The Buildings of Nazar Garden in Shiraz and Their Physical/Functional Modifications

The Persian Garden has had various functions during its history and has been host to numerous events. Henceforth, in addition to the main building of the garden, it is essential to examine other structures in it as well. The Nazar Garden of Shiraz, dating from at least the Zand period, has always been the key garden in the Zandieh complex, which has gone through many functional modifications throughout its history. The purpose of this research is to identify the buildings of this garden from the Zand era up to the present time, and their architectural and geometric values as well. The strategy of this research is "interpretive-historical" and it aims to narrate the development of the auxiliary buildings based on texts, images, photographs, and other limited available documentation.
The results of this research show that this garden had always been a royal/ceremonial center up to the Pahlavi era, and in the contemporary period, it has acquired a cultural character. Other than the main building (Kolah-Farangi), other buildings include the “Gatehouse”, the “Ayeneh (Mirror) Building” or the “Palace of Homayoun” (including three inter-connected buildings), and the “Khorshid (Sun) Building”, which were built during the Qajar period. The Ayeneh Building, the most significant official building of the garden, has a mirror-worked iwan and was decorated with plinths depicting the heroes of the Shah-nameh. It was built on the northwest side of the garden. The Khorshid Building is located north of the garden and served administrative purposes. The development of the garden buildings can be classified into six phases: 1. Formation of the primary buildings (Zand period); 2. Transformation (Fath-‘Ali Shah period); 3. Continuity and deterioration (Mohammad Shah and Nasser-ad-Din Shah); 4. Flourishing (Mozaffar-ad-Din Shah), 5. Deterioration (Ahmad Shah), and 6. Destruction (Pahlavi I).