The Role of Cultural Symbols in Public Space in Iranian and New Zealand Cities

Ensiyeh Ghavampour, 2Brenda Vale, 3Mina Fallahzadegan

School of Architecture, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand Tehran Municipality Urban Planning & Research Centre

1&2 3

Abstract
Successful public open spaces are essential for the physical and social development of cities. The long-term success of public space is embedded in the populations attitude to the built environment. Environmental behaviour research indicates that use and perception of space varies dramatically for different user groups. As cultural groups use symbols to define the natural environment every single landscape element can evoke different meanings. Regarding the significant role of natural elements in the development of cities, this paper discusses the role of natural elements, especially trees, as cultural symbols, even though today they are mostly used based on their visual appearance, and their symbolic and cultural aspect is being lost. This paper looks at natural elements in four public spaces in Iran and New Zealand, to explore the cultural significant of trees. Observation shows that despite the differences in climate and culture, trees are used as symbolic elements in both countries.

Keywords: Culture, Public Space, Symbol, Nature, Tree, Environment

Introduction
Historically, public open spaces within crowded urban areas have been considered as important assets for people living in cities. Such spaces are often important in the continuity of the built environment. Building around public space change but the space, and the atmosphere continue remains. This paper parthicularly looks at natural cultural artifacts , are being an important part of this continuity. Public spaces are a fundamental element of a citys structure which, through day and night, are open to public use. Francis Tibbalds (1992:1, cited in Madanipour,1996:146) views the public space realm as, all the parts of urban fabric to which the public have physical and visual access. These spaces are easily accessible from main roads and transit arteries. They can also work as landmarks to make cities more imageable. Despite these physical characteristics Carr et al. (1992:xi, cited in Madanipour,1996:146) regard public space as [a] common ground where people carry out the functional and ritual activities that bind a community, whether in the normal routines of daily or in periodic festivals. For Walzer it is space for politics, religion, commerce, sport, space for peaceful coexistence and impersonal eccounter. The character of public space expresses and also conditions our public life, civic culture, every day discourse (1986:470, cited in Madanipour,1996:146). Public open spaces offer visual and psychological relief in the stressful surroundings of high-pace urban areas and contribute to the quality of life of urban residents and to their overall sense of well-being. Indeed some consider public open spaces as essential requirements of a good and democratic city form (Lynch 1980; Sennett 1982, cited in Loukaitou-Sideris1995:89). So by this definition successful public open spaces are an essential part of the physical and social development of cities. The long-term success of public space is embedded in the local cultural context and the populations attitude to the built environment. Environmental behaviour research indicates that use and perception of space varies dramatically for different user groups. This is due to socio cultural distinctions, gender, age, race, and income differences, as well as lifecycle stages (Rapoport 1977,1984 cited in Loukaitou-Sideris1995:90). Individuals and groups do not all hold the same interpretation of public spaces. They tend to accept a special type of public space and recognize its dimensions and details differently. Peoples point of view, culture and experience affect their definition of spatial beauty and will be the key factor in their choice and use of public space. Accordingly, every single landscape element can evoke different meanings in different contexts and will not be received similarly by members of groups with different points of view.

Ensiyeh Ghavampour, ghavamense@my vuw.ac.nz Brenda Vale, brenda.vale@ vuw.ac.nz, Mina Fallahzadegan, m.fallahzadegan@ yahoo.com

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As argued above public space has to connect with its context, i.e. the physical, built and human environments. This context offers resources, constraints, risks and approvals. A public space must be integrated in its context, benefiting from its resources and being protected from its constraints. It also has to take part in its context to attract people to it.

