Spektrum Iran

The geopolitics of modern architecture in Iran: the role of Swedish engineering firms during the first Pahlavi era

Document Type : Original Research Paper

Authors

Mahdi Motamedmanesh 1
Sadaf Vahidi 2

1 Assistant Professor, Faculty of Arts and Architecture, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran

2 PhD Candidate, Faculty of Arts and Architecture, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran

10.22034/spektrum.2026.551240.1039
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.

Keywords

Swedish construction company SENTAB
architectural modernism in Iran
building culture
construction history
Subjects

Abrahamian, E. (1998). Iran between two revolutions: An introduction to the political sociology of contemporary Iran (A. Golmohammadi & M. Fattahi-Vali’ali, Trans.). Nashr-e Ney.

Abrahamian, E. (2010). A history of modern Iran (M. Fattahi, Trans.). Nashr-e Ney.

Akbari, M. A. (2006). A genealogy of the new Iranian identity (Qajar era and the First Pahlavi era) [Tabarshenasi-ye hoviyat-e jadid-e Irani (asr-e Qajar va Pahlavi-ye avval)]. Elmi va Farhangi.

Alexander, C. (2002). Architecture and the secret of timelessness (M. Qayoumi, Trans.). Shahid Beheshti University Press.

Alizadeh, F., Motamedmanesh, M., & Daneshjoo, K. (2025). Tehran's modern architectural heritage: The challenge of preservation, contemporization and private ownership. Naqshejahan: Basic Studies and New Technologies of Architecture and Planning, 15(2), 63–82.

Andersen, S. (2008). Building for the Shah: Market entry, political reality and risks on the Iranian market (1933–1939). Enterprise and Society, 9(4), 637–669.

Ansari, A. (2003). Modern Iran since 1921: The Pahlavis and after. Pearson.

Arne, T. J. (1934). Luristan and the West. Eurasia Septentrionalis Antiqua, 9, 277–284.

Arne, T. J. (1945). Excavations at Shah Tappeh, Iran. Elanders Boktryckeri Aktiebolag.

Askari Chavardi, J., Beigdeli, A., Alisoufi, A., & Jahanbakhsh, H. (2017). New institutions of civilization in Reza Shah Pahlavi dynasty [Nehadha-ye tamaddoni-ye jadid dar dore-ye Reza Shah Pahlavi]. Tarikh-e Now, 18, 97–100.

Azimi, N. (2020). The history of Gilan (From the rise of Reza Shah to his fall) [Tarikh-e Gilan (az amadan-e Sardar Sepah ta baraftadan-e Reza Shah)]. Farhang-e Iliya.

Bani-Masoud, A. (2009). Contemporary architecture of Iran [Memari-ye mo’aser-e Iran]. Honar-e Memari-ye Qarn.

Beheshti, M. (2016). The house from the beginning of the Pahlavi era to the 1960s [Khaneh az aghaz-e Pahlavi ta dahe-ye chehel-e shamsi]. Journal of Iranian Architecture Studies, 5(10), 229–242.

Cronin, S. (2004). Reza Shah and the formation of modern Iran: State and society in the Reza Shah period (M. Saghebfar, Trans.). Jami.

Cronin, S. (2008). Importing modernity: European military missions to Qajar Iran. Comparative Studies in Society and History, 50(1), 197–226.

Davari Ardakani, R. (2021). Nationalism, nation and nationality [Nasionālism, mellat va melliyat]. Naqd-e Farhang.

Davis, H. (2006). The culture of building. Oxford University Press.

Embassy of Iran in Stockholm. (2017). Historical overview of Iran–Sweden relations. https://iranembassy.se

Fitchen, J. (1986). Building construction before mechanization. MIT Press.

Flamaki, M. (1992). The formation of architecture in the experiences of Iran and the West [Sheklgiri-ye memari dar tajarob-e Iran va Gharb]. Nashr-e Fazā.

Forty, A. (2012). Concrete and culture: A material history. Reaktion.

Ghaem Maghami, J. (1976). The history of the Iranian gendarmerie from ancient times to the present [Tarikh-e zhandarmeri-ye Iran az ghadimitarin ayam ta asr-e hazer]. Imperial Iranian Army Press.

