Iran : past, present, and future / guest edited by Michael Hensel and Mehran Gharleghi

Introduction -- Towards an architectural history of performance: auxilliary, performance and provision in historical persian architectures -- Persian gardens and landscapes -- World of similitude: the metamorphosis of Iranian architecture -- Subterreanean landscape: the far-reaching influence of the underground Qanat network in ancient and present-day Iran -- Contemporary architecture of Iran -- Assimilating the authentic with the contemporary: the work of Hadi Mirmiran 1945-2006 -- Practices @ home: assimilating the past and the present for a visionary architecture -- Practices abroad: today's diaspora tomorrow's architecture -- Latent futures of Iranian architecture -- Counterpoint: Iran in the regional context .

Over the last decades, Iranian architects have made a significant contribution to architectural design. This has, however, remained largely unrecognized internationally, as architects in Iran have had a little exposure in publications abroad and the the diaspora of well-known Iranian designers working in the West, such as Hariri & Hariri and Nader Tehrani of NADAAA, are not necessarily associated with their cultural background. Moreover Iran, or rather Persia, has one of the richest and longest architectural heritages, which has a great deal of untapped potential for contemporary design. The intention of this issue is both to introduce key works and key architects from a range of generations -- at home and abroad -- and to highlight the potential of historical structures for contemporary architecture.