Borujerdi Historic House, Kashan

Borujerdi Historic House, Kashan

Borujerdi Historical House, Kashan

Built in 1857 under the supervision of architect Ali Maryam, Borujerdi historical house is one of the famous historical mansions of Kashan. The construction of Borujerdi historical house was commissioned by Haj Jafar Borujerdi, a rich merchant who imported goods from Borudjerd. The latter belonged to the family Tabataba'i for whom the same architect had built another of the historic houses of the region. Construction work on the birouni (outer space) and andarouni (private and unauthorized access to male visitors with no family ties) construction was completed in 1892. More than 150 artisans participated in these projects. Borujerdi house is now owned by the state and managed by the Iranian Cultural Heritage Organization of Kashan. Since 1974, the Borujerdi historical house has been registered by the ICDO in the list of historical monuments of the country.

The birouni of Borujerdi house is organized around a long rectangular courtyard, at the opposite end where the buildings of the birouni were erected. The first part of the building, which closes the southwestern front of the courtyard, is the most elaborate part of the house and includes a large and majestic reception room surrounded by main and secondary rooms. In front of the reception room, an area connects the hall to the veranda overlooking the courtyard (iwan). All the rooms are connected by two large covered areas.

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Most of the main rooms of the birouni are sumptuously decorated, especially the main reception room, which overlooks a dome with bright decorations and openings with shimmering effects. The external light intensity of these openings added to that of the main lamp crowning the dome, gives it a particularly striking presence. The walls of the Shahneshin (part of the reception hall reserved for guests of honor) are adorned with portraits of Qadjar kings, in a style clearly and explicitly influenced by Western painting.

All the walls of the reception of Borujerdi historical House hall are adorned with fine, colorful stucco sculptures. With its distinctive high facade that supports the imposing mass of the roof, the iwan boasts its splendor. The assortment of these elements, later reinforced by the two wind towers (circulation and air cooling devices) that frame this front, remind visitors of the importance of this part of the house. The elongated pool located on the axis of the courtyard, and the flower beds that adorn it symmetrically contribute to the majesty of the view. The large cellar (sardab) of the house is also located in this complex, accessible from the courtyard by a door under the main iwan.

At the other end of the courtyard of Borujerdi House stands another building which, compared with that of the south-west, seems rather modest. It includes a room opening on five sides with French windows (panj-dari), a reception room and rest for the distinguished guests (shahneshinroom) which leads to a mahtabi (rest room open on several sides in the form of a high terrace), and on its rear facade, it leads to a building. The interior of the room is decorated with stucco sculptures, and two small rooms with three windows (seh-dari) are located on each side of the room. Their modest height compared to that of the main hall and its adjacent spaces, demonstrates a functional layout. In the courtyard, along the south wall, three chambers and service areas are arranged, and the opposite wall comprises an archway in the center of which the iwan with columns is visible. The front part of Borujerdi historical House is a symmetrical copy of the one on the opposite side. The entrance to the house includes a walkway arch decorated with stucco carvings, several consecutive spaces with functional assignments and a corridor leading to the courtyard. This house is also remarkable for its frescoes, works of the painter of the Qadjare period, Kamal-ol-Molk.

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