Project Description
FROM THE ARCHITECTS:
Tehran and Iran has in recent times
been the center of a lot of publicity, the new negotiations hint at this market
place opening up both to investment and international consultants.
Kamvari Architects for the best
part of the last decade has been actively involved in proposals and projects in
Iran, as the only RIBA registered practice with the presence there they have
been able to secure a reputation for innovation and design excellence.
We were invited in early 2015 to
participate in a competition for a mixed-use scheme in district 6 off
Tehran. The brief required us to produce
a building, which contained retail to the base with offices above. The scheme
would consist of around 300,000 square feet.
“Tehran deserves an international
building, our design proposal is driven by the pursuit of excellence, material
and sustainable innovation.”
In this case the proposals were
strongly influenced by the local context. The site is located in a region renowned for its fabric and textile shops.
The proposal uses racks and stacking as well as hanging drapes as seen within
fabric and textile shops as a means of exploring a pre-formative skin and
building volume which caters for our client’s requirements whilst allowing for
new and innovative architectural and material ideas to be explored.
The building envelope also considers
environmental aspects such as solar gains as well as comfort issues such as
glare. The building open on three sides has different and specific solar loads
in accordance to orientation. In order to combat this issue the louvered façade which has the ability to completely close and open is perforated using a
differentiated pattern created using parametric design tools which will reduce
overall heat gains on the interior of the building whilst allowing for ample
daylight to penetrate the floor plates reducing the need for electromechanical
lighting and cooling. The intelligent skin therefore allows the building to
build on a long history of sustainable design within Iran and create a
building, which will have a reduced energy footprint.
In addition to this we catered for
a public activity through open space at the base as well as the roof top and
utilizing dormant surfaces such as the eastern façade (which by planning law has
to remain blank in order for the adjacent building to connect to) which would
allow to building to become a vibrant addition to the streetscape. The
consideration of public space within a private development such as this for the
city of Tehran is a novel idea here rather than maximizing floor space we concentrated on increasing the
value of space created by increasing footfall to the retail space as well as
creating quality external space for the offices for a formal social environment
to be created.
The intention here will be
distinguish the building in accordance to its usages while maintaining a
coherent look and feel within the context.
The overall aim here is to create a
new precedent in terms of quality retail and office space for the city of
Tehran. The design greatly influenced by the local region and the long and
illustrious history of architecture within Iran, makes every attempt to use
advanced designed tools as a means of creating a sustainable and innovative
building.