2002
Memar AwardPost-Revolution Residential Architecture
Jury Panel
Iranian architect (b. 1943, Zanjan). Masters from Tehran University (1967), doctorate from University of Pennsylvania under Louis Kahn (1976). Known for projects including Shomal House, Afshar House, Performing Art Center, and Iranian Embassy in Albania. Subject of critical review in Memar 03.
Kambiz Nazeramoo is an Iranian architect and academic. He has been active in both architectural practice and education, contributing to the discourse on contemporary Iranian architecture. He served as a jury member for the 2nd Grand Memar Award in 2002, evaluating post-revolution residential architecture across Iran.
Iranian architect, critic, and editor (b. 1959, Mashhad). Studied at University of Genoa (1985). Worked with Renzo Piano Building Workshop (1986-1993) on projects including Kansai Airport. Co-founded Memar Magazine (1998) — the very publication this database documents. Published ~150 articles and 3 books. Teaching at Azad and Soureh universities since 1993. Co-founded POL Institute, Isfahan.
Mehdi Alizadeh (born 1935) is one of Iran's most distinguished architects, known for designing some of the country's most iconic public and institutional buildings. He graduated in Architecture from the University of Tehran, Faculty of Fine Arts, and built a remarkable career spanning over four decades. His portfolio includes Hotel Laleh (formerly the Tehran Intercontinental Hotel), one of Tehran's most recognizable modernist landmarks; the Iran Center for Management Studies (now Imam Sadegh University); Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman; the Ararat Sport Complex; the Central Office of Behshahr Industrial Group; and the Conference Center of Toseye Saderat Bank. Alizadeh also served as a technical leader at Ove Arup and Partners in London, bringing international structural engineering expertise to his practice. He served on the jury panels of the 2nd and 3rd Memar Awards (2002–2003), evaluating the best of contemporary Iranian architecture alongside Pritzker laureate Fumihiko Maki and AA School chairman Mohsen Mostafavi.
Iranian architect (1945-2006). Born in Qazvin. M.A. from Tehran University (1968). Career spanned three periods: National Iranian Steel Company (1968-79), Khanesazi-e-Iran and Isfahan Housing (1980-88), and founding director of Naghsh-e Jahan Pars Consulting Engineers (1988-2006). Won numerous competitions including National Library of Iran, Ministry of Energy HQ, and Export Development Bank. Won 2nd Place Memar Grand Award 2001 for Rafsanjan Sport Complex.
About This Edition
The 2nd Grand Memar Award focused on post-revolution residential architecture in Iran, examining the trajectory and quality of housing design from 1979 onward. Approximately 100 works were submitted for consideration, from which the five-member jury initially identified 200 notable residential projects as works of merit. Through subsequent rounds of deliberation, the panel narrowed this field to 20 selected works representing the finest achievements in three categories: Individual Dwellings, Apartment Buildings, and Residential Complexes. From these 20, the jury ranked the top five projects. The winning projects demonstrated a range of approaches to contemporary Iranian residential design, from the inventive spatial layering of the Sadri Residence in Isfahan to the vernacular sensibility of the Elahiyeh Residential Building in Tehran, and from the renovation-focused Navvab Safavi House to the conceptual experimentalism of House No. 3 in Shiraz. The award highlighted both the vitality and the challenges facing residential architecture in post-revolution Iran.
Statistics
Judging Process
The jury comprised five distinguished architects: Mehdi Alizadeh, Hadi Mirmiran, Ali Akbar Saremi, Kambiz Nazeramoo, and Kamran Afshar Naderi. All submissions were reviewed collectively by the full panel. In the first round, the jury identified approximately 200 works as 'good works' deserving recognition. Through progressive rounds of evaluation and discussion, the jury narrowed these to 20 selected works across three residential categories (Individual Dwellings, Apartment Buildings, and Residential Complexes). Finally, the top five projects were ranked by consensus, with the remaining 15 designated as jury selections.
1st Place
Isfahan · 1997
Mohammadreza Ghanei
محمدرضا قانعی
2nd Place
Tehran · 2000
Behrouz Bayat co-founder of Naghsh-e-Jahan Pars consulting engineers.
