A home for Persian culture
Iranian-Americans have thrived for decades, yet two concerns persist in families across the diaspora: keeping children and grandchildren connected to Persian language, culture and tradition, and presenting Persian heritage proudly to the country that has become home.
There is no shared place, physical or digital, for that kind of immersion. Pardis is designed to be one: a living community that preserves Persian identity for future generations and welcomes everyone who admires Persian civilization.
What the name means
Pardis is the Persian word for an enclosed garden. Through Greek and Latin it became the English word paradise.
pairidaēza → paradeisos → paradise
A Persian garden is a whole world in miniature: water, shade, order and abundance. Pardis applies that idea to a whole community.
The lotus
The plan for Pardis takes the form of the lotus rosette carved into the stones of Persepolis, a symbol of renewal that has lasted more than 2,500 years. At its center is a plaza and a great pool, and around it each petal holds a different part of life. You can see the same idea on the home page of Virtual Pardis, with the Agora at the center and a district on each petal. Read more about Persepolis.
Built in stages
Stage one: Virtual Pardis. An online home for Persian culture, open to Persian speakers and friends of Persian heritage everywhere: gatherings, events, language, poetry and art. This is where you are now.
Stage two: Mini Pardis. A first physical place on a smaller scale, where the Pardis experience of culture, gardens and community comes to life.
Stage three: Pardis. The full ecotown and cultural destination.
Learning from the Persian garden
Persian architecture solved the problems of a hot, dry climate long before air conditioning: courtyards, shade, wind towers and water. Pardis brings those principles together with modern, sustainable building. You can see them at work in Yazd, and in the gardens of Fin and Eram.
Standing on others' shoulders
Pardis belongs to a long line of thinkers who imagined better places to live. Among them are Plato, Rumi, Thomas More, Ebenezer Howard, Frank Lloyd Wright, Hassan Fathy, Nader Khalili, Jane Jacobs, Christopher Alexander and Moshe Safdie. Read about several of them in the Visionaries section, and find the full list on pardisproject.com.
Who is behind it
Pardis is the dream project of Hodjat Ghadimi, Ph.D., Emeritus Associate Professor of Design and Development Planning at West Virginia University, together with a team of planners, designers and technologists.