The document provides information on Persian gardens, including their history, evolution, key principles and features. Some key points: - Persian gardens originated in 2000 BCE in Persia and were influenced by Egyptian styles, with the purpose of providing a spiritual and leisure space. - They follow a simple geometric design of rectangular spaces divided into four by intersecting pathways and water channels. This highlights principles of symmetry and order. - Water is the most essential element, representing paradise. It provides irrigation but also aesthetic purposes through fountains and reflecting pools. - Evergreen trees, especially cypress, provide shade and greenery while fruit trees add productivity. Their placement and types create rhythm and variety within the unified design

1. IGCA
Persian Gardens
[Landscape Architecture]
Submitted By:
Amit Jakhad (14010)
Esther Rai (14029)
Kritika Sharma (14033)
Mansi Pushpakar (14034)
Prerna Chouhan (14044)
Robina Rai (14047)
Sahil (14048)
Sakshi Negi (14050)

2. Persian Gardens

3. The Persian Garden
Islamic Republic of Iran
City of Shiraz, Fars Province
City of Isfahan, Isfahan Province
City of Behshahr, Mazandaran Province
City of Mahan, Kerman Province
City of Yazd, Yazd Province
City of Mehriz, Yazd Province
City of Birjand, Southern Khorasan Province
Persian Gardens
Location

4. Persian Gardens
Introduction
The Persian Garden refers to a tradition and style of garden design which originated in early 2000 BCE in
Persia.
Influenced the design of gardens throughout the larger region
Also known as Iranian Gardens in Iran
Styles follow the gardening styles of Egypt
Purpose –
Provide a place for protected relaxation
Spiritual and
Leisure ( e.g., meetings with friends )
The decorated pottery displays the typical cross plan
Gardens are ‘Pairi daeza’ means enclosed

5. Persian Gardens
Introduction
The garden’s construction may be
Formal (with an emphasis on structure)
or
Casual (with an emphasis on nature)
Follows simple design rules
Allows maximization in terms of function
and emotions
Characteristics –
shady trees
high walled structures
water streams
fountains
straight tile- lined channels of water
Factors that lead Persian Garden as
paradise on earth local climate

6. Persian Gardens
Geography and Climate
Harsh climates on the plateau on which Persia lies situated.
Little annual rainfall –
rarely more than 10 inches
combined with cold winters and
scorching summers
as well as relentless winds
Two mountain ranges the Alborz and the Zagros border
the plateau along north and west edges and contain peaks
as high as 15,000 feet.
To the east of the plateau, desert stretches to Afghanistan
and Pakistan but not smoothly.
The striking feature of the plateau is not topography but the
brilliant way light plays across it.
View of the central Zagros mountain ranges

7. Persian Gardens
History and Evolution
Trade routes ran through Persia from China to the West as early as the second century B.C
Persian garden before Islam.
The quadripartite from the garden predates Islam as histories of Mediterranean and Persian People
demonstrate
This type was widely used with the spread of Islam, from Moorish gardens (Spain) to Mughal Garden
(India)
The medieval Christian cloister gardens in Europe were clearly influenced by Persian gardens The early
roman courtyard garden introduced Persian garden style to Europe
Persian garden after Islam
Once the adherents of Islam set about spreading the world of the prophet Mohammad In the seventh
century the came into lands including the Sasanian empire. the Arabs Encountered a realm that for a
1000years had depended on the sustenance and comfort Afforded by enclosed gardens that serves
royal house holds

8. Persian Gardens
The Persian Garden is a collection of nine gardens selected from various regions of Iran.
1 Pasargadae
2 Bagh-e Eram
3 Bagh-e Chehel Sotun
4 Bagh-e Fin
5 Bagh-e Abas Abad
6 Bagh-e Shahzadeh
7 Bagh-e Dolat Abad
8 Bagh-e Pahlavanpur
9 Bagh-e Akbariyeh
History and Evolution

9. Persian Gardens
Persian gardens were designed with a sacred geometry
representing and illustrating a union of mortal/material world
The initial structure of Persian gardens was based on a
geometrical quadripartite division with a pavilion in its
intersection
During the Islamic period, the geometric quartered pattern
of Persian gardens became more reinforced by the belief of
four heavenly streams
Therefore, the general pattern of most Persian gardens
consisted of a rectangular space which is quartered by
intersecting streams and pathways
PALACE
FOUNTAIN
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Quadripartite structure with the water
feature in the center
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Concept and planning
Structure of Persian gardens seems to be unsophisticated
Demonstrates a careful representation of meanings, culture
and identity

10. Persian Gardens
Concept and planning
Geometric Structure
- Rectangular plans divided into square or pseudo-square shapes
- May slightly change in response to different climatic situations and in regard to the sites’ opportunities
and limitations
Plan 1
• Ideal Char Bagh with four water
channels flowing from fountain
in the center
• The four parts linked by bridges
over the channels
Plan 2
Only one arm of Char Bagh has
water channel
Other three are tree-lined paths
Plan 3
Char Bagh doesn’t has four water
channels
It is a from a famous medresse in
Isfahan, Iran

11. Persian Gardens
2. The Entrance
Concept of introversion
Surrounded by
non-transparent walls
Has a lintel, sometimes in the
form of a building or
viewpoint
Located close to one of the
axes which connects the
entrance to the edifice
Concept and planning

12. Persian Gardens
3. Straight Network
Footpath networks perpendicular straight
lines and coincident with the garden axes
Intersection of main footpaths defines the
placement of the pavilion and pool
Straight networks surrounded by tall trees
to provide a desirable perspective
These networks also facilitated the access
to the plots of vegetation
Concept and planning

13. Persian Gardens
4. Irrigation and Fountain Network
Presence of water in Persian gardens has a
dual application;
- functional application of irrigation besides
- ornamental and aesthetic purpose
Sufficient slope to enable the irrigation system
To reflect the image of the building and sky
connecting the realm of the earthly to the
heavenly
Concept and planning

14. Persian Gardens
5. Pavilion
Extroverted structures with several viewpoints to the garden
Edifices where the residents or visitors live in and enjoy the
garden
The location of the pavilion could split the garden into two to
four directions.
Located in the centre of the garden or one third of the
longitudinal axis, but always at the intersection of the axes
Concept and planning

15. Persian Gardens
Principles and Features
1. Being Enclosed
Introversion has been rooted in Persian beliefs
and culture
Function: To create a boundary
Plan enclosed within walls to provide the
image of an internal paradise
Function: To create a boundary
And act as an interface between the dry hot
outer area and the green, shady and
semi-paradise inner area

16. Persian Gardens
Principles and Features
2. Hierarchy
Ranked according to levels of importance
The entrance to the garden occurs from a
completely public area to a semi-public one
and then to the private
For entering the garden, one needs to pass
a hierarchy of spaces
- From the lintel into an octagonal space
Called “Hashti”
- Then main axis and the pavilion
*Hashti: architectural element in traditional Iranian architecture is the semi-private space behind the doorway
Function - To weave the public area to the private
D
C
A
B
A – Entrance
B – Garden
wall with
turrets
C – Pavilion
D – Palace

17. Persian Gardens
Principles and Features
3. Symmetry
In the design of
- Middle open spaces
- Palaces
- Streams and irrigation network
- Type and place of planting vegetation and trees
Within symmetry, vegetation provides a slight
eye-catching asymmetry as plants cannot equally grow
and will differ with each other
In this sense, the garden is a symmetrical container,
which embraces the asymmetry of its containerized
natural element

18. Persian Gardens
4. Centrality
Pavilion as a focal point
Row of planted tall
trees creating a
surrounded pathway
in the centre
Contrasting the color of
the building materials
with the landscape
Principles and Features

