Local and Vernacular Architecture of Iran, Bushehr — Documentary "In Longing for the Wind"
Hamid Akbari
Finalists of the 25th Memar Award — 1404
Winners of the 25th Memar Award — 1404
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Post-Revolution Residential Architecture
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.
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.
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.
Isfahan · 1997
Mohammadreza Ghanei is a prominent Iranian architect and co-founder of Polsheer Architects, recognized for his context-driven and sustainable designs. He has won multiple Memar Awards for landmark projects that successfully integrate modern forms with traditional Iranian architectural concepts.
Tehran · 2000
Behrouz Bayat co-founder of Naghsh-e-Jahan Pars consulting engineers.
Isfahan
Mohammadreza Ghanei is a prominent Iranian architect and co-founder of Polsheer Architects, recognized for his context-driven and sustainable designs. He has won multiple Memar Awards for landmark projects that successfully integrate modern forms with traditional Iranian architectural concepts.
Tehran
Dariush Shahnavaz is an Iranian architect recognized for his contributions to contemporary residential architecture and his success in the Memar Awards. His work frequently features clean, modernist lines and a focus on the integration of natural light and internal courtyards.
Tehran
Dariush Shahnavaz is an Iranian architect recognized for his contributions to contemporary residential architecture and his success in the Memar Awards. His work frequently features clean, modernist lines and a focus on the integration of natural light and internal courtyards.
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
Behrooz Pakdaman is a veteran Iranian architect and urban designer. He holds a Master of Architecture from the University of Tehran (1975) and a Master of Architecture in Urban Design from Rice University in the United States (1977). He has served as a professor at the Faculty of Architecture at Azad University of Tehran, where he has trained generations of architects. Pakdaman's career spans both practice and academia, with notable projects including Mashhad's metro station design, which was nominated for the Aga Khan Award for Architecture in 2007. He has won awards for youth club designs and low-cost housing projects, and has presented numerous lectures on contemporary Iranian architecture and urban design.
Tehran
Mohammadreza Nikbakht is an Iranian architect born in Tehran in 1963. He is a practicing architect and academic who has been active in the Iranian architecture scene for several decades. He served as a juror for the 15th Memar Architecture Award (2015), alongside Farhad Ahmadi, Seyyed Reza Hashemi, Han Tumertekin, and Arshia Mahmoudi.
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 · 2011
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
Tehran
Hossein Naseri is an Iranian architect recognized for his contributions to contemporary residential architecture and his recognition in the Memar Awards. His practice often emphasizes structural honesty and the use of traditional materials in modern geometric patterns.
Tehran
Rashid Komarloo is an Iranian architect recognized for his contributions to contemporary Iranian architecture and his success in national awards. His work often focuses on residential projects that balance modernist aesthetics with the cultural and climatic needs of the region.
Mazandaran
Shahriar Ghadimi is a prominent Iranian architect and urban planner best known for his work with Sharestan Consultants and heritage preservation. His work balances modernist principles with deep respect for traditional Iranian contexts, earning him multiple recognitions in major national awards.
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
Amirhossein Taheri is a prominent Iranian architect known for his 'Metamorphosis Method' and his focus on the relationship between architecture and its environment. He has been a winner and multiple-time finalist in the Memar Awards for his innovative residential and public projects.
Tehran
Behrouz Bayat co-founder of Naghsh-e-Jahan Pars consulting engineers.
Building Materials
Mehrdad Yousefi · Managing Director
