23rd Memar Award — Jury Report

The 23rd Memar Award competition, like previous editions, was conducted in two stages on the 11th, 12th, and 13th of Shahrivar 1402 (September 2-4, 2023). In the first stage, held as an elimination round, from among 226 projects that had submitted their documentation in four categories — Individual Dwellings, Apartment Buildings, Renovation, and Public Buildings — 119 projects advanced to the semifinal round. Two projects withdrew from the competition.

The second stage of judging took place on the 15th and 16th of Mehr 1402 (October 7-8, 2023). 38 projects reached the final stage, from which 13 projects were selected as winners.

The jury members for this edition of the Memar Award were: Ms. Nasrin Seraji, and Messrs. Faramarz Sharifi, Hossein Sheikhzeineddin, Shamil Mohammadzadeh, and Han Tumertekin from Turkey.

Those who have attended the Memar Award ceremonies in past years will have witnessed that on certain occasions, short films about architects, urban spaces, and other subjects have been screened. These have included films about Abdolaziz Farmanfarmaian, Kamran Diba, "Suspension," "From Hosseiniyeh Ershad to the British Embassy Garden," "Baluchestan," "Gil-e Va," and others. This year, the film "A Conversation with Mehdi Alizadeh" was screened.

The judging criteria and methodology for the Memar Award projects are as follows:

• Creativity and innovation in design, and innovation in the use of materials and building technology
• Creative confrontation with the specific challenges of the project, including: economic constraints, specific site conditions in terms of dimensions and scale, legal regulations and procedures (especially in cities), technical difficulties, etc.
• Precision and innovation in detail design
• Attention to the surrounding environment and climatic conditions, environmental values, and social commitments

It is self-evident that the final judgment of each project is not made by assigning a score to each of the above criteria and averaging the scores, but rather by judging the project as a whole.

Projects are divided into four categories: Apartment Buildings, Individual Dwellings, Public Buildings, and Renovation. The following stages are followed for the projects in each category: