Thank you for an interesting comment. As you say, every society has to wrestle with the pull of the past and the pull of the future and, on the whole, I think they pay not enough attention to the past. BUT we need to be careful to keep what is valuable in the past and to adopt only what is good about the future. To take an example from outside landscape architecture, I think girls should be allowed to ride bicycles in all Middle Eastern countries. But to take an example from inside landscape architecture, I think there are much more important things in Iran’s garden tradition than its geometry and I do not think the idea of making large lawns is at all well suited to the Middle East.

The video makes me want to buy a ticket and climb the mountain (in the spring, that is). As a type of space the mountain trail is, I guess, a a global idea and, I have to say, could have been better designed (eg like the walks around the Acropolis and Pynx and Philopappos by Pikionis ). I would also love to visit Jamshidieh Park but would want to take an angle grinder in order to remove the fencing! Could I swim in the pool?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pB5qgTCT77o

As you may notice in this short video (even the soundtrack), there are many signs of globalisation and rapid changes in everything including the design of landscapes and a broader sense the city itself.

As far as I know, recently there have been some attempts by the Municipality of Tehran to reproduce the geometry and sense of Persian gardens in the rare remnant patches of ‘private gardens’ in the densely built up areas of Tehran and convert them into ‘public parks’! I have not been to any of these these places yet and cannot comment on the details and to what extent they have been successful in meeting the climatic and social needs of the contemporary lives of the people who use them but it’s a new experience in today’s landscape architecture practice of Iran.

Thank you for your comment and for the correction.
I see context-sensitive landscape design as a worldwide problem and as a particular problem AND OPPORTUNITY for the landscape profession. It is a problem because of globalisation and it is an opportunity because context-sensitive design is both more necessary and, I think, easier for landscape architects than for building architects. If you are going to build in glass, concrete and steel, and your building is going to be climate controlled, then the form is likely to result from these ‘ingredients’. But landscape architects can and should respond to local plants, local climates, local materials and local traditions in the use of outdoor space. This needs to be done thoughtfully and imaginatively. A rectilinear canal is not, to my mind, a charbagh unless it has a role in an irrigation system. I would be interested to hear of any good examples of good context-sensitive design in Iran. I have not been there since 2005 and I did not find any examples then. I hope the blog comment does not seem unfriendly to Iran. My experience was that the country was very peaceful and the people very friendly. The country’s reputation in the west was and is mysterious. My opinion of its government is probably close to that of most people in Tehran, if not most people in the country!

I used to see Laaleh (Tulip) Park several times a week as it is located near the University of Tehran, located in the very central district of Tehran. As the plaque in the park says, interestingly its design is a collaboration between French and Iranian landscape designers!

Please note that the park is NOT located in Jamshīdīyeh. Just in the footsteps of mountains that surround the city, Jamshīdīyeh is miles away in the very northern parts of Tehran. Of course you can find another park there with a very naturalistic landscape design.

I will be more than happy to continue this conversation about contemporary landscape architecture and urban design trends in Iran.

Mahdi Khansefid (PhD Candidate in Landscape Architecture, Melbourne School of Design, The University of Melbourne)

About 5000 years ago. Please see Louise Wickham’s book. Great garden and landscape designers have often embodied political ideas in their work and, more to the point, have expressed political intentions in designs.

I agree about sustainability: it is important, it is a political issue and it is an influence on design. But it seems less red-blooded than ‘real’ political issues.
I once argued the case for using political themes in the management and design of public parks (you have to scroll past the links to find the text) and politics is definitely an influence on urban design. If the US was more socialist than it is then its cities would not be as they are. Havana has also been much influenced by communist ideas.