44

http://www.authorstream.com/Presentation/michaelasanda-2360877-kashan-boroujerdi-house/

Kashan is a city in the Isfahan province, the first of the large oases along the Qom-Kerman road which runs along the edge of the central deserts of Iran. Its charm is thus mainly due to the contrast between the parched immensities of the deserts and the greenery of the well-tended oasis.

Kashan, oraş din provincia Esfahan, este prima oază de-a lungul drumului ce duce de la Qom la Kerman, pe la marginea deşertului iranian.Farmecul său este asigurat în primul rând de contrastul dintre imensitatea aridă a deşertului şi prospeţimea acestei oaze de verdeaţă şi frumos.

Bas-relief on the entrance of Broujerdis' house

Legend has it that when Sayyed Jafar Natanzi, a merchant known as Borujerdi, met Sayyed JafarTabatabei to discuss taking his daughter’s hand in marriage, Agha Tabatabei set one condition: his daughter must be able to live in a home at least as lovely as his own. The result – finished some 18 years later – was the Khan-e Boroujerdi.

Bas-relief on the entrance of Broujerdis' house

Bas-relief on the entrance of Broujerdis' house

Decoration of the wall above the verandah looking toward the inner courtyard

The house was built in 1857 by architect Ustad Ali Maryam, for the bride of Haji Mehdi Borujerdi, a wealthy merchant. The bride came from the affluent Tabatabaei family, for whom Ali Maryam had built the Tabatabaei House some years earlier.

Boroujerdi House

Boroujerdi House is famous for its unusual shaped wind towers which are made of stone, brick, sun baked bricks and a composition of clay, straw and mortar.

The most eye-catching feature of Iranian desert architecture is the badgir. These are square towers which rise a few metres above the roof of the house. Each face of the badgir opens into a separate chimney-like air shaft which leads right down to the lowest level of the house.The slightest air movement in any direction is caught by the tower's openings and is funnelled around ducts which run behind the walls. These ducts also double-up as water channels so the air passes over cool running water before passing in through vents in the walls.

Roof of Boroujerdi historical house

The Boroujerdi house consists of a rectangular beautiful courtyard, delightful wall paintings by the royal painter Kamal-ol-molk, and three 40 meter tall wind towers which help cool the house to unusually cool temperatures. It has 3 entrances, and all the classic signatures of traditional Persian residential architecture, such as biruni and daruni (andaruni).

The Boroujerdi house took eighteen years to build using 25 workers, painters, and architects, although some accounts place the number of craftsmen as high as 150.

When visiting Kashan in 1993, the chairman of UNESCO remarked: “Kashani architects are the greatest alchemists of history. They could make gold out of dust”. Indeed, almost all of Kashan’s masterpieces, as in many other parts in Iran are made of humble, local, earth.

The home originally consisted of two sections, an andaruni and a biruni, but today only the andaruni is open to the public. What you see is an ornately decorated courtyard, laid out around a central fountain pool.

Since exceptional attention has been paid to all minute architectural details demanded by the geographical and climatic conditions of the area, the house has attracted considerable attention of architects and recognition from Iranian and foreign scientific and technical teams.

The Boroujerdi house is considered a true masterpiece of Persian traditional residential architecture with delightful plaster and stucco works of fruits and flowers

Detail of the stucco inside the interior wall: fight between lion and griffin

Detail of the stucco inside the interior wall: Man on horseback hunting

Detail of the stucco inside the interior wall: lion attacking deer

Detail of the stucco inside the interior wall: man on horseback attacking lion

Detail of the stucco inside the interior wall: ion attacking animal

Wall paintings by the royal painter Kamal-ol-Molk

The walls of the šāhnešin (seating for distinguished guests) in the reception hall carry portraits of Qajar kings, executed in a manner so as to make its European influence clear.

While the House used to be a private home, it is now is open to the public as a museum. Cele două sectoare principale sunt andaruni (interiorul unde trăiesc membrii familiei) şi biruni (partea exterioară unde sunt primiţi oaspeţii), fiecare organizate în jurul unei curţi interioare (unde este şi un bazin). În prezent doar andaruni este accesibil publicului, fiind transformat în muzeu

Wall art depicting hunter shooting gun at lion

Decorations on the column

Frescoes painted by Kamal ol-Molk, the foremost Iranian artist of the time

The museum is arranged with four sides, for reception, ceremonies, residential halls and rooms.

In one of the smaller adjoining rooms, a carpet design is carved on the ceiling

The basement at a very comfortable temperature even in summer without air conditioning system

A photograph Exhibition at the basement 2008

Text and pictures: Internet

http://www.panoramio.com/user/7705189/tags/Kashan

Copyright: All the images belong to their authors

Presentation: Sanda Foişoreanuwww.slideshare.net/michaelasanda

Sound: Hossein Farjami - The Road To Esfahan - Dastgah Homayoun