Abstract

ABSTRACT This article focuses on the Azadi Tower, a prominent gate structure in Tehran, to discuss how an authoritarian monument has the potential to become a shared space of public discourse, both physically and visually. In so doing, it opens up a discussion of the construction of spatial imaginaries as a category of cultural heritage, specifically in geographies of conflict. Initially named Shahyad, the tower and the square around it were built in 1971 as a monument to the Shah. Despite the controversial genesis of the structure, it was given new meanings after the 1979 revolution and renamed Azadi (freedom) Tower. This article considers the centrality of the structure in the visual materials expressing dissent in the recent years in Iran and across the Iranian diaspora, and addresses the various stages of physical and visual re-invention of the structure since the 1979 revolution to comprehend its role as a speculative solidarity monument in contemporary Iran. In this sense, architectural heritage opens up new possibilities not just through its lived experiences, but also its yet-to-be-lived subjective imaginaries.

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