This tourism and restaurant complex is situated on the northern hillside of Shiraz, at the city's main entrance, and takes its name from the dwelling place of the Iranian poet Bakouyeh Shirazi, which provides the design's core identity. Creating harmony between the mountain's natural structure and the complex's needs and functions, while defining a space for interaction between the two, has afforded transparency, visual dynamism, spatial fluidity, and maximum connectivity between interior and exterior.
On the existing site, two cement foundations from the past were present, and every effort was made, in keeping with minimal intervention, to make maximum use of the existing structures. One of the project's key aspects is the experience of interior space. The cave entrance canopy, besides providing shade, has been placed to prevent rockfall. Due to the topography, the need for vertical circulation at the lowest point was self-evident. The quality of the mountain and the urban landscape were identified as the two principal potentials.
We have interpreted the bridge as a fresh layer in the city -- one that clearly and tangibly represents a symbolic new step toward a reciprocal understanding of the city, with the use of steel and glass plainly signalling its expansion as a new stratum. The differences in elevation, together with the natural and artificial terracing, have ensured that while the complex reads as a unified mass at first encounter, terraces and porches facing the city are created -- the first points in Shiraz upon which the sunrise falls.
The endeavour was to activate the site's existing natural potentials by adding new elements, such as combining the cave's natural ceiling with a new roof, organising the space, and juxtaposing volumes.