Azadi Tower by Mahdi Kalhor licensed under the CC BY 3.0
This week’s crazy building is Azadi Tower in Tehran, Iran.
This remarkable structure is also known as “Freedom Tower” and marks the west entrance to Iran’s capital city. Created in 1971, its intricate patterns and bold swooping lines combine several architectural styles, both Islamic and post-Islamic.
The tower is built with a whopping 8,000 blocks of white marble. Their shapes were calculated using computers—which seems ordinary today, but was an incredible feat 45 years ago.
A small museum is housed beneath the tower, and there an observatory at the top, where one can look out over the city from nearly 150 feet off the ground.
Sadlly, its architect Hossein Amanat, a Baha’i, was driven out of the country due to his faith during the Revolution of 1979. His majestic structure is still there, waiting for a time when it can stand for freedom once again.
