TEHRAN-Seven projects from Iran are among the winners of the 16th World Architecture Festival (WAF) announced on December 1 in Marina Bay, Singapore.

The Iranian works were selected as the winning projects of various categories. In addition, four projects were included in the highly commended list presented by the jury panel including 140 judges from 68 countries, Mehr reported on Monday.

“Vast Gallery & Artist Residency” in Tehran by Persian Garden Studio is the winners of In the Completed Buildings: Retrofit category.

Located in the historic center of Tehran with an area of 1,120 sqm, Vast Gallery & Artist Residency, originally was built in the 1930s and consisted of three residential floors and five retail stores.

With renovation and the new programming for rehabilitation of the building after 40 years of abandonment, two residential units were transformed into six smaller units and an office space was added to the program. Retail stores were converted into a cafe, pastry shop, and a gift shop, inviting visitors to the complex and highlighting their significant impact on the project's identity thriving from daily communication with the neighborhood residents.

The purpose of defining, designing, and executing such projects is to attract a new generation to the center of Tehran. In recent years, several neighborhoods have lost their identity as residential areas have taken on commercial or administrative use. By creating multipurpose projects in which residential use is an essential fragment, part of the population will return to these neighborhoods to live, work, and create.

In the Future Project: Civic category, “Border Village Community Center” in Eshaqabad village, Sistan-Baluchestan province, by Nextoffice, Studio of Architectural Research & Design has won the main prize.

Located in one of the remote parts of Iran (near the Pakistan border), Eshaqabad has both geographically and contextually the farthest distance from the central parts of the country, therefore, suffers from shortages of basic social infrastructure. “Rereading the existing situation with the help of professional facilitators in empowering local communities, we discovered that a multipurpose community center with a focus on crafts, skills-based learning, and encouraging interactional activities can have significant added value to the life of the rural,” the architect of the project explained.

Taking a careful financial approach, this spontaneous gesture aspired to use locally available resources, instead of employing non-local contractors. The educational spaces contain a preschool, classes, and a library. The public spaces include a Divan-ja (men’s Gathering Hall), an open amphitheater, and a multi-purpose hall where self-development workshops can be held. Various courtyards, customized for particular ranges of age, connect all these areas.

Another project by Nextoffice titled “Hormoz Eco Resort” in Hormoz Island, Hormozgan province, has won in the Future Project: Competition Entries category.

The project simultaneously refers to the structure, the urban and rural fabric of southern Iran's settlements, and corresponds to the climate of the region, and the form, by paying homage to the indigenous heritage, mud-brick structures, and wooden textures found in these areas.

This project has about 8,800 sqm of area, out of which 4,800 sqm are allocated to residential spaces, including 18 suites, 11 budget accommodations, 11 villas, and an additional 4,000 sqm are dedicated to recreational zone, including a restaurant, café, kitchen, sports club, and service areas. It is hopefully anticipated that in future operational scenarios, the service spaces will be managed by local people, contributing to economic empowerment, revitalization, and the flourishing of indigenous arts while improving cultural development.

Also designed by Nextoffice, “Shiraz Cultural and Recreational Complex: The Thickened Earth” in Shiraz, Fars province, has been selected as the winning project in Future Project: Leisure Led Development category.

“By delving into the authentic architecture of Shiraz, we identified two fundamental elements, the grand bazaar, and the central courtyard, in organizing the urban space. The expansive public plaza was defined to serve as a social space, catering to both the city and the complex itself for interaction, hosting events, exhibitions, and diverse ceremonial activities,” the architect explained about the project.

By dividing the land into different elevation layers and placing programmatic units among them, we could create different platforms aligned with the topography. In addition to enabling the natural light reception and visual extension for each platform, the ceiling of each level could be considered the courtyard of the next. So, more public spaces were provided, and the buildings are merged with the site which contributed to economic efficiency (utilizing the thermal capacity) as well as project feasibility (cut and fill balance).

Nextoffice has also won the main prize of INSIDE: Retail category with its “Bijou Shop in Tehran Grand Bazaar”. The project included the interior design of a jewelry store. “It is as if along a dark narrow corridor, the store's walls have thickened, and irregular scratches on the stones become a platform for showcasing the products,” the architect said.

Considering the security issues, multiple measures were taken which can be categorized into two major areas. Firstly, the development of filters for the store's entrance (including CCTV cameras, roll-up metal doors, and exit detection lights) and secondly, the protection of displayed items on the walls and stands (utilizing same-material covers on cabinets, attaching them to the display area through cables or light sensors).

Ultimately, it can be said that in this design, the organic nature of the deep underground mine is combined with the geometric order of human-made elements -as the characteristic of modern architectural spaces today- something between random organic shapes and a matrix grid.

Kalbod Studio is the winner of Future Project: House category with its “Digging for Light (Ganats Villa)” project in the village of Ernan, central city of Yazd, which is adjacent to a mount where human tracks from 12,000 years ago exists. It is also close to a seasonal lake, to lots of dried qanats, a serious of underground historic water canals, and to numerous villages without proper public, health and educational facilities.

“To add something to community, we established two other programs: school and water reservoir,” the architect said about the project. In the home, spaces are illuminated by either direct or indirect light. Direct lights entering from domes or glass pool are all skylights. School’s sunken pathway was inspired by Yazd alleys to create shade, thermal comfort and rhythmic play with light and shadow. Classrooms and library enjoy both skylights and light coming from the pathway.

Water reservoir connected with existing qanats serves community and provides water for agricultural fields. It takes is form from traditional reservoirs of the region and has a unique presence with its windcatcher on the landscape. The windcatcher/light catcher provides air circulation for the underground pathway. This pathway joins all three programs and is a reinterpretation of qanat system with its domed skylights.

“Kuzeh Valley” in Rudehen city, Tehran province, by FMZD is another Iranian project selected as the winner of the Future Project: Residential category.

The main strategy in the “Kuzeh Valley” project is to create a structure with the aim of coexistence and maximum participation in public space. The created space is designed to return to the original concept of a street, a space for children to play and neighbors to interact.

The geometry of the project is formed by interconnected and inhabitable urns, in a way that residents forget the concept of a city and the hustle and bustle associated with gray buildings. On the other hand, these inhabitable urns with warm colors are the best elements for harmonizing with the surrounding plains.

The four Iranian projects that have been commended by the festival include “Ivankhaneh” by Dida Office in the Completed Buildings: Housing category, “Namak Abroud Plaza” by FMZD and MARZ in the Completed Buildings: Shopping category, “Nefaar” by Nextoffice in Future Projects: House category, and “35” by Shid Architects in Inside: Workplace (Small) category.

The World Architecture Festival (WAF) is an annual festival and awards ceremony, one of the most prestigious events dedicated to the architecture and development industries. It is the only event where around 550 shortlisted architects present their projects live in crit rooms to a judging panel that selects the prize winners across 44 categories.

Photo: “Shiraz Cultural and Recreational Complex: The Thickened Earth” by Nextoffice, the winner of Future Project: Leisure Led Development category.

SS/SAB