Context of Public space

Culture and physical environment are two intertwined factors that effect public spaces. The physical environment of nature is the main component part of urban space and the first context in which the built environment takes shape. Diversity of physical form and natural qualities have influenced the social qualities of urban space. In the historical process of creating cities, these conditions have often been employed, symbolically and practically, to institute difference and segregation (Madanipour, 1996:38). On the other hand various conceptions of nature are created from different social and cultural contexts and nature then becomes indistinguishable from the context (Greider &Garkovich,1994:6). Busch comments that Each culture constructs its own world out of an infinite variety of nature.... [nature is] socialized ... recognized [and] made into material manifestation of social structure (1989:7). Bennett suggests ...humans are constantly engaged in seizing natural phenomena, converting them into cultural objects, and reinterpreting them with cultural ideas (1976:4). Whorf proposes the natural world ...is presented in a kaleidoscopic flux of impression which has to be organized in our minds.... we cut up nature, organize it into concepts, and describe as significant what we do largely because we are parties to an agreement to organize it this way (1956:213, cited in Greider &Garkovich,1994:6). Cultural groups continue to reconstruct and redefine their realities past, present, and future through ongoing social interactions, which may be thought of as negotiations over meaning that reinforce and change the symbols, meaning, and definitions of a situation (Corsaro 1985: Denzin 1977: Fine 1991: Coffman 1974, cited in Greider &Garkovich,1994:6).

Cultural natural symbols and continuity in public space

Cultural groups use symbols to define the natural environment and fit it into their ongoing everyday life. The natural environment is transformed through symbols and concepts that organize peoples relationships in the social world (Greider &Garkovich,1994:8). Symbols and their meaning change over time, but they have a persistence that gives them longterm continuity. Human societies have experienced natural and social calamities but ... with a core of continuity, survival and reconstruction evidence (Burch 1971:53). It is the use of systems of symbols that makes this core possible. Thus, as Burch argues, understanding symbol systems is essential to understanding the relationships between human societies, nature, and the environment (Greider & Garkovich,1994:6). History shows that natural elements have always played a significant role in the development of cities and civilisations in terms of their physical building units. Cities and civilisations have been permanently influenced and are influenced by human/environment interactions, to the extent that symbolic natural elements have been worshiped and considered sacred in certain civilisations. These include: water, trees, mountains, and seas. This paper focuses on trees as one of the important natural elements that appear in urban spaces.

Trees as natural cultural elements

Trees are one of the most important natural elements that affect human life. Schroeder mentioned five different effects of trees on human life: physical, aesthetic, economic, social and psychological (Schroeder: 1991). Trees are extolled in myth, songs, poetry, and religions. These historical connections are expressed today in feelings of kinship, protectiveness, and mutual benefit (Johnson, Duncan and Schein, 2003:180). There are several theories which have looked at the different relationships between people and trees. In the Darwinian approach (Kellert, Wilson & Quantz) it is argued that myths of belief in which people were created from trees or were transformed into trees have influenced cultural practices, are embodied in stories and song, and find expression in childrens

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animistic perception of trees. The life of a specific individual and a specific tree can be intertwined (Sommer, 2003:191). Jung (1997) in dealing with psychology focused on the parallels between human and arboreal development; the tree is seen as an archetype in the human collective unconscious. Personality tests such as the H-T-P use tree drawing to investigate identity issues. Phenomenology (Davies, 1988; Fulford, 1995; Tuan, 1979; Altman, 1993, Greider &Garkovich,1994:8) relies heavily on metaphor between the natural approaches and the human world. Roots, trunk, and canopy mirror the infernal, earthly, and heavenly domains, respectively. Other features such as flowers, fruit, and colour supply subsidiary themes relating trees to people and society (Sommer, 2003:191). Affordance theory (Gibson,1979) emphasises that real-world perception is shaped and refined through interaction with the outside world. During first-hand encounters, individuals learn the properties of objects and their own place in the world. The theory gives more emphasis to perceptual learning than to identity. Eco-psychology (Roszak,1992) agrees that beyond the individual self, there is an ecological self that is nurtured through contact with and concern for the natural environment. A person should feel at one with nature, and if these feelings are absent or distorted, a healing process is needed (cited in. Johnson, Duncan and Schein, 2003:191). Although through these theories trees are viewed from different aspects none of them emphasise the role of trees in cultural meaning. Today trees are used in public spaces mostly based on their visual properties such as their colour, form or seasonal transformations. The representation of their symbolic and cultural aspect is being lost.

