Kamran Safamanesh is an architect, urban designer and historian whose main research interest is history and theory related to the formation of the built environment. He studied at the University of Tehran and at the University of California at Los Angeles and Berkeley, and holds master degrees in architecture and urban design from both. He has taught in Iranian colleges and universities since 1983 and has lectured at academic institutions nationally and internationally. He founded the Urban Research Institute in Tehran, which has conducted architectural, social and urban formation research in Iran since 1980. The center now holds an extensive archive on the city of Tehran and its historical buildings, and also more generally on Qajar architecture and contemporary buildings in Iran. He is the principal partner of Safamanesh and Associates architects and urban planners, which has been responsible for many projects including new cultural and educational buildings, urban revitalization and the rehabilitation of city centers and their historical streets and complexes. The renovation of gardens and buildings are among some of the projects in which he has been involved during the last decades. He is currently completing a detailed study of .The History of Tehran and another on Principles for Evaluation of Historical Building and Complexes., whilst previous publications include The Story of Two Gardens (1990) and Configuration and Evolution of Tehran's Arteries and Roads (1989), as well as many articles in specialist architectural journals and historical publications.