On the first anniversary of the earthquake in Bam, American Institute of Iranian Studies (AIIrS) Executive Director, Dr. Erica Ehrenberg, traveled to the site to see the situation on the ground. Prior to her visit, Dr. Ehrenberg attended a conference on “Bam, Past & Future,” held at the Library of Congress on December 14, 2004, and organized by AIIrS Senior Fellow Dr. Mina Marefat. In Tehran, Ehrenberg met twice with Mr. Iradj Kalantari, principal of Bavand Consultants and the architect in charge of the special advisory architectural committee on the reconstruction initiative. Design competitions have been held, but a staggering amount of work lies ahead and global attention should be called to coordinated international initial rescue and subsequent rebuilding efforts, necessities brought home once again by the Asian tsunami exactly one year after the destruction of Bam.