TEHRAN — The Golestan Palace World Heritage Site has entered the second phase of a comprehensive conservation and restoration program following nearly six months of emergency measures, documentation and detailed assessment of damage sustained during the 40-day war.
Afarin Emami, director of the Golestan Palace World Heritage complex, said emergency restoration of damaged sections is now underway, with priority given to preventing secondary damage before the start of the rainy season.
Over the past six months, the complex has carried out a series of measures under an emergency comprehensive conservation plan, including hazard removal, safeguarding, prevention of secondary damage, documentation and detailed assessment of the damage sustained during the conflict.
With the completion of this stage and specialist assessments now carried out, Golestan Palace has entered the second phase of its comprehensive conservation and restoration program. A series of restoration projects has begun with the aim of stabilizing historic structures, preventing further deterioration and protecting the site’s historic fabric and collections.
One of the priority projects is the restoration of the pitched roof of Abyaz Palace, together with the metal and wooden elements of its roof trusses and beams. Emami said these sections were damaged during the war by shrapnel and projectiles resulting from explosions in neighboring buildings.
The wooden and metal doors and windows of Abyaz Palace, as well as storage facilities housing historic collections, including textiles and ethnographic objects, will also undergo emergency restoration.
Emergency restoration of the wooden doors and windows of Takht-e Marmar is also planned, covering the veranda, adjoining structures and related buildings on the eastern and western sides of the complex extending toward Khalvat-e Karim Khani.  
Emami said emergency restoration is also planned for damaged sections of plasterwork and painted wall and veranda decorations at Emarat-e Badgir, as well as for the building’s wooden doors and windows.  
Emergency restoration of damaged roof sections of Chador Khaneh has also begun. 
Restoration of the Talar-e Zoruf (Containers’ Hall) is also included in the emergency program, while work is being initiated on the brickwork of the facade of Takht-e Marmar. Some of the bricks were loosened or separated by blast waves.
Emami also announced a joint initiative with the UNESCO National Commission of Iran for emergency restoration of additional historic buildings within the Golestan Palace complex.
Alongside restoration projects financed through national funds, joint work is underway on the emergency restoration of wooden doors, windows and orsi — traditional Iranian wooden lattice windows — in buildings on the northern side of the Golestan Palace complex.
The program covers structures including the Main Museum Hall, Gallery, Special Museum, Ivory Hall, Talar-e Zoruf, Howz Khaneh and Talar-e Brelian. The latter is also known in English as the Brilliant Hall.  
Given the sensitivity and historical value of these architectural elements, the preliminary stages of the program have been pursued through specialist cooperation.
As part of the initiative, preliminary damage assessments, detailed restoration specifications, cost estimates and required technical analyses have been prepared in cooperation with experts from the UNESCO National Commission of Iran, the Golestan Palace World Heritage complex and the General Directorate of National and World Heritage Sites.
A list of master craftsmen and conservators with relevant specialist experience has also been prepared and submitted to the UNESCO National Commission of Iran for the required legal selection procedures. This part of the project is expected to enter its implementation phase soon.
Emami said the overall objective of the measures is to stabilize the condition of the historic buildings and collections, prevent the spread of existing damage and establish the conditions for the comprehensive conservation and restoration of Golestan Palace to proceed in a systematic, specialist and phased manner.