The Form of Iwān in the Context of Iranian Architecture, From the Beginning to the Early Islamic Centuries

The iwān is one of the most prominent spaces of Iranian architecture whose background can be traced to the historical site of Hasanlu IV (ninth to eleventh centuries B.C.). The inclusion of the iwān in Iranian architecture indicates that it is an historical model and a consistent feature of Iranian architecture, maintaining its continuity over centuries and millennia. This study investigates the form of iwān and its development from pre-Islamic to Islamic eras and attempts to provide a clear understanding of its architectural structure. Knowing the form of iwān is a necessary step in assimilating both its meaning and its function. Having a historical approach studying a number of highly recognized structures from both the pre-Islamic and Islamic periods, this article describes the structural features of the iwān in different eras. The analysis reveals that iwāns can be categorized in three groups: columned, vaulted, and iwāns with a tarma. These diverse forms appear in the center of one side or several sides of a building, organized on the symmetrical axis of the structures and typically combined with a courtyard in the front and a hall at the back.
Iwāns not only communicate with other spaces, but also create single- or multiple-axis designs in buildings. Iwāns appear in the form of single, dual, triple or quadruple units. The continuity of the diverse configurations of the iwān indicates the value and significance of this element throughout the tradition of Iranian architecture. The manifestation of the iwān in various architectural combinations proves it as a distinctive feature of Iranian architecture.