Ghobadian, V. (2014). Architecture in Naser al-Din Shah’s Dar al-Khilafa: Tradition and modernity in contemporary architecture [Memari dar Dar-ol-Khelafe-ye Naseri: Sonnat va tajaddod dar memari-ye mo’aser]. Pashoutan.

Ghotbi, A. (2008). The concept of identity and contemporary Iranian architecture [Mafhoum-e hoviyat va memari-ye emrooz-e Iran]. Ayene-ye Khial, 2(10), 81–87.

Grigor, T. (2004). Recultivating “good taste”: The early Pahlavi modernists and their Society for National Heritage. Iranian Studies, 37(1), 13–45.

Grigor, T. (2009). Iran’s architecture of nationalism: Modernism, imperialism, and the cultural politics of urban planning. Princeton University Press.

Grigor, T. (2013). Shifting gaze: Irano-Persian architecture from a Great Game to a nation state. In V. Rujivacharakul, H. H. Hahn, K. T. Oshima, & P. Christensen (Eds.), Architecturalized Asia: Mapping a continent through history (pp. 217–230). University of Hawai‘i Press.

Motamedmanesh, M. (2022). Achaemenid building technology: The key to a new reading of royal Achaemenid architecture. Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, 81(3), 299–319.

Motamedmanesh, M. (2025a). A critical review of construction history: Towards a philosophical history of construction. Construction History: International Journal of the Construction History Society, 40(2), 1–32.

Motamedmanesh, M. (2025b). Zoomorphic imposts and Dougong brackets: A cross-cultural examination of intellectual influences between Achaemenid Persia and ancient China. Journal of Sistan and Baluchistan Studies, 5(1), 21–36.

Motamedmanesh, M. (2026). From Persepolis to Ctesiphon: Investigating continuity in ancient Iranian architecture through the Arch of Ctesiphon. Iranian Journal of Archaeological Studies, 16(1), 91–110.

Nari Ghomi, M. (2015). A critical survey of historical studies about architecture of Pahlavi era, case study: Architecture of Pahlavi the First by Mostafa Kiani [Naghd bar pazhooheshhaye tafsiri-ye tarikhi dar khosus-e memari-ye mo’aser-e Iran, nemooneh moredi: Memari-ye dore-ye Pahlavi-ye avval]. Journal of Iranian Architecture Studies, 4(7), 93–110.

Norberg-Schulz, C. (1996). The phenomenon of place. In K. Nesbitt (Ed.), Theorizing a new agenda for architecture (pp. 414–428). Princeton Architectural Press.

Nouri, M., & Soleymani, K. (2021). Assessing the status of historical-cultural heritage of the national way in the northern region of Iran [Barresi-ye miras-e farhangi-tarikhi-ye bar jamandeh az rah-ahan-e shomal-e Iran]. Iran History, 14(1), 81–100.

Nylander, C. (1966). Clamps and chronology. Iranica Antiqua, 6, 130–146.

Nylander, C. (1970). Ionians in Pasargadae: Studies in Old Persian architecture. Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis.

Nylander, C. (1979). Achaemenid imperial art. In M. T. Larsen (Ed.), Power and propaganda: A symposium on ancient empires (pp. 345–359). Akademisk Forlag.

Pahlevanzadeh, L., & Pahlevanzadeh, A. (2013). The architectural heritage of Iran’s industrial era [Mirath-e memari-ye san’ati-ye Iran]. Islamic Azad University, Khorasgan Branch.

Pakzad, M. (2010). Contemporary architecture of Iran: In search of a balance between tradition and modernity [Memari-ye mo’aser-e Iran: Dar takapooye bein-e sonnāt va modernite]. Honar-e Memari-ye Qarn.

Peters, T. F. (1996). Building the nineteenth century. MIT Press.

Pi-Sunyer, O., & De Gregori, T. (1964). Cultural resistance to technological change. Technology and Culture, 5(2), 247–253.

