements and features of indigenous architecture and reproduce them creatively (innovation in a traditional architectural method)
Some similarities among architectural elements, spatial organization, behavioral patterns, materials and structures with traditional architecture