Spektrum Iran

Abstrakt Iranian architecture has historically evolved in close association with spirituality, a relationship reflected not only in its spatial and physical organization but also in its philosophical and theoretical foundations. Drawing upon Mulla Sadra’s Transcendent Philosophy and the Fourfold Model of Cognition, this study investigates the spiritual dimensions of Iranian architecture. Employing a qualitative logical–interpretive approach, the research is based on Islamic-Iranian philosophical sources and selected examples of traditional Iranian architecture. The theoretical framework is grounded in Mulla Sadra’s Transcendent Philosophy (al-Hikma al-Mutaʿāliyah), which is founded upon the principles of the Primacy of Existence, the Gradation of Existence, and Substantial Motion. From this perspective, architecture is understood not merely as a physical artifact but as an existential phenomenon capable of expressing philosophical principles. The Fourfold Model of Cognition, rooted in Iranian philosophical thought and the distinction between the apparent (ẓāhir) and the hidden (bāṭin), provides an analytical framework for exploring the relationship between architecture and wisdom. This model consists of four interconnected levels: concepts (meanings), foundations (principles), patterns (design frameworks and methods), and exemplars (cases and applications), through which the movement between meaning and matter, and between the hidden and the apparent, is examined. Based on theoretical analysis and observations of the Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque, the findings indicate that Iranian architecture, through the principles of Transcendent Philosophy, transcends aesthetic and functional dimensions to create a mystical and ontological experience of space. The study concludes that Mulla Sadra’s philosophical foundations can provide a theoretical basis for revitalizing the spiritual dimensions of contemporary architecture, while the Fourfold Model of Cognition offers a methodological framework for interpreting and designing architectural spaces from a spiritual perspective.

Abstrakt This paper examines the role of Swedish engineering firms in Iran’s architectural modernization during the First Pahlavi era, foregrounding infrastructure as a critical yet underexplored instrument of state formation, national integration, and geopolitical self-assertion. While the contributions of prominent European engineering firms to Pahlavi modernization have long been recognized, the role of Scandinavian companies has received little scholarly attention. Addressing this lacuna, the study investigates the technical, conceptual, and cultural dimensions of Swedish engagement in Iran, with particular reference to the Ahvaz White Bridge and the Ghazian–Mian Poshteh Bridge. Adopting a descriptive–analytical methodology and drawing on archival materials, historical documentation, architectural records, and field investigations, the research traces how Scandinavians facilitated the transfer of modernist ideas, reconfigured spatial orders, and reshaped Iran’s building culture. The findings suggest that Swedish firms performed a role far exceeding that of contractors or technical service providers. Their projects introduced advanced materials, including reinforced concrete and steel, together with movable bridge technologies previously unknown in Iran, while simultaneously embodying the broader discourse of Pahlavi modernisation. These structures emerged not only as feats of engineering, but also as visible symbols of state authority and of Iran’s aspiration to reposition itself within global modernity. Their deliberate siting in strategically sensitive regions further underscores their geopolitical significance and their function as instruments of territorial integration. Beyond their technical contribution, Swedish companies acted as cultural agents and conduits for international architectural models, participating in a form of “architectural diplomacy” that facilitated the social reception of new architectural vocabularies, and thereby helped legitimise modernist aesthetics. By bringing these issues into focus, this study contributes to scholarship on transnational architectural history, technology transfer, and the geopolitics of infrastructure. It demonstrates how peripheral European actors shaped non-Western trajectories of modernisation and how the built environment was instrumentalised in state-building projects.