Kouh Soffe, Isfahan •Design Manager: Gholamreza Pasban Hazrat •Design Associates: Maryam Houshvar, Shahram Alba •Landscape Architect: Farhad Abolzia, Jalil Kor •Geology: Arash Sharifi •Pedology: Shojaeddin Fallahi •Historical Studies: Javad Mehdizadeh •Mechanical: Ahmad Hadad Kaveh •Electrical: Aliasghar Ghahremani •Structure-Civil: Hossein Hamed Azimi •Estimation: Abbas Fotouhi •Plans: Abdolghafor Raoufi, Mohammad Rahjou •Supervision: Gholamreza Pasban Hazrat (Senior Supervisor), Harmik Khodagholi Araghi (Coordination), Daryoush Abolzia (Supervision Director), Manouchehr Shahrokhi (Site Supervision). Kouh Soffe, situated to the south of Isfahan, overlooks the river, the verdant plain of the Zayandeh Rud, and the city of Isfahan. Since ancient times, this mountain has served as a gathering and recreation site, and today part of it functions as a mountain park with an urban role. In recent years, ill-considered interventions at odds with the natural character of the area have inflicted serious damage upon the mountain. Among them: the construction of a ring road between the mountain's northern face and the city, severing the connection between the two; the building of internal roads across the mountain's body; the seizure of land for a tank firing range; the diversion of Zayandeh Rud water to create a waterfall from the mountaintop; and the establishment of a public park on land beset with geological problems. The towering Soffe Mountain possesses exceptional conditions, attractions, and unique natural amenities, including: striking and imaginative formations in the mountain's body; numerous and varied valleys, passes, and peaks; the Soffe urban park at the mountain's base; the remains of Shah Dezh (Demon's Fortress) atop the mountain; beautiful caves and the three springs of Pachenar, Khachik, and Gol-e Zard along the mountainside; and a suitable elevation with varied topography for sports and recreational activities such as walking, hill climbing, mountaineering, and rock climbing. The overarching strategic ideas for the revival and reorganization of this area took shape at three scales: Large scale (Soffe and the city): Reconnecting the city of Isfahan with the natural landscape of Soffe by relocating the ring road to the rear (south) of Kouh Soffe; transforming the ring road from a highway into an urban street; creating a green link between Isfahan's two great natural assets (Soffe and the Zayandeh Rud) via Hakim Nezami Street, conceived as a green riparian axis (from mountain to river). Medium scale (Soffe lands): Zoning the foothill and mountain lands according to the terrain's carrying capacity while preserving the natural state; designating the natural basin southeast of the mountains (enclosed between the peaks), approximately 200 hectares, as an environmental and wildlife zone (a natural zoo); converting the military land use (tank firing range) to tourism and hospitality uses in partnership with the army; restoring the Shah Dezh fortress atop Soffe as a historical-military museum and cultural complex; relocating the cable car to prevent destruction of nature and positioning it on the western side below the summit; establishing facilities and amenities for nighttime public presence atop Soffe to view the city of Isfahan (Night Garden); converting the new ring road south of the mountain into a green corridor; and developing hospitality facilities at sites compatible with nature within the existing campus and its expansion. Small scale (implementation plans): Preparing a development plan for the current park in accordance with natural conditions and land capacity; restoring the springs of Pachenar, Khachik, and Cheshmeh Zard and creating appropriate connections between them; constructing a complex as the "House of Zagros" in the mountain landscape; and organizing the pathways created on the mountainside while mapping the damage and losses inflicted upon nature. Kouh Soffe, Isfahan •Design manager: Gholamreza Pasban Hazrat •Design associates: Maryam Houshvar, Shahram Alba •Landscape architects: Farhad Abolzia, Jalil Kor •Geology: Arash Sharifi •Pedology: Shojaeddin Fallahi •Historical Studies: Javad Mehdizadeh •Mechanical: Ahmad Hadad Kaveh •Electrical: Aliasghar Ghahremani •Structure-Civil: Hossein Hamed Azimi •Estimate: Abbas Fotouhi •Plan: Abdolghafor Raoufi, Mohammad Rahjou •Supervisors: Gholamreza Pasban Hazrat, Harmik Khodagholi Araghi, Daryoush Abolzia, Manouchehr Shahrokhi. A section of the tree-lined connecting path from Pachenar Spring to the city (from mountain to river). A section of the Zagros hospitality complex. The severance of the connection between the city and the Hezar Jarib gardens by the highway and military land uses.
