Niavaran Complex

Niavaran Complex
Niavaran Complex
	The Niavaran mansion.
Type	Historic house, memorial
Location	Shemiran (northern Tehran), Iran
Coordinates	35°48′43″N 51°28′21″E / 35.8120°N 51.4725°E
Built	1772
Restored by	Mohammad Reza Nikbakht
Governing body	Cultural Heritage Organization of Iran

The Niavaran Palace Complex (Persian: مجموعه کاخ نیاوران – Majmue-ye Kākh-e Niāvarān) is a historical palace complex situated in Shemiran (northern Tehran), Iran. It consists of several palace buildings and monuments dating back to the Qajar and Pahlavi eras.^[1]

History

During the reign of the Pahlavi Dynasty, a new palace named Niavaran was built for the imperial family of Mohammad Reza Shah (1919–1980). The palace was designed in 1958 and completed in 1967. It served a variety of purposes for the imperial court including as a home for the Shah and Empress as well a place to entertain visiting foreign heads of state. On New Year's Eve 1977, the reception and state banquet for US President Jimmy Carter took place here.^[2]

The Shah and Empress left basically everything behind when they left Iran in January 1979. All of the peripheral buildings of the Saheb Qaranie, with the exception of the Ahmad Shahi Pavilion, were demolished, and the present-day structures were built to the north of the Saheb Qaranie. The Ahmad Shahi Pavilion was then used as an exhibition centre for presents from world leaders to the Iranian imperial monarchs.^[1]

Private library

The library was publicly inaugurated in 1994, on the occasion of International Museum Day.^[3]

Construction

The interior designing of the library was designed by architect Aziz Farmanfarmayan.

Features

The building is allocated to libraries in three separate levels; the reading room, the main library, and the audio visual room. Other sections of the library include sets of artwork, which number over 350. The works reflect parts of modern art history, particularly the modern tendencies of Iranian art in the 1950s and 1960s.