The Emergence of Shahyad Tower
The Shahyad (Azadi) Tower was originally conceived to commemorate the 2,500-year celebration of the Persian Empire and to serve as a symbol of modern Iran. Yet today, this landmark very nearly might not have existed!
In 1965, Senator Boushehri (head of the 2,500-Year Celebration Council), acting on royal instruction, commissioned the "Bonyan Architectural Office"—headed by Amir Nosrat Monagah—to design a memorial gate. A few months later, a proposal for a symbolic monument—a triumphal arch designed jointly by Monagah, Shariatzadeh, Mirhaydar, and Mohammad Tehrani—was submitted to Boushehri's office. Although the proposal met the initial requirements, the insistence of Lieutenant General Yazdanpanah and Lieutenant General Jahanbani altered the Shah's view regarding the monument. This shift ultimately reshaped the destiny of a young graduate from the University of Tehran's Faculty of Fine Arts.
Ultimately, it was decided to open a nationwide architectural competition. On September 1, 1966, the Ettela'at newspaper featured an announcement on its front page: "Call for Entries: Architectural Competition for the Shahyad Aryamehr Building," specifying that design submissions were due to the Central Council by November 1. The period between September and November 1966 proved pivotal for the young Hossein Amanat. As Tehran approached the winter chill 55 years ago, he found himself stepping onto the path of prominence, closing in on his ambitions.
Ultimately, 21 contestants submitted their architectural entries. Each of the 21 projects, presented across two large display panels, was showcased to the jury at a building within the Saadabad Complex. In the end, 25-year-old architect Hossein Amanat was declared the winner. The plot designated for this project spanned 375,122 square meters, transforming Amanat's design vision into one of the largest public plazas in the world.
Hossein Amanat entered the University of Tehran in 1960 at the age of 18, enrolling in the studio of Heydar Ghiï-Chamlou. The academic framework of the Faculty of Fine Arts was modeled after the French École des Beaux-Arts, where students selected a master professor and worked under their studio guidance throughout their six-year curriculum. Amanat later transitioned to become a student of the renowned architect Houshang Seyhoun.
According to Hossein Amanat, the most challenging endeavor in constructing the monument was sourcing its stone. To resolve this issue, he consulted Ghaffar Davarpanah—recognized as the father of modern stone processing in Iran and founder of the Sakhara Stone Factory. Through Master Ghaffar, Amanat was introduced to Master Ghanbar Rahimi to carefully select and procure the finest quality natural stone blocks for the project.