Two Projects by Sath-o-Sanat Industrial & Civil Consultants. Iranian Mineral Processing Research Centre •Location: Kavosh Research Town •Client: Ministry of Industries and Mines •Design date: 1992 •Total built area: 35,000 m² •Cost estimate: 45 billion Rials (1992). The primary objectives of this centre, located 60 kilometers west of Tehran along the Karaj-Qazvin freeway, are to conduct mineral processing research at both laboratory and semi-industrial scales, optimize processing procedures, and carry out mineralogical and chemical studies on exploration, mining, and mineral processing samples. This research centre, with a total built area of 35,000 square meters on a site of 8 hectares, consists of an administrative and laboratory complex of 7,500 square meters, a crushing and pilot building of 9,800 square meters, and service-utility spaces, warehouses, and test effluent basins. The Iranian Mineral Processing Research Centre has four laboratory divisions: mineralogy; chemistry; environment, safety, and occupational health; and processing laboratory. In addition, a mineral processing pilot unit with a capacity of two tons per hour and a maintenance and repair unit have been constructed and commissioned on site. The pilot facility has been designed and equipped so that the configuration and arrangement of equipment can be modified for different experiments. Iranian Mineral Processing Research Centre •Client: Ministry of Industries & Mines •Design date: 1992 •Total built area: 35,000 m² •Cost estimate: 45,000,000,000 Rials (1992)
Materials and Energy Research Centre •Location: Meshkin Abad •Client: Ministry of Science, Research and Technology •Design date: 1991 •Total built area: 28,000 m² •Cost estimate: 20 billion Rials (1991). This research-educational complex, situated in the Meshkin Abad area eight kilometers from Karaj, was designed in 1976-77 by the Arata Engineering Group (Farrokh Esalat, Bahman Behroush, Mahmoud Dadmanesh, and Alireza Khorshidian), which was later renamed Sath-o-Sanat after the revolution. The research section, with a built area of approximately 8,700 square meters, is a composite of 16 uniform units, each comprising a laboratory (of approximately 300 square meters) and adjacent researcher offices. These laboratories, thanks to the provision of underground service corridors and a modular infrastructure network within them, can accommodate various research functions and be repurposed as needed. The educational and administrative section, with a built area of 6,100 square meters, houses a 500-seat auditorium, two seminar halls, three classrooms, and a library across two floors of 1,400 square meters. Construction of the first phase of this project, with a built area of 10,000 square meters including the administrative section and seven laboratory units, commenced in 1977 and was completed in 1982. The interior architectural design and supervision of the project's second phase, from 1991 to 2001, was also carried out by Sath-o-Sanat Consulting Engineers. Materials & Energy Research Centre •Client: Ministry of Science, Research & Technology •Design date: 1991 •Total built area: 28,000 m² •Cost estimate: 20,000,000,000 Rials (1991)
Architecture of the Port of Loft. Emarat-e Khorshid Research Center. Architecture in Loft. Introduction to Loft. The historic port of Loft is one of the oldest settlements on Qeshm Island, a unique composition of natural phenomena and human-made structures situated on a headland in the island's northwest. Loft is one of the population centers of Salakh rural district in Qeshm county, Hormozgan province, located in a hot and very humid climatic zone with an average annual temperature of 26 degrees Celsius. The history of settlement in this area dates back to pre-Islamic times, and possibly to the Median period. The historic fabric. The presence of freshwater sources (Tal wells and existing cisterns in the area), maritime routes and the seafaring industry, valuable natural resources such as mangrove forests, a favorable strategic position, proximity to the Iranian mainland, protection from sea storms, and seasonal winds were likely among the factors that shaped Loft's formation. Loft extends linearly along the shoreline. Two fundamental factors played a decisive role in shaping this structure: Topography: to the east of Loft's old fabric, a hill called Kouh-e Shahr runs parallel to the coastline at a distance of approximately 170 meters, with Loft situated on its slope. The hill's extension in a northwest-southeast direction has limited development along this axis. Coastal extension: an economy based on the seafaring industry and related occupations, combined with the need