HISTORY OF LANDSCAPE – SPANISH

GARDENS
WHAT ARE THE FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE A DESIGN STYLE IN HISTORY?
The world history is rich of eras and times under various kings and rulers, each having their
own stories and cultures. Each rule has its own uniqueness and importance. Historical
architecture is a vast complex study. It changed from time to time, depending on several
factors.
The same can be said for landscape design. A few factors that influence a design style are:
1. Geography – the location of the place holds an important value in design. The
geography of the place determines the climate of the region, the soil type, the natural
vegetation and much more of an area.

2. Climate – the climate of the area can be found by the location. The climate of the area
shows the nature of the land and the trees and foliage found in the area. The life cycle
of the plants, how they interact with the environment and how they manage in
different seasons.

3. Culture – the culture of the area tells us a lot about what the beliefs and choices of the
people were. There were places of religious or cultural importance built solely for the
purposes of worship, or for praising a particular aspect of history. The cultural choices
determined the type of structure, the form, shape, also the material that one would use
in that time period.
 Roman Gardens Mughal Gardens

PERSIAN AND SPANISH GARDENS

The tradition and style of garden design represented by Persian gardens or Iranian gardens
has influenced the design of gardens from Andalusia to India and beyond.
Persian gardens may originate as early as 4000 BC, but this tradition began with the
Achaemenid dynasty around the 6th century BCE. Under the Abbasid dynasty (8th century
AD), this type of garden became an integral part of representational architecture.
Topography:

The spread of Persian gardens started from the Achaemenid Empire in Iran. It spread of
Andalusia (Spain) to India. It came of importance in these areas and can be seen in various
areas where it has influenced the design. Examples of these are:
- The gardens of Alhambra in Granada, Spain
 - The gardens of Taj Mahal in Agra, India

Principle of Design:
The Persian Garden is a landscape garden, designed individually and created intentionally as
a space embedded in the aesthetic and spiritual context of its past and contemporary cultural,
political, and social environment.
It has a formal design, with symmetrical shapes and enclosed spaces.
Hallmarks of these formal gardens are:
 a geometric layout following geometric and visual principles,
 implemented to nature by water channels and basins which divide the enclosed space
into clearly defined quarters, a principle that has become known as Chahar Bagh (four
gardens),
 waterworks with channels, basins, fountains and cascades,
 pavilions, prominent central axes with a vista,
 and a plantation with a variety of carefully chosen trees, herbs. and flowers.
Purpose of Gardens:
Persian gardens are multi-functional: they not only serve contemplation and relaxation but are
also a representation and manifestation of power.