Research sites
This paper looks at natural elements in public spaces in Iran and New Zealand, to explore the cultural significant of plants, especially trees. Iran is an ancient country with a long civilization and the formation of its urban spaces has been prompted to a high extent by mythical and ritual symbols, signs, concepts and images that are mostly influenced by nature. New Zealand cities, on the other hand, are host to diverse cultures through immigration, which presents diverse meanings for symbols in a local context. However, there are strong effects from the culture of the indigenous residents of New Zealand, the Maori people. This paper focuses on the ancient residents in both cultures and investigates how their different attitudes are reflected in their built environment. As an example of how natural cultural symbols are important in public spaces, this paper looks at four representative examples, two large scale spaces (one from Iran and one from New Zealand) and two small scale public spaces from these countries. The paper shows how natural cultural symbols are represented in public spaces in two countries with different cultures. In order to review the physical and cultural situation of both for an understanding of the symbolic elements, it is necessary to compare briefly the two cultural contexts.

Natural and cultural situation of Iran

Iran, in southwest Asia, is located between the Caspian Sea in the north and Persian Gulf in the south and encircled by high mountains. Iran is an arid country. Its extreme climatic conditions are characterized by a shortage of water, higher evaporation than precipitation resulting in low humidity, intense solar radiation, especially during hot summer days, high diurnal and seasonal temperature ranges, torrential but sporadic spurts of precipitation and damaging dust and sandstorms (Kheirabadi, 1991:20). The Aryans were a branch of the Indo European peoples who appeared around 2000 B.C. and gradually migrated into India and southwest Asia, in the latter case forming tribes speaking similar languages now classed as Iranian. In its original form, Iran could thus be understood to mean the land of the Aryans. Theologians disagree about the exact nature of their religion but generally concur that the Aryan gods were identified with nature (Moynihan, 1979:10). In ancient Iran (Persia), abstract forms and figures, and ritual ceremonies were all inspired by nature. Iranians strongly believed in the sacredness and magic of supernatural elements and to preserve these in their everyday life, they tried to represent them physically on land. They believed

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that the incarnation of natural dynamism and fertility in the built environment would convince the gods to preserve these properties

Nature and its signs in Iranian life

An attitude to nature is represented in Iranian art. The decoration of Persian palaces employs a wide range of motifs and abstract forms with figures. Persian poets have often sought to compare nature at springtime to a rug strewn with flowers. It is true that, after a rainless summer and a harsh winter, the carpet of greenery spread out in spring seems positively magical (Porter & Thevenart: 2003:55). Legends In ancient Persia (Iran), it was believed that the sky was the first part of the world to be created. It was described as a round empty shell made of rock crystal, passing beneath as well as above the earth. Water was created next, followed by the earth. In its original state, the earth was flat, with no valleys or mountains and the sun stood still at the noonday position. Then came plants and animals. Human beings were the sixth creation, and fire probably the seventh and last. Thus the cycle of life started and the sun moved creating i night and day and the first Norouz came to pass (IranSAGA, 1999-2007). Also In all religions of Iran the environment was respected. Physical environment The natural elements represented in Iranian cities include; temples for water and fire, gardens, bridges, public baths, and homes with planted courtyards. The Persian garden is the best example that represents the idea of nature to the Persian and the important role of trees. The Persian garden is bounded by a wall. This separates a disordered, indifferent, even wild nature from a nature ordered and made over by man into a beautiful and benevolent vision. A garden can be a landscape structured by man, such as a walledoff area set with trees, or a space ornamented with plants to the front side of a dwelling. In the Persian language, distinctions are made according to the species planted: for example, the golestan is a Rose bower; Sarvestan a garden of Cypress; Narenjestan, an orange grove; and the Bustan, an Orchard (Porter & Thevenart: 2003:76).

