Nazhvan Pavilion in Isfahan, Construction Technics and an Experience for Building a Lightweight Structure

The Coastal area of Nazhvan is located at the riverside of Zayandehrūd River in the western part of Isfahan. In the gardens of this area which are mostly orchards, woodlands full of fruitless trees, owners have constructed architectural spaces and pavilions. One of the prominent architectural spaces within this territory is a mill known as “Asyāb-e Nazhvān or Hājjī”. There stands a two-floor pavilion on the eastern side of the mill, which is the case study of this paper. This mill is almost the only remaining practical mill in the city of Isfahan. The constructional techniques employed and the addition of the pavilion on the mill are unique. This study tries to scrutinize its structural components. The main spaces, comprising of a five-door chamber in center and two three-door rooms at its sides, stand in the first floor. Besides, some space for facilities such a storage room, kitchen and water closet can be seen on the same storey. There is a three-door room on the second floor which is entirely made of wood, and wooden doors and windows constitute its walls except the chimney and ceiling coating. Now the northern three-door room ceased to exists; therefore, a structural imbalance has emerged on the second floor which ruined the roof of the mill. The field studies reveal that the mill has been built and later this two-floor pavilion was added to it. The constructional timing of the mill and its pavilion needs an extensive discussion which should be done in another investigation.  After this short introduction, the central question is “how has this two-floor pavilion been added to the mill and what kinds of techniques the mason employed to build the pavilion?” Besides, another noticeable issue is the method used to construct a lightweight pavilion to avoid any excessive load pressure on piers and foundation of the mill. Accordingly, the primary goals of this research are the examination of constructional techniques, (technology of pavilion), how it has been added to the mill, its lightweight construction and deliberate structural documentation of this property. Consequently, execution of this research provides a meticulous study of it which will significantly help to its conservation. Based on the field studies, the descriptive-analytical method was employed for investigation. In the end, the studies show that the piers of the pavilion on the first floor were not consistent with the mill’s piers. For the same reason, the architect has raised the piers of the mill to build the pavilion. Then, he made a network of poles. The roof of the mill was formed by a traditional method of lightweight construction locally known as “Kenu-bandī” to build an even surface for the first floor. Then after, the piers of the pavilion were installed on the network of poles. The architect tried to create a lightweight pavilion to avoid any extra load on the wooden system. In the same line, he constructed the second floor entirely with wood materials. Through this, the network of poles transferred the pavilion imposing load to the piers and foundation of the mill.