Report of National Project

/in ,

Restoration of the Constitutional Revolution Memorial (Majless)
Farairan Art Quarterly, No. 1, Autumn 1999

After the terrible fire of December 1994, which destroyed one third of the building of the old National Consultative Assembly, particularly its main hall, and also because of the building’s decrepitude, the restoration of this historic monument which has played an important role in the political history of contemporary Iran was taken into consideration and the largest restoration task ever attempted in Iran was begun by local specialists and artists.
A host of diverse qualitativedispositions, wide-ranging studies, the creation of a powerful local technical bureau, the creation of a council charged with examining the project, devising the restoration principles and determining the structural, equipment and architectural functions and devices constituted the different dimensions of the task.
History of the Building
Originally, the Baharestan building was the private palace of Mirza-Hossein-Khan Sepahsalar (1231-1298 AH), Nasser-ed-Din Shah’s prime minister, and its construction was completed in 1877 (1296 AH).

Shortly after the issuance of the Constitutional Edict (1906), this building was designated to house the sessions of the parliament and thus became a historic monument and a national document. The most important events which took place here were Mohammad-‘Ali Shah’s assault on the parliament in view of paving the way for autocracy, the epic resistance of parliamentarians such as Seyyed Hassan Modarress and Mohammad-Taqi Bahar against the autocratic rule of Reza Shah, and the struggle towards the nationalization of the Iranian oil industry under the leadership of Dr. Mohammad Mossaddeq.

The main physical developments effected in this building during its 130 year-long history were:

· The construction of the building (1874-1877);

· The cannonade of the house of parliament (1908);

· The construction of the new brick annex west of the main building (1924);

· The great fire of December 11th 1921;

· The alteration of the facade of the house of parliament (1923-6);

· The modifications of 1966;

· The fire of December 1994.

Damage Studies
These studies constituted the first phase of the restoration task.

In these studies, three important sources of damage (humidity, cracking and termites), their effects on the building and the required remedies against each were determined. This was followed by studies concerning the damages sustained by the columns, the vaults, the walls, the revetments and the roof. At this stage, the administrators of the project, working under the supervision of Eng. Sadeqi and Eng. Bahmani, established a council of experts. Taking into consideration the building’s various cultural, historic, political and national particularities, this council, which consisted of university professors and experts of historic monuments, appraised it as a unique national memorial and a document of the civilization of our country and the world, and determined the standards to be respected in its restoration on this basis.

The Main guideline of these standards was to reinforce the building so as to transform it into a structure capable of sustaining the passage of time while preserving and restoring an appearance which has been ingrained in the minds of successive generations of the people through pictures and visual memory.

Once these standards were determined, the immense work began. The first operation carried out at this stage was that of thoroughly identifying the various particularities of the building. Extensive studies were effected for this purpose, all its spaces and facades were accurately mapped and ample plans, axonometric perspectives and sections were prepared.

All the architectural elements, ranging from its various vaults, signs, geometric forms and symbols to its materials, textures and facade compositions were determined and analyzed.

All the decorative elements of the building, including its mirror-works, wood-works, stucco carvings, tile-works, stone-works, etc., were precisely noted and the features of each were determined. Then the actual restoration was started. Various master artisans from across the country were invited to take part in it and hundreds of thousands of work hours were spent on this project, as will be described in a separate book. A brief list of the works carried out is as follows:

Stucco Decoration
· More than 700 square meters of elaborate skillful stucco-carving in the parliament building and its basement pool-room, 10,000 meters of plaster frames;

· Restoration of 13 bull-headed columns on the northern facade and construction of 11 columns.

Woodwork and Wood Decoration
· Paint removal and restoration of 160 superb existing door panels, which will be framed and exhibited as museum items;

· Manufacture of 600 square meters of wooden doors, windows and frames.

Stone Decoration and Carving
· Restoration of a total of 212 meters of plinths, 240

meters of porticos and 64 stairs and construction of 64 column bases and

270 square meters of stone flooring.

Mirror-work
· Reconstruction of 300 square meters of mirror-work in the pool-room and restoration of 100 square meters;

· Restoration of around 50% of the all the building’s mirror-works.

Brick Decoration
· Utilization of 3,000 bricks in the western facade and sand

blasting of 200 square meters of stained brick surfaces.

Tile-work
· Manufacture and restoration of 156 square meters of tile-work.

Chandeliers
· Restoration and renovation of the multitude of chandeliers in the chamber, many of which are highly valuable antique items.

Main Hall
· The main hall (parliament chamber) was located in an area which had almost entirely burned down. The complete reconstruction of this hall was carried out in accordance with the established standards;

· Precise restoration of the main hall’s magnificent and elaborate stucco carvings;

· Design and restoration of the parliament chamber’s seat on the basis of burned samples so as to recreate their ancient appearance while making them more comfortable.

Equipment
· Installation of modern equipment in the building so as to utilize the least amount of piping while providing all the necessary electrical, mechanical and air conditioning facilities.

For this purpose, the power room and 240 cubic meter air conditioning machinery were installed under the historic pool of the building. A complete drainage system was also installed all around the building so as to preserve it against humidity.

Conclusion
Now a particular atmosphere reigns in this venerable building.All are busy trying to insufflate a new life into the old parliament house: students exploring the mystery-laden volumes; the sculptor sketching the famous column capitals of the building; the carpenter caressing the worn-out door panels and recreating

their masterful carvings; the stucco carver lovingly refurbishing the magnificent walls and ceilings.
All are actively contributing to the completion of a task which was previously left to French and Italian specialists. And this is truly heart-warming.