to maximize exposure to the sea breeze, compelled the residents of Loft to build their homes as close to the sea as possible. As a result, Loft assumed an elongated structure that continued into its sub-structures. In other words, within this linear structure, a longitudinal axis serving as the main artery was essential, while the perpendicular access routes branching from this artery, functioning as secondary passages, shaped Loft in an irregular manner. The presence of irregular passage arteries in the southern sections testifies to the establishment of Loft's original core in this area. Moving along the passages northward, this irregularity diminishes and the network of passages assumes a more cohesive structure. The presence of rocky substrates, impermeable ground, and the terrain's topography have created a natural basin and reservoir for collecting surface water from torrential rains in Loft. The oppressive heat and intense evaporation compelled the area's inhabitants to dig wells into the heart of this reservoir for water storage, known as Tal wells (Tal Av: Tal meaning water). The depth of these wells, entirely hewn from rock, ranges from three to six meters, and their number matches the days of a leap year — 366. Apparently, people would open the mouth of one well each day of the year and use its water. Most of these wells are now filled with mud, and only about 60 remain usable, of which approximately 30 have been excavated from beneath the soil in recent years. The historic port of Loft is one of the oldest inhabited areas in the island of Qeshm. Its history extends to before Islam, most probably to the Median Empire. Some of the most important factors in the formation of the this port are: freshwater sources, sea routes and seafaring industry, natural resources as such seeforrests, proximity to Iran's mainland, being protected from hurricanes, and having seasonal winds. Influenced by the climate and local building materials, the architecture of Loft has particular characteristics: • The fabric of the village of Loft is a composite made up of individual neighboring units, that are all simple, one-story, and inward facing. Their porches are larger than those of other regions of Iran, because for half the year they function as a multipurpose space for many daily activities. These porches have been built in such a way as to take full advantage of the breeze. • Most habitable rooms, including the wind tower room, parlor, living room, bedroom, pantry, kitchen, and restrooms, are built directly behind the porch. The wind tower room plays an important climatic function, and in this region, it is the most pleasant room during the day. It is a place for the family to gather, or rest. Because of its flooring, wainscot paintings, and ornamentation, this room is differentiated from all the other spaces of the house. • The wind tower of Loft are either two, or four-sided and are often located in one of the corners of the house. To draw in more wind, two-sided wind tower face northeast to southwest, while four-sided ones can draw in the wind from all directions. Compared to the wind tower of central Iran, the ones here are larger while shorter in height. Their external form has three sections: facade, opening, and ornamentations over the inlets. There are three types of four-sided wind tower: single-inlet, double-inlet, and triple-inlet, where the single ones are the shortest, and the triple ones the tallest. • The mosques in Loft have distinct characteristics including the division of the overall space to summer and winter Shabestans, wood coverings, simple ornamentation, a pure spatial design, and use of tall, single minarets. Due to the particular religious and cultural beliefs of the region, unlike most mosques in Iran, the ones in Loft do not have a space designated for women. • The building ornaments in Loft are of two types. 1) Facade ornaments are often layered onto one another and have simple and diverse shapes. 2) The wind tower have more elaborate ornamentations of geometric patterns, splines or curves similar to primitive eslimis, patterns of stars, moon crescents, and suns, as well as simple crenation. These simple and often irregular patterns imply a primitivism that is at the same time original and pure. The ornaments are mostly made of plaster in combination with wood and brick facades. Every so often one can also see newer materials such as cement and concrete blocks. • The structural system here is flat beams over columns or load bearing walls, although there are also instances of arched structural systems with materials such as stone or plaster (i.e. the Portuguese Castle or the Naderi Fortress). • Foundations in Loft were constructed by removing a thin layer of soil and laying groundwork of stone without any excavation; a tradition that is still common today even though nowadays cement mortar has replaced mud mortar. The main reason for this type of foundation in Qeshm and Loft is the hard rock soil of the region and its typical one-story construction. The Loft Project
