A PERSONAL TOUCH – Tribute to Iraj Etessam

The well-known and respected Iranian architect and educator Dr. Iraj Etessam passed away on December 19, 2022, in Northern California. Having heard from his daughter, Lili Etessam, that there will be services for him shortly, I offered to write a tribute to the man I had known for years and valued greatly – an offer she graciously appreciated.

Ali Kiafar

I got to hear about Dr Etessam when I was a student of architecture in Iran in the 1970s. One of my university professors had been a student of his at Tehran University during her graduate school years; she had also worked in his professional practice office. Subsequently, on my own I checked on Professor Etessam’s background and academic activities and professional work. I found it interesting that he had studied at the College of Fine Arts at Tehran University but had then continued his studies in Italy. To me this was an anomaly as most graduates of the first school of architecture in Iran in the1940s and even 1950s who wanted to further their studies abroad would go to France. Influenced by several French and French-educated professors at the University of Tehran‘s College of Fine Arts at the time, Beaux Arts, the French name for Fine Arts, the famed school of architecture in Paris, was the first and preferred choice for the young Iranian graduates of architecture who desired to study architecture overseas. As he told me years later, Dr. Etssam “went to Italy where their universities offered something new to learn.” I also found out at that time that he had designed some buildings of value as well as contributing to the literature on architecture.

Although I did not have the pleasure of meeting Professor Etessam in person while I was in Iran, I followed as much as I could his architectural designs, published books and articles on architecture, and several awards and prizes he had won in the years after I came to the United States to pursue my own studies in urban design and urban and regional planning while keeping an eye on the news and developments of the contemporary architecture of Iran.  During those years it came to my attention that Dr. Etessam and his office were involved in several major projects and important buildings such as Mellat (People) Park and Kourosh (Cyrus) Park in Tehran, Shah Cheragh Complex in Shiraz, University of Sistan and Baluchistan, New Town of Latiaan near Tehran, complexes for tourists attraction in several cities including Sare-ein in Ardebil, Lahijan in Gilan, and Mahallat, a city south of Tehran, among others. I became aware that he was also involved in projects outside of Iran in places such as Saint Tropez (Southern France), Seattle and Bellevue (both in the State of Washington), San Jose, San Francisco and Los Angeles (all in the State of California) and Madinah (Saudi Arabia). Additionally I found out that he had extended his involvement in architectural literature both as an author and a translator. His work in this arena included translation of Double-Headed Eagle, from the Past to the Future of the Human Resources (a book attributed to Constantinos Doxiadis, which by the way, I have not found in the English list of this renowned Greek architect’s books) and Islamic Architecture: Form, Performance and Meaning by Rober Hillenbrand (the British art historian who has authored several books about Islamic art and architecture.), in addition to publishing articles in professional jour

als in Iran and abroad.

This knowledge of Dr. Etessam’s extensive teaching and practice and his pursuing academic and professional works since I left Iran were the main impetus for me more than thirty years after hearing his name for the first time to include Iraj Etessam as one of the major figures in the long list of Iranian architects and city planners when I embarked on a journey to further research and write about contemporary Iranian architecture and city planning — the work what turned out to be formulated as transformations of society, culture, identity, architecture and city planning in Iran during the times of modernity. As it was my approach towards those influential in

the theory and practice of architecture and city planning in Iran as well as noted social scientists and philosophers who were deep rooted in the knowledge of the history of modernity in the West and Iranian modernity, culture and identity, I had to talk to Iraj Etessam.

When I contacted him by phone in the year 2017 for the first time, Dr. Etessam, just after a short introduction by me about myself and my research, showed a great amount of interest to discuss with me his thoughts and works as well as a review of the contemporary architecture in Iran. We set a day and time for the formal dialogue about the topics of my interest. The first session, conducted over the phone, was extended to three, as we both found a lot to talk about. Those sessions ended — we both thought temporarily — only because of the imminent surgery he had to have. We, however, at that point committed to talk more and continue

the dialogue after a couple of months when he would have recuperated from the surgery and had time to relax and recharge.