Rahimnia, R., Zamanifard, A., & Gheraati, M. (2017). A historical study and explanation of the professional role of traditional architects in the transformation and restoration processes with emphasis on written sources [Baresi-ye tarikhi va tabyin-e jaygah-e herfei va naghsh-e me’maran-e sonati dar farayand-e tahavvolat va marammat ba tekye bar manabe’-e maktub]. Scientific Journal of Iranian Restoration and Architecture, 7(13), 19–34.

Rahimzadeh, M. (1996). The concept of identity [Mafhoum-e hoviyat]. In B. Ayatollahzadeh Shirazi (Ed.), Proceedings of the First Congress on the History of Iranian Architecture and Urbanism (Vol. 3, pp. 261–273). Cultural Heritage Organization of Iran.

Rajabi, P. (1976). Architecture of Iran during the Pahlavi era [Memari-ye Iran dar asr-e Pahlavi]. National University of Iran Press.

Riksarkivet (Swedish National Archives). (n.d.). Map of buildings constructed by the Swedish company SENTAB. Archive of Svenska Entreprenad AB (SENTAB).

Shabani, E., & Kamiab, J. (2012). Urban policy in Iran’s contemporary history (1920–1941) [Siyasat-e shahri dar tarikhe mo’aser-e Iran (1299–1320 h.sh.)]. Bagh-e Nazar, 23, 83–92.

Skanska. (2011). Annual report 2011. https://www.skanska.com/group/en/investors/financial-reports/annual-reports

Soroushiani, S., Daniel, V., & Shafei, B. (2008). Vartan Hovanessian’s architecture [Memari-e Vartan Hovanessian]. Did Publication.

Tilia, A. B. (1972). Studies and restorations at Persepolis and other sites of Fārs I. IsMEO.

von der Osten, H. H., & Naumann, R. (1961). Takht-i-Suleiman: Vorläufiger Bericht über die Ausgrabungen 1959. Verlag Gebr. Mann.

Woodward, K. (2004). Questions of identity. In K. Woodward (Ed.), Questioning identity: Gender, class, nation (pp. 5–42). Routledge.

Yousefi, M. (2020). The Ghazian Bridge: Eyes that blinked [Pol-e Ghazian; cheshmhayi ke pelak mizad]. https://moroor.org/پل-غازیان؛-چشم-هایی-که-پلک-می-زد/

