The Role of Architects as Intermediaries in the Revival of Iranian-Islamic Identity

Abstract

The challenges in the renovation of historical monuments are controversial issues in architecture. One of the main factors of these challenges is the difference in perspectives in this field. The two main perspectives on this topic that create differences of opinion and explain the necessity of the present study are the exclusive view of architects and the view of structural engineers. The architect's special view of the renovation of historical monuments and the necessity of improving the stability of these monuments has weakened the common view and led to the growth of exclusive views. The main question of the research is whether there is a relationship between the view of structural engineers and restorers and architects on the renovation of historical monuments. Are renovation with technical and restoration considerations considered two opposing or complementary approaches? These two approaches are two important aspects of preparing renovation plans for historical monuments, so it is necessary to pay attention to both perspectives and, through the visionary perspective of architects, the process of transferring the life of a historical monument from the past to the future will gain more credibility. This article achieved a deeper and more accurate understanding of the problem through library studies and by separating the existing perspectives. Then, technical and architectural restoration considerations were extracted from an analytical perspective, and with the help of a descriptive-analytical method, the restoration of several prominent monuments was examined, and the differences in the views of restoration experts, structural engineers, and architects about the obtained indicators were collected and evaluated. Numerous historical monument renovation examples in Iran and the world were studied, including historical identity considerations and structures. Finally, with a convergent approach, a visionary perspective focusing on preserving and revitalizing the heritage of Iranian-Islamic identity was achieved by renovating historical monuments. The results obtained show that the role of education in raising the level of awareness of specialists and officials has an important impact on the approximation of existing perspectives, and the role of architects as interdisciplinary experts and guardians of the Iranian-Islamic identity is an effective response to existing issues in achieving desirable solutions for improvement and also approximation of the perspectives of specialists.