19. Persian Gardens
5. Rhythm and Harmony
Type and location of the vegetation
Principles and Features
Replicating the geometrical shapes, between the natural and architectural elements
Use of fountains and ponds
Flooring and design of the walls around the gardens

20. Persian Gardens
6. Multiplicity in unity, unity in Multiplicity
Unifies the space holistically
Contains diverse spaces with simple geometrical shapes,
and diverse plants and vegetation
Despite this, symmetry and centrality have created
a unified and united space
To develop the interaction between the human and
the nature.
Principles and Features

21. Persian Gardens
7. Naturalism and enjoying the view
Creation of semi-closed spaces
without any visual barriers
Provides an opportunity to be
engaged with the nature
Front space of pavilions contains
short vegetation or a large pool to avoid
blocking the main view of the garden
Principles and Features

22. Persian Gardens
7. Naturalism and enjoying the view
To provide an infinite and boundless view
to recall the paradise:
- Use of one point perspective
- Straight footpaths
- The body of tall trees surrounding the
footpaths
- Continuous water channels in the middle
Principles and Features

23. Persian Gardens
Hardscape (Water)
In Persian gardens holiest of all elements
and myths is water or as Moynihan
describes it: “water is the most essential
and central element in the Persian gardens”
The Quran further emphasized the centrality
of water in the perception of Muslim
Iranians. Muslims respect water as the most
important means of cleaning and purifying.
The Quran describes paradise as a garden
beneath which rivers flow.
Water has been the element that could
transfer the extremely arid lands of Persia to the
quasi-paradise gardens.
The Creation of Persian gardens is owed to the
exploration of water among the huge deserts
of Persia.

24. Hardscape (Water)
Persian Gardens
Water can be considered as the most significant
element in Persian gardens, transferring a desert
to a desirable microclimate usually inside walls in
which trees and flowers can grow.
Water functional role in the production and
maintenance of gardens.
water is a central element and the determinant
of the axes.
Water in Persian gardens flows and produces a
desirable sound, affecting the acoustic
aesthetics of the garden.
The geometric division of gardens has been usually
achieved through the placement of water channels.
Persian gardens were mostly segmented by water
streams generating major and minor axes

25. Hardscape (Water)
Persian Gardens
The water flows in the main axis of the garden to
the pool in front of the edifice developing an
architectural emphasis on the placement of the
edifice.
The water in Persian gardens is not a quite
inert element; rather it is a dynamic tumultuous one
either with its fountains and water jets or by the
natural flow on the slope of the ground.
The other feature of the water in Persian gardens
is related to its reflection. The big pool in front of
the edifice is usually a reflector of the pavilion and
the greenery of the gardens adding another
characteristic to the complexity of water in Persian
gardens.

26. Persian Gardens
Softscape
The presence of ever-green trees is firstly
due to the users’ need for shade and
secondly is associated with the heaven’s
trees which are finitely green and fresh.
In Persian gardens, the evergreen cypress
represented immortality,
The flowering almond the regeneration of
the earth in springtime &
The date palm could provide an all year-round
sustenance
Cypresses often border the watercourses
which divide the garden into plots.
Additionally the shade of trees prevents the
excessive evaporation of the water flowing in
channels.

27. Persian Gardens
Softscape
Trees play a significant functional and
productive role in the life of gardens.
Pattern of productivity is present in the
nature of Persian gardens in which you
can hardly find just a single plant.
In each plot, there was usually a
specific fruitful plant such as apricot,
peach, apple and etc. This pattern of
fruit productivity was clear in royal
gardens, ancient gardens,
recreational gardens and even
traditional houses yards.
Cultivation of plants in Persian gardens
follows a certain order, which is
influenced by the geometrical
configuration of the garden’s design.

28. Softscape
Persian Gardens
The trees near the main pathway or
near the plots were usually four-season
trees, which were picturesque in the
whole year. The trees with fewer leaves
were usually planted in a further distance.
Trees’ shades make the severe,
hot and dry territories of Iran tolerable
and even desirable like a paradise
and this can intensify the Iranians’ respect
for trees and plants.
Trees are either shady such as cypress,
elm and sycamore or fruitful.
The pathways (along the plots) were usually
designed very narrow in order to be shaded
by the shady trees.