Symbolic Meaning:
 Notwithstanding a formal standardization, the landscape gardens also reflect diversity
and development, bound to function, regional and chronological characteristics, as
well as technological, know how personal preferences, ambitions, and demands.
 Designing and implementing a garden demonstrates the occupation of land, holding
audiences and celebrating victories or marriages in these gardens signal superiority, or
social and political bonds.
 Some scholars believe that the chahar-bagh concept refers to a garden divided into
four parts via the water flow. However, several scholars argue that in the Iranian
culture, chaharbagh is a metaphor of the cosmos.
 The number four in the Iranian historical culture is a symbol of universality,
indicating the four directions in the universe, the four classical elements: water, earth,
air and fire, four periods of creation.
 In chahar-baghs, terraces symbolize the cosmic mountains and the creation of the
edifice or throne at the highest level represents the position of the God.
 A great pool is placed in front of the edifice representing the cosmic ocean as the
source of all waters which can irrigate the whole garden.
 The presence of trees, flowers and animals around the edifice complement the figure
of the universe.
 Various elements of gardens embrace their own meanings and semiology. Water and
trees are considered as the most important elements and their meanings and
significance have been represented through their design and placement in Persian
gardens.
Uniqueness of Elements:
 Sunlight and its effects were an important factor of structural design in Persian
gardens. Textures and shapes were specifically chosen by architects to harness the
light.
 Iran's dry heat makes shade important in gardens. Trees and trellises largely feature
as biotic shade; pavilions and walls are also structurally prominent in blocking the
sun.
 The heat also makes water important, both in the design and maintenance of the
garden. Irrigation may be required, and may be provided via a form of tunnel called
a qanat, that transports water from a local aquifer.
 Trees were often planted in a ditch called a juy, which prevented
water evaporation and allowed the water quick access to the tree roots.
 The Persian style often attempts to integrate indoors with outdoors through the
connection of a surrounding garden with an inner courtyard. 
Uses of Water:
 Geometry of Persian gardens is not only owing to the irrigation and agriculture
principles, but also it is formed due to the beliefs, meaning, symbols, myths and the
elements that form the Persian garden’s identity. The early geometric form of the
garden might be dictated by the practicalities of the irrigational system
 In Persian gardens holiest of all elements and myths is water or as Moynihan
describes it: “water is the most essential and central element in the Persian gardens”.
The symbolic significance of water among Iranians was initiated before the Islamic
period.
 After Islam, the Quran further emphasized the centrality of water in the perception of
Muslim Iranians. Muslims respect water as the most important means of cleaning and
purifying. The Quran describes paradise as a garden beneath which rivers flow. The
Persian garden’s atmosphere is very similar to the image that the Quran has
represented from the paradise as the retaliation of the good deeds, actions and
manners. Additionally, water has been the element that could transfer the extremely
arid lands of Persia to the quasi-paradise gardens.
 The Creation of Persian gardens is owed to the exploration of water among the huge
deserts of Persia. Therefore, water can be considered as the most significant element
in Persian gardens, transferring a desert to a desirable microclimate usually inside
walls in which trees and flowers can grow.
 water plays an aesthetic role. In Persian gardens, water is a central element and the
determinant of the axes
 The presence of water in Persian gardens is the representation of its significance in the
Persian culture.
 Water in Persian gardens flows and produces a desirable sound, affecting the acoustic
aesthetics of the garden.

Uses of vegetation:
 Trees, and especially evergreen trees have the second-most important role after the
water being the first.
 The presence of ever-green trees is firstly due to the users’ need for shade and
secondly is associated with the heaven’s trees which are finitely green and fresh.
  According to Hobhouse, in Persian gardens, the evergreen cypress represented
immortality and the flowering almond the regeneration of the earth in springtime,
while the date palm could provide an allyear-round sustenance.
 Trees play a significant functional and productive role in the life of gardens. Pattern
of productivity is present in the nature of Persian gardens in which you can hardly
find just a single plant. In each plot, there was usually a specific fruitful plant such as
apricot, peach, apple and etc. This pattern of fruit productivity was clear in royal
gardens, ancient gardens, recreational gardens and even traditional houses yards.
 Cultivation of plants in Persian gardens follows a certain order, which is influenced
by the geometrical configuration of the garden’s design. The trees near the main
pathway or near the plots were usually four-season trees, which were picturesque in
the whole year. The trees with fewer leaves were usually planted in a further distance.
 Trees not only produce fruits and yields, but also provide shades, freshness and
coolness. In the hot arid lands of Persia, this freshness is very desirable and
pleasurable. Trees’ shades make the severe, hot and dry territories of Iran tolerable
and even desirable like a paradise.
 Trees are either shady such as cypress, elm and sycamore or fruitful. The pathways
(along the plots) were usually designed very narrow in order to be shaded by the
shady trees.
 Cypresses often border the watercourses which divide the garden into plots.
 Additionally, the shade of trees prevents the excessive evaporation of the water
flowing in channels. The surrounding trees define the axis and emphasize it in an
aesthetical way.

SOURCES
https://www.poppolling.com/8-factors-that-affect-an-architectural-design/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persian_gardens
Article – Persian Gardens: Meanings, Symbolism and Design by Leile Mahmoudi Farahani,
Bahareh Motamed, Elmira Jamei