Notions of identity, culture, tradition and history are key to understanding the contemporary architecture of Iran. Darab Diba explains how the establishment of the Islamic Republic of Iran in 1979 broke with an approach that for almost two centuries had directly equated modernity with Western influence. A revival of interest in Iran's own Iran-ness initially manifested itself in a retrospective interest in historic styles, but has more recently shifted into a sophisticated appreciation of the essence of the country's heritage.