29. Persian Gardens
Fin Garden
Introduction
- Location: Kashan
- Year: 1590
- Style/Period: Qajar, Safavid
- Building Usage: Garden
- Area: 2.3 hectares (23,000 sq m)
- Varient Names: Fin Garden
Bagh-i Shah
Garden of the Shah

30. Persian Gardens
Fin Garden
History
- Fin garden has an ancient date
- Some historical resources mention
that this magnificent garden dates to
Alebooye periods, but the dreadful
earthquake happened in 982AD and
caused the garden building to be ruined
completely, then in 1000 AD
- It was reconstructed by Ghiyasodin
Jamshide Kashani and by the order of Shah
Abbas II
- Most important events that happened in this garden is the murdering of Mirza Taghi Khan(Amir kabir)
in garden bath house

31. Persian Gardens
Fin Garden
Plan
- Plan: Square
- Entrance through south-west, with fortified walls with bastion at each corner
- Palace situated at the south-east corner
- Divided into six parts with the axis running unequally
- Streams of water run around each intersection with pavements around
- At the nodal intersection near the palace is a pavilion with a pool of water with a central fountain
- Well known for its seven ponds
- Streams running around have small fountains at regular intervals

32. Palace
Canals
Persian Gardens
Fin Garden
Plan
- Landscaping plan is rigid and
according to rules set
- The trees chosen are such that as
well as increasing the aesthetics,
they also provide shade
- Small plants and shrubs have been
planted around the pool of water
Entrance

33. Persian Gardens
Fin Garden
Softscape
- Besides the palace, the garden has a number
of Suffehs (buildings), two baths, a pool, a fountain known
as Sultani, flowing streams, water spouts, and a garden full
of Cypress trees
- It comprises a central yard,
fortification wall and
cylindrical towers
- It has 579 Cedar trees and a
number of sycamore trees
- The Safavid mansion is located
at the centre of the garden

34. Persian Gardens
Fin Garden
Fresco Painting
- Many buildings contain frescoes, paintings depicting hunting grounds and descendants of a king, and
plastic inscriptions dating back to 1811
- The National Museum of Kashan was established in Fin Garden much later.
- It is listed as national heritage in 1935 and registered on UNESCO’s World Heritage List in 2011

35. Persian Gardens
Fin Garden
Interior

36. Fin Garden
Fin Garden
Hardscape

37. Persian Gardens
Fin Garden
Hardscape

38. • Name of the Garden: Bagh-e Chehel Sotun
• Country (and State Party if different): IRAN
• State of province or region: ISFAHAN
Persian Gardens

39. • Built as a royal pavilion at
the end of the 16th century
and extended by Shah
Abbas II.
• It has a pavilion with 20
columns and is known as
the Forty Columns
because a reflecting pool
doubles their number.
• The pavilion stands in a
garden of 6.75 ha. which
once had other pavilions
and pools.
HISTORY
Persian Gardens

40. FEATURES OF THE GARDEN TREES
ELM. Scientific name -Ulmus Pumila
PERSIAN PINE. Scientific name - Pinus Eldarica
MAPLE. Scientific name -Acer
Negundo
Persian Gardens

41. WATER FEATURES
•Water plays the key role in the life of Persian garden.
• The most important manifestation of garden in Chehel Sotun is the pool opposite its
palace.
• Pool dimensions are 16 X 108m.
• By reflecting the image of the columned portico, the pool creates the most important
effect in the garden.
Persian Gardens

42. ORNAMENTATION
Each one of the hall columns is actually a plane tree trunk.
They are enclosed by a slender, painted board formerly covered
with coloured glasses and mirrors.
All walls were decorated by beautiful paintings, coloured glasses
and full-length mirrors
Doors and windows had inlaid works.
Persian Gardens