Place of trees in Iranian culture

Trees are the fundamental component of gardens and there are several myths related to them. Cutting trees is not pleasant in terms of all Iranian religions. In Persia, the moon tree was drawn as a conifer - possibly a cypress - which came to symbolize immortality in Persian culture (Moynihan, 1979:7). In their Zoroastrian ii religion, the cult of trees played an important part, and as part of this the symbol of eternal life was a tree with a stream at its roots. Among the Persians tree-planting was a sacred occupation. The tree is thus an important element of Iranian cultural identity.

Figure1 4000 year old cypress tree, Abarkhoh(Mansouri,2010) Figure2 Abstract form of cypress, Pasargad (Hobhouse,2003:45)

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Natural and cultural situation of New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses (the North Island and the South Island) and numerous smaller islands. It was one of the last lands to be settled by humans. It has mild maritime climate with much land covered in forest. The country's varied topography and its sharp mountain peaks owe much to the earthquake activity and volcanic eruptions caused by the Pacific and IndoAustralian Plates grinding against each other. The Maori have resided in New Zealand for approximately 1000 years and have developed a range of lifestyles in different parts of the country. Cultural variation developed as different Iwi established an intimate relationship with the environments they adopted as their tribal lands. From a Maori tribal worldview, the concept of the environment has meaning in quite different ways from non-Maori perceptions. The environment and resources within it have relevance not only in sustaining a group economically, but also politically and culturally. A whole cultural ethos and set of practices have developed in response to environmental challenges and opportunities (Selby, Moore, & Mulholland, 2010:221). The environment is also seen as an ancestral landscape that encapsulates sites of significance. From the perspective of tribal or sub-tribal identity, the environment provides markers or reference points to delineate one group from another (Selby, Moore, & Mulholland, 2010: 242).

Nature and signs in Maori life

The holistic view is also reflected in the different dimensions that all aspects of the universe are understood to have. These dimensions include: Te taha wairua (spiritual); Te taha hinengaro (mental); and Te taha tinana (physical and economic). In addition the Waitangi tribunal outlined the following principals governing the basis for Maori and their relationship with the environment: - A reverence of the total creation as one whole - A sense of kinship with all fellow beings - A sacred regard for the whole of nature and resources as being a gift from the gods - A sense of responsibility for these gifts as their appointed stewards, guardians and rangatira - A distinctive economic ethic of reciprocitywhat you take from the environment you return in kind - A sense of commitment to safeguard all natures resources (taonga) for future generations (James,1993:5). Legends These perspectives are represented in Maori legends and myths and also in their carving art and songs. Maori history begins in a time before creation. Once the universe was created, and Hawaiki was born, then the gods were made. Rangi the sky father and Papa, the earth mother, were lovers, clasped in an age-long embrace. They had six sons who lived between them. These were the gods of the sea, wind, forest, wild foods, crops and mankind. The young gods lived in darkness, crushed by their parents, so they conspired to separate from them and create a world of light. After several failures Tane the god of the forests tore heaven from the earth, and the new world was made. The tears of the sky father rained upon his wife, and she returned his longing in soft mists which rose to greet him. Now the gods adorned their mother in trees and ferns. Their father had stars pinned to his cloak. Tane the male god made a woman from the earth and mated with her. From their mating mankind was born in Hawaiki, and a new era began (Salmond, 2004:11-12). Physical environment The Marae is the most significant physical representation of the Maori perspective. It is a local ceremonial centre, dedicated to the gatherings of Maori people and to the practice of traditional rituals. Each Marae has a meeting house, a dining hall and other small buildings set in about an acre of land and fenced off from surrounding properties. These

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centres are a familiar feature of the New Zealand landscape (Reed , 2004:31). The Marae is also the focus of the wider ancestral landscape and the central focus of kindred group identity. It embodies the relationships between people and their forebears. The environment may be considered as an extension of all that the Marae symbolises, and vice versa. The Marae is thus an extension of a wider environment. Environment, then, may be considered as a Marae locale. All within itrivers, lakes, mountains, forests, sites of significanceare an ancestral landscape that has particular meaning to a group of people, a hapu or Iwi (Selby, Moore & Mulholland, 2010: 227-228).