1- Masjed-e Jame Rasoul-e Akram (Prophet's Mosque) 2- Portuguese Fortress 3- Tal Wells 4- Main Cistern (Reservoir) 5- Bank 6- Boatbuilding Workshop 7- Masjed-e Amir al-Mo'menin 8- Guard Post 9- Middle School 10- Masjed-e Imam Shafei 11- Elementary School 12- Telecommunications (Weather Station, Rain Gauge) 13- Cemetery 14- Middle School and High School 15- Dirt Football Field 16- Secondary Cistern 17- Health House and Health Center 18- Masjed-e Abu Bakr al-Siddiq 19- Remains of the Old Fortress of Loft 20- Masjed-e Omar ibn al-Khattab 21- Masjed-e Hassanain 22- Masjed-e Othman Dhi Nour al-Din 23- Basij Base. Water Supply System. New Fabric. Old Fabric. Pedestrian Access (Primary and Secondary). Vehicular Access. Architecture of the Port of Loft, a collaborative project by students of the University of Tehran. Loft Project Collaborators: Architect Partners: Kamran Afshar Naderi, Mohammadreza Ghanei, Armand Deror (Architect Shareholders), Members of Memar Magazine's Editorial Board (Faramarz Parsi, Zohreh Bozorgnia, Mohammad Mohammadzadeh, Azita Izadi, Mehdi Alizadeh). Architects: • Bavand Consulting Engineers (Iraj Kalantari) • Tavan Consulting Engineers (Manouchehr Shokoufi) • Deno Architecture Office (Faramarz Sharifi, Hassan Tajoldin) • Hamgorouh Consulting Engineers (Farzad Rouzpay) • Haft Shahr Aria Consulting Engineers (Mehrdad Hashemzadeh Homayouni) • Sharestan Consulting Engineers (Behrouz Ahmadi) • Sial Motion Office (Reza Daneshmehr, Catherine Spiridonoff) • Babak Shokoufi • Alireza Taghaboni • Bahram Shokouhian • Mohammad Majidi • Farhad Ahmadi. Companies: • Superpipe International • Diba Fabric Structures • Karina Wooden Products • Bana Building Products • Ahmad Zahadi (Architecture and Construction Magazine)
The central cistern (a cylindrical volume 12 meters in diameter and 8.5 meters in reservoir height with an arched covering) was also constructed adjacent to the Tal wells complex. The development of Loft can be divided into three periods: First, the historic village fabric comprising the original core and the later section, which formed between Kouh-e Shahr and the sea along the coastline with an average width of 170 meters and an approximate length of one kilometer. Second, new construction in the southeast, scattered across hillsides and flat lands surrounding the area, which directed the main expansion of the village in the new Loft section. Third, more limited construction in the northern section with greater dispersion across the slopes of the hills. The old and new sections of Loft present distinctly different general appearances. The defining characteristics of the historic fabric are: • A linear structure and axial organization of the fabric along the coastline, with residential spaces oriented toward the sea. • A semi-dense urban fabric designed to take advantage of cross-ventilation, which is more open compared to the historic fabrics of hot and arid regions. • A predominantly ochre color in the overall appearance of the settlements (the facades of religious buildings are white). • A unique panorama formed by the combination of the vertical volume of tall wind towers and the expanse of the sea. • Relatively narrow passageways and the organic structure of the fabric. The architectural structure of the village of Loft consists of a collection of neighborhood units. These units are semi-introverted, single-story dwellings with simple spatial arrangements. The residential units of Loft are single-porch or double-porch houses that respectively occupy one or two sides of the central courtyard. The porches of these houses are larger and more important than comparable examples in other regions of Iran. During the hot seasons — roughly half the year — the porch serves as the center of most daily activities (though today, with the introduction of modern cooling systems, these porches have undergone considerable physical alterations and have largely lost their climatic function). The orientation of the main porch is northeast to southeast, with a variation range of approximately 30 degrees, enabling maximum benefit from favorable winds. These porches feature flat, simple framed arches (usually with three to five frames) that lend a harmonious appearance to the building's main facade. Central Cistern. Tal Wells. Water storage. Talla wells.