My frequent trips and various engagements prevented me from connecting with Dr Etessam for a while though. And when I did reached out to him about a year or so later, he informed me that he was planning on making a trip to the US to see his daughter in the near future. He suggested that due to the complications of internet connections and the eleven and half hours time difference between Tehran where he lived and Los Angeles where I did, we do arrange to converse when he was in the Bay Area, Northern California. A sound plan that made sense at the time, unknown to me that some unexpected events would not allow the intended connection and con

versation between him and me about the Iranian architecture to occur for some more time.

When I was finally able to call him in San Jose, California, where he was residing, I was notified first by his caretaker and then by his daughter Ms. Lili Etessam that Dr. Etessam was not in such a good health to be fully able to engage in serious, in depth discussions of the type and topics I was interested in having with him and which we both had intended to do years back. Nonetheless, with the help of Lili Khanom, an architect in her own right, we arranged for a virtual meeting between Dr. Etessam and me, although she cautioned me beforehand not to expect complete sentences and extensive responses from her dad.

The conversation that was pursued in the connection that I followed up with Dr. Etessam was not much about architecture or city planning; but it was much joyful, warm and pleasant as it could be under the circumstances, all because of Dr Etessam’s character and personality. As hard as it was for me to witness this great man’s failing health and memory, I was very glad to see that

his face, voice, and words very clearly demonstrated his happiness to see and talk to a colleague and an old friend – in his words—who happened to be just a respectful student and an admirer of his – in my thought and belief. I came to believe then, as I have believed since, that he and I both cherished the connection on that Wednesday afternoon in the month of August 2021.

Altogether I deeply regret that Professor Etessam and I were not able to continue our dialogue on the modern architecture of Iran that we intended to a couple of years earlier – mainly due to my fault as if I was expecting a much longer life and full health for him for many more years to come. Nonetheless, I am so happy and grateful that I was able to see, one more time, his kind face and hear his soft voice with the nice pleasantries he offered me in that virtual meeting. We did not talk much about anything in particular, but fortunately we did exchange common vibes and

mutual interests — love and respect from me and acceptance and wit from him.

I will not forget Iraj Etessam, a beloved teacher who had trained many, many students of architecture over an almost a 70-year span, a recognized professor who had lectured and taught both in Iran and the US, a notable architect who had created noteworthy buildings, an able communicator, and above all perhaps, a noble human being with whom I had the pleasure and luck of having some interesting and valuable conversations.

I would like to conclude this tribute to Professor Iraj Etessam by a personal touch. There is a heartfelt, likable memory of his for me that will stay with me forever. During our last conversation Dr. Etessam made several references to our prior relationship, communications, and conversations that truly had happened. It clearly showed that he knew me rather well and remembered our past connections. In fact, he had made comments to that effect to his caretaker and Ms. Etessam when he had been read to some of the questions that I had emailed Ms. Lili Etessam in advance, indicating that I intended to ask him some if not all of them when he and I talked. In reaction, he had told them that “I have answered these questions to him (meaning Ali Kiafar) before.” Still, he had agreed to have the dialogue with me. And it was indeed a pleasure for me to have that opportunity. Our conversation was a good indication that even at the age of 91 years and the health conditions this good man was in, he was still willing to engage in conversations about his life and his work. Moreover, at the end of our conversation he enthusiastically asked me to contact him again and have more conversations.

It cracked me up, though, when following the cyber meeting with Dr. Etessam I called Ms. Etessam to thank her for arranging my talk with her father, she told me that after we were done with the meeting he and I had, he had turned to her and the caretaker who was present during the whole time, and asked: “Who was this gentleman I was talking to?”

Rest in peace Professor Etessam, I know who you are. I know you well, I will remember you in the future as I do now, and I promise you, I won’t forget who you were in life, what you did in educating so many students for decades, what you did for the architecture of Iran, an

d what you told me in the conversations we had – both formal and informal.

Yours truly,

Ali Kiafar

Ali A Kiafar, PhD, REFP 

 

Recipient, Excellence in Teaching Award

University of California – Riverside

Recipient, Best Community Development Award

American Institute of Architects

Recipient, Architecture and City Planning Book Award 

Association of Luminaries of Architecture in Iran