The ceremony for the 18th Memar Award was held in October 2018. The competition of this round, as in previous years, was conducted in two stages. In the first stage — held on a knock-out basis on 1 and 2 September — 130 projects were carried through to the semifinal from among 297 entries that had submitted their documents in the four groups of Residential: Individual Dwellings, Residential: Apartment Buildings, Renovation and Public Buildings.
The second-stage jury was held on 29 and 30 September. Thirty-four projects went through to the final, and of these, 16 were chosen as winners and honoured projects.
The jurors of this round of the Memar Award were: Shamil Mohammadzadeh, Mehrdad Iravanian, Bernard Dror, Mohammadreza Ghoddousi and Zdenek Frank (Czech Republic).
As had been announced in the Memar Award call, Reza Aliabadi (Canada) was to be one of the jurors but, because of unforeseen circumstances, could not attend in Iran. Bernard Dror accepted our invitation and joined the jury.
Friends who attended past Memar Award ceremonies will recall that in some years short films about architects and urban spaces were screened on the occasion — for instance films on Abdolaziz Farmanfarmaian, Kamran Diba, "Suspension," "From Hosseiniyeh Ershad to the British Embassy Garden," and so on. The lecture by Professor Gomez at Khaneh Como — the work of architect Mehdi Alizadeh — provided the occasion for a film about Alizadeh to be made on site, screened at this year's ceremony, with the architect also delivering a short address.
Judging criteria
- Creativity and innovation in design, and innovation in the use of materials and building technology;
- Creative engagement with the project's particular problems — economic limits, site conditions (dimensions and proportions), legal and urban regulations, and technical difficulties;
- Precision and innovation in the design of details;
- Attention to the surrounding environment and climate, environmental values and social commitments.
It goes without saying that the final judgement on each project will not be a score assigned to each of the criteria above with a numerical average taken; it will be a judgement on the project's totality.
Programme and method of judging
Projects are divided into four groups — Residential: Individual Dwellings, Residential: Apartment Buildings, Renovation and Public Buildings — and the following stages are followed for each group:
- All projects of a group are placed before the jurors at once. After viewing them all, those projects on which all jurors agree as rejected are set aside; even a single juror's vote to retain a project keeps it in.
- Among the semifinal projects, each juror tags seven of their preferred works. Projects not chosen by any juror are eliminated; the rest pass to the next stage.
- From among the finalists, each juror separately ranks their first, second and third places. The first place earns 3 points, the second 2, and the third 1. The sum of all jurors' points determines the ranking.
- The jurors may consider some finalists worthy of special recognition; once the others agree, this becomes final.
Jurors
The five jurors of this round of the Memar Award were Shamil Mohammadzadeh, Mehrdad Iravanian, Bernard Dror, Mohammadreza Ghoddousi, and Zdenek Frank (Czech Republic).
Results
Residential: Individual Dwellings
1st Place: Aban House, Isfahan (10 points)
2nd Place: Villa No. 12, Mazandaran (9 points)
3rd Place: Bardsir Refugees Shelter, Kerman (8 points)
Honoured: Jalal-Abad Villa · Natel Weekend Villa
Residential: Apartment Buildings
1st Place: Square House, Isfahan (10 points)
2nd Place: No.30 Residential Building, Tehran (8 points)
3rd Place: Five Plus One, Tehran (6 points)
Renovation
1st Place: A House Between Two Pines, Zahedan (10 points)
2nd Place: Passway for Kalat-e-Koshtaran, Qeshm Island (8 points)
3rd Place: Bazaar Restaurant, Tehran (7 points)
Public Buildings
1st Place: The Noor-e Mobin Charity Organization G2 Primary School, Semnan (12 points)
2nd Place: Salt Palace, Aran and Bidgol (8 points)
3rd Place: DA Restaurant & Banquet Hall, Khuzestan (4 points)
Honoured: Arseh-e Miyan (Bamland) · Abr Piyadeh
For the jurors' detailed critique and dialogue on each of the winning and honoured projects, see the dedicated article for each project in this issue.
