The Study in Architects’ Thoughts Evolution in Pahlavi Era by Using Content Analysis

The study of the architectural history is a critical attempt to understanding the architecture. Our expectation of studying history of architecture is not just understanding past, but the relationship between past and future. Contemporary architectural scholars should not consider architecture as changing and renewing phenomenon, but pinpoint its nature, beginning and the process of its transformation. Pahlavi architecture is the beginning of modern Iranian architecture. The purpose of this study is to review and identify the thoughts of architecture of this period and its changing. Therefore, it is not involved in the analysis or classification of buildings according to the degrees of influence by tradition or modernity. It attempts to explore the thoughts of architects that shaped the evolution of modern Iranian architecture. It has been in recent decade that considerable growth in number of published historical works about Pahlavi architecture is evident.  Reviewing the Pahlavi architecture literature confirms numerous gaps, such as the lack of attention by researchers to earlier researchers' findings and the repetition of some same issues, as well as the lack of research efforts to criticize them. So, the present study has attempted to investigate and analyze the previous researches to create a coherence between the findings of Pahlavi architecture till now. The research method used is a combination of logical reasoning and content analysis of case studies. The results of the research confirm that in the architecture of the Pahlavi period, as previous Iranian styles, the thoughts of the architects act as a fundamental base of its evolution and by studying them, the form and theoretical changes in the modern Iranian architecture can be explained. Pahlavi Architects' Thoughts in Seven Areas can be summed up: strengthening theoretical basics of architecture, changing architectural education, using Iranian traditional architecture, concerns about accommodation issues, thoughts influenced by foreign architects concepts, creating a Conversation Space and the employment status of architects. The evolution of architectural education in Iran during the Pahlavi era is due to the architects' interest in improving architectural education system and their interactions with government officials to achieve it. It should be noted that these architects were not only teaching but also practicing architectural work. Therefore, it can be concluded that changing and improving the architectural education system in a desirable way depends on the ideas and thoughts of the architects of that period and their interaction with the educational system. Finally, although Pahlavi architecture did not follow an evolutionary path, architects’ thoughts changing from absolute westernization (modern cube construction) to westernization (in Diba, Sihon's work) are evident in Pahlavi architectures styles, leading to the creation of a modern national style in the late Pahlavi era. This style has been close to the goals of postmodern architecture.