Comparative Studies of Tekyeh Dowlat in Tehran and Royal Albert in London

Problem statement: The building of Tekye h Dowlat in Tehran has always created many arguments and questions among the researchers in conservation and architecture history. The main axis of these questions relates to the building’s history and the relationship between Royal Albert Hall and Tekyeh Dowlat building. There are conflicting statements approving and neglecting Tekye h Dowlat architectural originality within researchers. A number of people referred to the trip of Nasereddin Shah to Europe and his visit to Royal Albert Hall building and believed he wanted to construct a similar building in Iran. Others deny this idea believing that this trip occurred after the construction of Tekye h Dowlat, thus this reasoning is wrong.
Research goal: the main aims of this research is explaining the role of Tekyeh Dowlat in Iranian architecture history by comparing the construction technique to Royal Albert Hall.Research In the present study tries to find evidence about building construction techniques for both buildings through historical studies and comparative-historical analysis of the documents, especially those dealing with the architecture and structure of Royal Albert Hall – that was found in British history archive –and finally answer the question "what is the relationship between Tekyeh Dowlat and Royal Albert Hall buildings.
Research Results from this study suggest that despite the similarity of Tekye h Dowlat and Royal Albert Hall, Tekye h Dowlat building is recognized as a valuable and important example in Iranian architecture history due to its use of construction technique derived from Iranian architecture. Tekye h Dowlat’s construction began a year after Royal Albert Hall’s on 1868. Based on this result, the present study emphasizes on the role of construction technique studies for answering architectural history questions and considering it as an unlimited component of architecture history studies, especially the history of Iranian architectural evolution. This study means to eliminate the existing weaknesses in Iranian architectural studies, trying to find logical and rational answers about construction date of historical buildings in general and Tekye h Dowlat in particular, avoiding myths and providing a general method for similar studies.