Trees in Maori culture

Some special trees are sacred to the Maori. In the Ourewera, a famous old Hinau tree was believed to have the power of making a woman conceive: possibly it seemed suitable for this purpose because the Hinau fruits very heavily. Sometimes a tree or rock was thought to be inhabited by a sprit. Green twigs and small branches were employed in many ceremonies. In the forest the Maori saw a hierarchy of trees similar to that in human society .... Chiefly trees as opposed to common trees. Occasionally a tree symbolised a tribe, but much more often it represented a person. Women who had been abandoned by their lovers or husbands sometimes composed songs lamenting their fate. Kauri and rata were used for this ceremony (Orbell,1996:93-95). Ferns have always played a significant role in New Zealand Maori culture and even in modern times have become a significant national emblem. In Maori culture unfolding tree fern fronds represent new life and positive beginnings.

Figure 3: Tree fern (Ghavampour , 2011) Figure 4: abstract form of Fern (www.auckbad. co.nz/shuttleex press/magAug

Examples
Ab-o-Atash park (Water and Fire park- Large public space in Tehran)
The Abbas Abad hills are located in an area of 500 acres in the middle of the crossing point of the important highways of Tehran. Within this Ab-o-Atash park has an area of two acres. The background design of the park is the shape of the Botteh Jeghe or curved Cypress which symbolizes eternity and verdancy. The towers of water and fire are settled on the longer curve of the bottehjegheh and the purity of fire together with the eternity of the curved cypress promises a long life which represents the sustainable development of the project.

Figure 5: Site Plan of Ab-oAtash

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Place of trees used in Iranian culture:

Natural

Different form of cypress tree use Abstract form

Cypress tree Among the symbols which the Iranians hold dear, none is as popular as the cypress tree. Innumerable qualities are attributed to this tree and its form. Whenever a Persian poet has tried to best describe the stature of his beloved one, the cypress tree is used. Believers in free thought have adopted the cypress tree as a symbol of freedom.

Defining entrance

Metal cypress

natural cypress used for defining the entrance

Metal cypresses are used as symbols of paradise

Dividing elements Natural cypress used for dividing the space Metal cypresses are used in a decorative fence

Metal cypress

Sabzeh Mashhad quarter (Small Public Space in Tehran) This quarter is one of the three main quarters of the historic part of Gorgan. This quarter has been an initial central point in the development of the neighbourhood. Its history dates back to the Sasanian era. Because of the existence of the outlet of the Aqueduct this place provided drinking water for the residents. It is a typical quarter in Iran shaped by the mosque, public bath, and square, shrine building or tekieh and several subquarters. The central point of the quarter is shaped by a tree and has the typical elements of water, tree and holy building (Mosque, and tekieh). Place of tree used in Iranian culture Plane tree: Like the cypress, the plane tree is one of the most important trees in Iran (Chenar in Persian). It is popular as an ornamental or shade tree in Persia, especially in gardens. In original Persian gardens the watercourse is bordered by rows of cypress and Chenar trees. Iranians believe the plane tree is a tree of paradise. Veneration of old trees seems to have an ancient tradition in Persia. Xerxes is said to have decorated a beautiful plane tree with golden ornaments during his expedition against Greece. In fact many recorded old planes (Chenar) are located near a shrine, mosque, or similar sacred place. In Persia

Figure 6: Cypress trees in different forms

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Figure 7: Plane tree in public space (Ghvampour, 2011)

people believe that this tree prevents the spread of infectious fever and diseases the germs of which are found in the air (Wilber, p. 10; Pers. tr., p. 33). Different uses of trees: The old Chenar tree is situated at the central point of the quarter. This square can be recognized by its tree. So trees beside making shade can be recognized as landmarks.