Abrahamian, E. (1998). Iran between two revolutions: An introduction to the political sociology of contemporary Iran (A. Golmohammadi & M. Fattahi-Vali’ali, Trans.). Nashr-e Ney.
Abrahamian, E. (2010). A history of modern Iran (M. Fattahi, Trans.). Nashr-e Ney.
Akbari, M. A. (2006). A genealogy of the new Iranian identity (Qajar era and the First Pahlavi era) [Tabarshenasi-ye hoviyat-e jadid-e Irani (asr-e Qajar va Pahlavi-ye avval)]. Elmi va Farhangi.
Alexander, C. (2002). Architecture and the secret of timelessness (M. Qayoumi, Trans.). Shahid Beheshti University Press.
Alizadeh, F., Motamedmanesh, M., & Daneshjoo, K. (2025). Tehran's modern architectural heritage: The challenge of preservation, contemporization and private ownership. Naqshejahan: Basic Studies and New Technologies of Architecture and Planning, 15(2), 63–82.
Andersen, S. (2008). Building for the Shah: Market entry, political reality and risks on the Iranian market (1933–1939). Enterprise and Society, 9(4), 637–669.
Ansari, A. (2003). Modern Iran since 1921: The Pahlavis and after. Pearson.
Arne, T. J. (1934). Luristan and the West. Eurasia Septentrionalis Antiqua, 9, 277–284.
Arne, T. J. (1945). Excavations at Shah Tappeh, Iran. Elanders Boktryckeri Aktiebolag.
Askari Chavardi, J., Beigdeli, A., Alisoufi, A., & Jahanbakhsh, H. (2017). New institutions of civilization in Reza Shah Pahlavi dynasty [Nehadha-ye tamaddoni-ye jadid dar dore-ye Reza Shah Pahlavi]. Tarikh-e Now, 18, 97–100.
Azimi, N. (2020). The history of Gilan (From the rise of Reza Shah to his fall) [Tarikh-e Gilan (az amadan-e Sardar Sepah ta baraftadan-e Reza Shah)]. Farhang-e Iliya.
Bani-Masoud, A. (2009). Contemporary architecture of Iran [Memari-ye mo’aser-e Iran]. Honar-e Memari-ye Qarn.
Beheshti, M. (2016). The house from the beginning of the Pahlavi era to the 1960s [Khaneh az aghaz-e Pahlavi ta dahe-ye chehel-e shamsi]. Journal of Iranian Architecture Studies, 5(10), 229–242.
Cronin, S. (2004). Reza Shah and the formation of modern Iran: State and society in the Reza Shah period (M. Saghebfar, Trans.). Jami.
Cronin, S. (2008). Importing modernity: European military missions to Qajar Iran. Comparative Studies in Society and History, 50(1), 197–226.
Davari Ardakani, R. (2021). Nationalism, nation and nationality [Nasionālism, mellat va melliyat]. Naqd-e Farhang.
Davis, H. (2006). The culture of building. Oxford University Press.
Embassy of Iran in Stockholm. (2017). Historical overview of Iran–Sweden relations. https://iranembassy.se
Fitchen, J. (1986). Building construction before mechanization. MIT Press.
Flamaki, M. (1992). The formation of architecture in the experiences of Iran and the West [Sheklgiri-ye memari dar tajarob-e Iran va Gharb]. Nashr-e Fazā.
Forty, A. (2012). Concrete and culture: A material history. Reaktion.
Ghaem Maghami, J. (1976). The history of the Iranian gendarmerie from ancient times to the present [Tarikh-e zhandarmeri-ye Iran az ghadimitarin ayam ta asr-e hazer]. Imperial Iranian Army Press.
Ghobadian, V. (2014). Architecture in Naser al-Din Shah’s Dar al-Khilafa: Tradition and modernity in contemporary architecture [Memari dar Dar-ol-Khelafe-ye Naseri: Sonnat va tajaddod dar memari-ye mo’aser]. Pashoutan.
Ghotbi, A. (2008). The concept of identity and contemporary Iranian architecture [Mafhoum-e hoviyat va memari-ye emrooz-e Iran]. Ayene-ye Khial, 2(10), 81–87.
Grigor, T. (2004). Recultivating “good taste”: The early Pahlavi modernists and their Society for National Heritage. Iranian Studies, 37(1), 13–45.
Grigor, T. (2009). Iran’s architecture of nationalism: Modernism, imperialism, and the cultural politics of urban planning. Princeton University Press.
Grigor, T. (2013). Shifting gaze: Irano-Persian architecture from a Great Game to a nation state. In V. Rujivacharakul, H. H. Hahn, K. T. Oshima, & P. Christensen (Eds.), Architecturalized Asia: Mapping a continent through history (pp. 217–230). University of Hawai‘i Press.
Motamedmanesh, M. (2022). Achaemenid building technology: The key to a new reading of royal Achaemenid architecture. Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, 81(3), 299–319.
Motamedmanesh, M. (2025a). A critical review of construction history: Towards a philosophical history of construction. Construction History: International Journal of the Construction History Society, 40(2), 1–32.
