Ali Qapu, Chehel Sutun and Hasht Behesht Restoration

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Part of site	Palace Complex at Isfahan
Location	Isfahan
Architect/Planner	Bagher Shirazi
Architect/Planner	Eugenio Galdieri
Architect/Planner	L'Istituto Italiano per il Medio ed Estremo Oriente (I.S.M.E.O. or ISMEO)
Client	National Organization for Conservation of Historical Monuments of Iran (NOCHMI)
Date	17th c., restored 1977
Style/Period	Safavid
Centuries	17th, 20th
Decade	1970s
Building Types	landscape, palatial
Building Usage	garden, garden pavilion
Keywords	Aga Khan Award for Architecture Winner; restoration and conservation

Notes

These three pavilions and their gardens are among the great Safavid monuments of Isfahan. The Ali Qapu is the main entrance to the palace complex of the city. Its upper walls and vaults, of lacquered stucco and wood, have been carefully restored. Hasht Behesht was structurally strengthened with concrete links and supports and its ceilings and wall decorations restored. As part of the extensive conservation and repair work on the Chehel Sutun, most of the great wooden columns of the large porch were removed from their bases, sawn in half and their central core hollowed out to receive and hide steel reinforcing rods. The jury commended this restoration "for the contribution it has made to the knowledge of Islamic planning, architecture and construction. Of particular significance is the training of Iranian craftsmen and technicians and the setting up by NOCHMI of its own work force in specialist skills. The programme as a whole constitutes a model for other countries with similar conditions." Recipient of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture, 1980. (Source: AKTC)

Downloadable documents associated with this site

Author	Title	Year
Holod, Renata and Darl Rastorfer	Restoration of Ali Qapu, Chehel Sutun and Hasht Behesht	1983
Alemi, Mahvash.	Urban Spaces as the Scene for the Ceremonies and Pastimes of the Safavid Court	1991

Downloadable files associated with this site

Author	Title	Type	Year
Eugenio Galdieri	Architect's record of Ali Qapu Ali Qapu, Chehel Sutun and Hasht Behesht Restoration	text report	1980
Eugenio Galdieri	Architect's record of Hesht Bahesht and Chehel Sutun Ali Qapu, Chehel Sutun and Hasht Behesht Restoration	text report	1980
Courtesy of architect	Drawings of Ali Qapu, Chehel Sutun and Hasht Behesht Restoration	line drawing(s)	1980
Aga Khan Award for Architecture	Graphic Panel of Award Winning Projects from the First Cycle of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture (1980)	graphic panels	2007
Courtesy of architect	Photographs of Ali Qapu, Chehel Sutun and Hasht Behesht Restoration	photographs	1980
Samir Abdulac	Technical review of Ali Qapu Ali Qapu, Chehel Sutun and Hasht Behesht Restoration	text report	1980
Samir Abdulac	Technical review of Hesht Bahesht nad Chehel Sutun Ali Qapu, Chehel Sutun and Hasht Behesht Restoration	text report	1980