3rd Place
Honorable Mention
Tehran
Faryar Javaherian is an Iranian architect, curator, and author. Born in Mashhad, she was raised in Paris and educated in the United States, earning a Bachelor of Architecture with High Honors from the University of Texas at Austin in 1973, followed by a Master's in Urban Design from MIT and Harvard in 1976. She co-founded Gamma Consultants in 2004 with Fereydoun Bader, establishing the practice as a leading office in museum and Persian garden design in Iran. Her major built works include the Iranian Calligraphers Society Complex and Gardens (1995-1997), the Venus Glass Office Building (2005-2006), and the Aghdassieh Apartment Complex in Tehran (2007). She won the 2009 competition for the new French School in Tehran and completed the Calligraphy Museum of Iran in 2018. Beyond architecture, Javaherian has curated numerous exhibitions spanning architecture, landscape, photography, and cinema. She has worked as an art director and set decorator for ten Iranian films including Hamoon and The Pear Tree, cult classics of Iranian cinema directed by Dariush Mehrjui. She served on the Master Jury of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture in 2010 and on the jury of the 7th Memar Award (2007). In 2013, she received the Best Designer Award from Miras, and in 2014 she was named Architect of the Year by Memari & Sakhteman Magazine. She was a Visiting Scholar at MIT (2014-2015) and has lectured at Oxford, Cambridge, and Stanford. She is the author of Gardens of Iran: Ancient Wisdom, New Visions (2004) and Thirty Years of Solitude (2007), and a contributor and editor of Memar Magazine.
Tehran
BIOGPRAHY Behrooz Pakdaman was born in 1949. Master of Architecture; 1975, University of Tehran, Iran Master of Architecture in Urban Design, 1977, Rice University, USA Professor at the Faculty of Architecture, Azad University of Tehran PROJECT LIST Design for Youth Clubs in different regions of Iran, 1976 Design of Low Cost Housing in “Vavan”, Tehran,1985 Design of The Cultural Center of Togrol Tower Design of a new town for the employees of Sugar Cane Factory in the south of Iran (Khuzestan) City of Mashad’s Subway Station
Tehran
Mohammad Reza Nikbakht was born in Tehran, 1963. PROJECT LIST Niavaran Residential Complex Negaran Residential Building
Mazandaran
In 1999, he graduated from University of Tehran with a Master’s degree in Architecture, and founded the “Reza Aliabadi Building Workshop”. After completing a post-professional Master’s of Architecture at McGill University in 2006 and obtaining the OAA licence in 2010, the workshop was re-established as atelier Reza Aliabadi “rzlbd”. He has established a strong reputation in both national and international architectural communities. Local and global media have published many of rzlbd’s
Mazandaran
In 1999, he graduated from University of Tehran with a Master’s degree in Architecture, and founded the “Reza Aliabadi Building Workshop”. After completing a post-professional Master’s of Architecture at McGill University in 2006 and obtaining the OAA licence in 2010, the workshop was re-established as atelier Reza Aliabadi “rzlbd”. He has established a strong reputation in both national and international architectural communities. Local and global media have published many of rzlbd’s
Lavasan
Bahram Shokouhian was born in Paris 1969, received his M.Arch degree from the Faculty of Fine Arts, Tehran University. He has been the principal architect of Padiav Parth Architectural Group since 2000. Apart from having jury commended
Kordan
Firouz Firouz was born in a garden house in Tehran in 1954. He finished his architecture studies at Pratt University in New York in 1984, where he worked in close collaboration with Victoria Georgini for two years. Later in his professional pursuits he worked on adobe architecture with Hassan Fathi in Egypt for eight months between 1980 and 1981. In 1985 he started a partnership with Nasser Ahari. They established their design office in New York which was active until 1990. Ahari and Firouz Architecture Office carried out several administrative, commercial and residential
Tehran
Behrouz Bayat co-founder of Naghsh-e-Jahan Pars consulting engineers.
Shortlisted
Articles
Memar Award — 2002
Ceremony Photos
Sponsors
Building Materials
Mehrdad Yousefi · Managing Director