Abstract
Pigeon-house is an extraordinary form of architecture in Iran. Pigeon-houses were mainly built for the use of pigeon fertilizer. According to literature sources, it has a history of about 700-1000 years but, the best ones were built during the Safavid Dynasty and the kingdom of king Abbas the great(1587 A.D.).
From 1587 A.D. to the end of Safavid Dynasty, Isfahan was the capital. Best models of pigeon-houses were built in Isfahan and the king himself was a patron of building lots. The city had the potential for such type of agricultural architecture for the river Zayandeh-Rood made Isfahan a city suitable for agriculture; the river which was itself a reason for the city to be established.
There are three main territorial characters to this story, one is the city: a geographical and most visible territory; second is the pigeon-house: the architectural type existing for a long time flourished during an era of wealth and political stability, and the third is the cultural-politicalterritory of Safavid dynasty.
In this paper, these three territorial characters and their relationships are defined centering pigeon-house as the product of a long history of mankind marking his territory throughout the history by means of architecture.