Conference on the Architecture of the Iranian World

The University of St. Andrews in St Andrews, Scotland is holding a conference on the architecture of the Iranian world.

The University of St. Andrews in St Andrews, Scotland is holding a conference on the architecture of the Iranian world.

This conference is the first for more than a generation that focuses on architecture of the Iranian world in a golden age that set the parameters for centuries of future development.

Classic forms were developed for mosques, minarets, madrasas, mausolea and caravansarais. The definitive choice of brick as the medium of construction and decoration changed the face of Iranian architecture in the Iranian world, leading to the creation of monumental dome chambers, spectacular developments in vaulting technique and an astonishing range of ornaments. 

A building boom in the 12th century fostered the emergence of a series of local styles across the vast area between the Tigris and the Indus, the Persian Gulf and the Aral Sea. This period, then, consolidated the tentative experiments of the previous three centuries and embarked on a series of bold innovations that propelled this region into pole position in the architecture of the contemporary Islamic world.

The conference will be held on April 22 and is free to attend.