Civic Centre: (Large Public Space in Wellington)

The civic centre project brief was for a new library, conversion of the existing library into the City Gallery, extension and refurbishment of City Council buildings, earthquake strengthening and refurbishment of the Old Town Hall, car parking space, design of the new public space, and imperative to the development was a link to the developing waterfront. In 1988 architect Ian Athfield played a chief part in the civic centre project and was directly responsible for the design of the new library, a new childrens museum and the square itself. Athfield created a civic square which is a stage for public life (Venue Web, 2008).
Figure 8: Civic Centre Site Plan (www.maps.google.co.nz)

Different forms of trees in Civic Centre Tree Natural use Tree Abstract form

Cabbage tree

Define the pathway

Nikau palm

Metal sculpture

Natural cabbage trees are used in in front of metal Nikaus

Metal nikaus are used as symbolic colums

Pohutuka wa tree

Define the pathway

Nikau palm

Metal sculpture

Natural pohutukawa are used in front of metal Nikaus Figure 9: Trees in different forms in Civic

Metal nikaus are used as a symbolic entrance

Place of trees used in Maori culture Palm tree: The Maori word Nikau is equivalent to the Tahitian word for leaf of the coconut palm. The two trees resemble each other mainly in their foliage but the Nikau bears no

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coconut. However, it has a tender heart that provides a very good meal, and it could be more readily used for this purpose than could the coconut (Orbell,1996:29). Pohutukawa tree: This tree (Metrosideros excelsa) with its crimson flower has become an established part of the New Zealand Christmas tradition. This Kiwi Christmas tree which is often featured on greeting cards and in poems and songs, has become an important symbol for New Zealanders at home and abroad (New Zealand history, 2008).

Small scale open space in Wellington: This very small public space in the middle of a residental area works as a amphitheatre and is located in front of the comunity centre. Place of trees used in Maori culture Cabbage tree: A whole book of Maori stories could be written about the common cabbage tree, which is a familiar part of the New Zealand landscape. This is a plant of many namesthe palm-lily, asphodel, cordyline Australia of the botanist, and the ti or whanake of the Maori. Its tall trunks and sword like leaves are found everywhere in the rural parts of the country. To South Island natives the ti-kouka, as it is usually called there, was something more than a landscape ornament or a shade for the tribal altar of incantation. It was their sweets tree; it supplied the sugar they loved as the stem and taproot have a sweet sap that made them a prized delicacy. When a cabbage tree is broken it shoots up and grows a new head of leaves.This power of renewal was the subject of proverbs (Orball,1996:97).

Conclusions
Although there are lots of differences in the two countrys climates, nature in both countries has had an important role in forming their culture. Nature guarded by gods and signs of natural elements are seen in the carvings, art, literature, and legends in both cultures. The existence of sacred trees and water and other natural elements emphasises the role of natural elements as cultural symbols. For Maori, trees that played an important role in their daily life and were used as food or for making hunting equipment or buildings were more important than those which were rarely found. The common trees were worshiped and have entered into proverbs and literature and most most of them are native or available in different parts of the country. In Iran because of the arid climate the people always wished for paradise and they tended to create ideal places to live, so all sacred water and trees from this perspective are symbols of paradise, as seen in Persian gardens, and most of the scared trees are exotic. The use of trees in abstract form emphasises the importance of these elements as a sign of culture in both large public squares where abstract and natural trees are used. At the small scale just natural trees are used but these still have cultural significance. Abstract forms of trees used as symbols do not define spaces in the examples in this paper. In Iran trees are used for embodying the idea of paradise and making the scenes for the story even while they work as a decorative fence. The rows of natural cypress trees in Iran are rooted in the traditional patterns of planting in Persian gardens. In New Zealand abstract tree forms are used for emphasising entrance or as symbolic columns. The use of a single tree in the centre of both small squares gives the spaces symbolic meaning. In all examples designers have used the most important trees to make vernacular spaces.

Figure 10: Single cabbage tree in public space (Ghavampour, 2011)

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Trees in all spaces work as identifying elements for people. People will mention the tree when asked for an address or when they recall their memory of this space. This anecdotal information has led to the current research where a full survey of the significance of natural elements for people in public spaces is to be undertaken.

References
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