Motamedmanesh, M. (2025b). Zoomorphic imposts and Dougong brackets: A cross-cultural examination of intellectual influences between Achaemenid Persia and ancient China. Journal of Sistan and Baluchistan Studies, 5(1), 21–36.
Motamedmanesh, M. (2026). From Persepolis to Ctesiphon: Investigating continuity in ancient Iranian architecture through the Arch of Ctesiphon. Iranian Journal of Archaeological Studies, 16(1), 91–110.
Nari Ghomi, M. (2015). A critical survey of historical studies about architecture of Pahlavi era, case study: Architecture of Pahlavi the First by Mostafa Kiani [Naghd bar pazhooheshhaye tafsiri-ye tarikhi dar khosus-e memari-ye mo’aser-e Iran, nemooneh moredi: Memari-ye dore-ye Pahlavi-ye avval]. Journal of Iranian Architecture Studies, 4(7), 93–110.
Norberg-Schulz, C. (1996). The phenomenon of place. In K. Nesbitt (Ed.), Theorizing a new agenda for architecture (pp. 414–428). Princeton Architectural Press.
Nouri, M., & Soleymani, K. (2021). Assessing the status of historical-cultural heritage of the national way in the northern region of Iran [Barresi-ye miras-e farhangi-tarikhi-ye bar jamandeh az rah-ahan-e shomal-e Iran]. Iran History, 14(1), 81–100.
Nylander, C. (1966). Clamps and chronology. Iranica Antiqua, 6, 130–146.
Nylander, C. (1970). Ionians in Pasargadae: Studies in Old Persian architecture. Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis.
Nylander, C. (1979). Achaemenid imperial art. In M. T. Larsen (Ed.), Power and propaganda: A symposium on ancient empires (pp. 345–359). Akademisk Forlag.
Pahlevanzadeh, L., & Pahlevanzadeh, A. (2013). The architectural heritage of Iran’s industrial era [Mirath-e memari-ye san’ati-ye Iran]. Islamic Azad University, Khorasgan Branch.
Pakzad, M. (2010). Contemporary architecture of Iran: In search of a balance between tradition and modernity [Memari-ye mo’aser-e Iran: Dar takapooye bein-e sonnāt va modernite]. Honar-e Memari-ye Qarn.
Peters, T. F. (1996). Building the nineteenth century. MIT Press.
Pi-Sunyer, O., & De Gregori, T. (1964). Cultural resistance to technological change. Technology and Culture, 5(2), 247–253.
Rahimnia, R., Zamanifard, A., & Gheraati, M. (2017). A historical study and explanation of the professional role of traditional architects in the transformation and restoration processes with emphasis on written sources [Baresi-ye tarikhi va tabyin-e jaygah-e herfei va naghsh-e me’maran-e sonati dar farayand-e tahavvolat va marammat ba tekye bar manabe’-e maktub]. Scientific Journal of Iranian Restoration and Architecture, 7(13), 19–34.
Rahimzadeh, M. (1996). The concept of identity [Mafhoum-e hoviyat]. In B. Ayatollahzadeh Shirazi (Ed.), Proceedings of the First Congress on the History of Iranian Architecture and Urbanism (Vol. 3, pp. 261–273). Cultural Heritage Organization of Iran.
Rajabi, P. (1976). Architecture of Iran during the Pahlavi era [Memari-ye Iran dar asr-e Pahlavi]. National University of Iran Press.
Riksarkivet (Swedish National Archives). (n.d.). Map of buildings constructed by the Swedish company SENTAB. Archive of Svenska Entreprenad AB (SENTAB).
Shabani, E., & Kamiab, J. (2012). Urban policy in Iran’s contemporary history (1920–1941) [Siyasat-e shahri dar tarikhe mo’aser-e Iran (1299–1320 h.sh.)]. Bagh-e Nazar, 23, 83–92.
Skanska. (2011). Annual report 2011. https://www.skanska.com/group/en/investors/financial-reports/annual-reports
Soroushiani, S., Daniel, V., & Shafei, B. (2008). Vartan Hovanessian’s architecture [Memari-e Vartan Hovanessian]. Did Publication.
Tilia, A. B. (1972). Studies and restorations at Persepolis and other sites of Fārs I. IsMEO.
von der Osten, H. H., & Naumann, R. (1961). Takht-i-Suleiman: Vorläufiger Bericht über die Ausgrabungen 1959. Verlag Gebr. Mann.
Woodward, K. (2004). Questions of identity. In K. Woodward (Ed.), Questioning identity: Gender, class, nation (pp. 5–42). Routledge.
Yousefi, M. (2020). The Ghazian Bridge: Eyes that blinked [Pol-e Ghazian; cheshmhayi ke pelak mizad]. https://moroor.org/پل-غازیان؛-چشم-هایی-که-پلک-می-زد/
Spektrum Iran
Volume 39, Issue 1
January 2026
Pages 85-120

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