Faramarz Hassan Pour - University of Melbourne & University of Zabol,
Miles Lewis - Professor, University of Melbourne
Qinghua Guo - Professor, University of Melbourne

Iranian nationalism has had a direct impact upon early modern Iranian architecture in the 1930s, but its influence has also distorted and emotionally charged some Iranian studies. This ideological stance has also influenced architectural research towards partiality and in some cases towards Iranian narcissism. This is exemplified by the lack of objective criticism of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Tehran. To find out how strong or weak the impact of pan-Iranist tendencies on modern Iranian architecture criticism has been, it is necessary to consider the romantic perceptions in studying Iranian style buildings.The huge income from the increased price of oil in the 1970s created an exceptional opportunity to employ young foreign architects and engineers, who had no inhibitions in importing technology, materials, and architectural styles from the United States and Europe. Some Iranian architects, on the other hand, were interested in the rich architectural Iranian heritage and sought to incorporate historical architectural elements into their modern buildings, with what success is still a moot point.This study examines the adoption of modern architecture at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Tehran and the countervailing effects of the inspiration from the Euro-American examples and Iranian traditional principles upon its architectural design. Some Iranian historians claimed that the architecture of the building is inspired by Iranian wind catchers. This paper argues that architecture critics have failed to test this assertion. This paper attempts to clarify the main source of inspiration for the half barrel vault formed skylights in Kamran Diba’s Museum of Contemporary Art, regardless of those Iranianising perceptions of his design. Nonetheless, the Terhan Museum, despite all of its similarities to a number of Euro-American modern museums, is still consistent with Iranian architecture in its unique planning and composition.

Architectural criticism, Iranian nationalism, Iranian Architecture