What can you do with a historic water reservoir that has been rendered obsolete by modern technology? The answer, in this instance, was to insert a new structure into the main cistern to protect the existing fabric and divide the space into two levels with different functions - a water museum below, and an arena for Iranian ancient sports above. The main dome was restored using the traditional 'konopoosh' system of construction. Converting the reservoir brought new life to a monumental square that had fallen into disuse.

Source: Aga Khan Trust for Culture