House No. 31. East elevation (facing the main passage), House No. 31. House No. 36. House No. 42. Section A-A, House No. 31. Section D-D, House No. 36. Section E-E, House No. 42. Section F-F, House No. 42. Section B-B, House No. 31. Section C-C, House No. 36. Schematic plan of a residential unit and the orientation of the porch relative to cardinal directions. Deployment of Ivan according to geographical direction. A portion of the neighborhood units adjacent to Abu Bakr Mosque as the primary study area.
The central courtyard, as the focal point of spatial organization, unlike the residential houses of the central plateau which generally have a rectangular and regular structure, is a polygonal and irregular space shaped by the manner in which the house's spatial elements are arranged. The most important physical elements of the entrance are: the portal, the door leaf, the steps, and the ramp. The portal is usually a projecting — and occasionally recessed — volume created within the exterior wall. Some portals are elaborate and include steps, a doorway, a ramp, and a stone bench. Rooms approximately three meters deep are typically built behind the porch and include the wind tower room, the parlor, the living room and bedrooms, the kitchen, the pantry, and sanitary facilities (it should be noted that due to the high water table in this area, underground spaces do not exist). The rooms — other than the wind tower room — follow a simple, rectangular pattern in which niches have been incorporated to maximize space utilization, facilitate the execution of plaster surfaces, and provide visual variety. The wind tower room, owing to its remarkable climatic function, holds a more prominent position than other spaces. The room beneath the wind tower is the most pleasant space in the house during the day and serves as a place for rest or family gathering, or as a guest room. The lower surface of the wind tower's blades sits below the room's ceiling, and the wind tower channel is usually positioned above a portion of the room. This room is entirely distinguished from the other rooms by its flooring, wainscot paintings, and shelf ornamentation.
Wind towers are generally classified according to the number of openings and inlets. Two-sided and four-sided wind towers are the two common types, positioned in one of the corners of the residential unit. To draw in more air, two-sided wind towers are oriented northeast to southwest, while four-sided wind towers can draw air from all four cardinal directions. The wind towers of Loft — generally set on a 3×3 meter footprint — with one exception have flat coverings and, compared to the wind towers of Iran's central plateau, are bulkier yet shorter in height. The external form of the wind towers is divided into three sections: the covering, the openings, and the ornamental elements above the inlets. Four-sided wind towers come in three types by form: single-inlet, double-inlet, and triple-inlet. Single-inlet wind towers are the shortest, and triple-inlet ones are the tallest. Four-sided double- and triple-inlet wind towers, compared to two- or three-sided examples, bear more elaborate ornamentation. In Loft's architecture, ornamentation is generally confined to the wind towers and house entrances, with little decoration visible inside the buildings. In addition to plaster ornamentation, building facades are coated with plaster render, and some sections are finished with clay-and-straw plaster. The lack of access to timber compelled residents to construct buildings with locally available materials such as coral stone, which possesses high thermal mass. Roof coverings are made of chandal wood, overlaid with clay-and-straw plaster. Ornamentation. Architectural ornamentation in the buildings of Loft's historic fabric can be divided into two main categories: building facade ornamentation and door and window ornamentation. Facade ornaments, mostly applied to wind towers or wall edges, feature simple and diverse forms inspired by the decorative traditions of neighboring regions and culturally kindred areas. The structure of the wind towers is influenced by those of Iran's central plateau, but their ornamentation is adapted to the local culture and climate. Geometric patterns and curves resembling highly primitive arabesques, star and crescent moon motifs, sun-like patterns, and simple crenelations are among these ornaments. The tops of wind towers are in some cases adorned with motifs that assume an elevated, upward-reaching quality. Most of these ornaments are influenced by the art of North Africa, the Indian subcontinent, and of course Iran's central plateau. Decorative arches that represent linear renderings of Islamic and Indian domes