Teheran, Iran

“Designing in Teheran” Building A

BENETTON world architecture competition

Context… The project is originated from an acuity investigation about some feature, characteristic, peculiarity and potential of area A. The area has trapezoidal form and it is born from three axis intersection: the chaotic and commercial Vali asr Ave and the secondary Salmak Street and Tajrish Square. Only the est front is a blind side because there is an old preexistent build that has a residential and commercial typology.

Lineway… We want to create from these characteristics a special space of interruption, like a conceptual fracture, as a formal, spatial, historical and cultural heritage, between the preexistent context and the new multistore building. It was created a “line-way”, or “passage-way”, a linear public open space that connects immediately Vali asr Ave and Tajrish Square, furthermore it allows the directly access to some commercial activities and to the big central court, that is surrounded by volumes of the new building.

Contents… The big volume, like a “G” figure, is the basement where are allocated the three commercial units. It became the ground of three volume blocks A-B-C, that are designated to office and residential space. These volumes have different elevations and they create gapes and prospetic cutting spaces, but they keep the original form of batch: the trapezoid. From the intersection between the three elevated blocks and their basement, the volume “G”, are generated new public open spaces, like a multilevel green squares, that they keep the functional flows of office spaces.

Materials… It is adopted elementary and simply materials, like concrete with colors additives, for example white color, to maintain a continuity material effects in the three volumes. These volumes appear like a three independent blocks but realty they belong to one original block. Therefore the flooring of central square and the sidewalk have the same pavement treatment. Only colors of clothes, bags and accessories that are exhibited in the shop windows of commercial units are emphasized, encased in the light. The light is reflected from surrounded wall, that creates a white warm atmosphere. Like the treatment of a blind side of the east front, adjoining to the old fabric, that is covered with some three-dimensional elements, made of white plastic material, that have a curvilinear cross section. They sometimes became a little container for flowers or plants and they sometimes became a little container of light, color led that create a play light effects.

Face-work… It was created an element of continuity along all perimeter of original trapezoidal volume, with a cover façade, made of metallic material. It is conceived like a membrane, a diaphragm, a veil, a permeable element that delimits and separates the inside from the outside reciprocally; to protect, to keep its magic world that there is indoor.

Europaconcorsi Beta

“Designing in Teheran” Building A