Young architects are among the most disadvantaged groups in architecture today. Being young in the professional community of architects is like being sentenced to years of waiting. You have to stand in a long, unending queue. A queue that bears no relation to your talent and effort. The social structure surrounding the architecture profession has created conditions where, despite their knowledge and capabilities, young architects remain marginalized.
In all of these rankings, the criterion is experience, and experience is measured by age. Like it or not, they have to spend years doing rough work for others, struggling with others' ideas, before they find an opportunity to implement their own thoughts. In reality, the profession of architecture demands physical presence on site, and the development of a city or even a village requires years of experience. Yet the question remains: will young people find any opportunity in our prevailing conditions?
The Architecture Department at Tehran University was established in 1939 with a few art studios and, following the French system, expanded. From the beginning, the issues and problems of young architects were raised in various meetings. But today these problems remain largely the same.
Among these problems, the most important is the issue of professional licenses. A young person who has spent at least six years studying and obtaining an architecture degree, upon entering the real world, encounters a host of obstacles. The first obstacle is the issue of licensing for establishing an architectural practice and obtaining a first-grade engineering license. This license, which serves as a key requirement for independent practice, demands extensive field experience and passing various examinations. The result is that young architects, despite their academic training, must spend additional years as apprentices in established firms before they can practice independently.
Moreover, the architectural competitions that are held in Iran follow a pattern that rarely benefits young architects. Most competitions require participants to have a first-grade license or to be members of established consulting engineering firms. The entry requirements effectively exclude talented young graduates who have not yet accumulated the prescribed years of experience. This creates a paradox: you need experience to participate in competitions, but you need competition experience to build your portfolio and establish your reputation.
The academic situation presents its own challenges. When the Architecture Department at Tehran University was first established, instructors were brought from the Fine Arts Academy in Paris. The system of architectural education was modeled after the French Beaux-Arts tradition. Over time, this system evolved, but the fundamental challenge of bridging academic training with professional practice remained unresolved.
At the University of Tehran, architecture students were traditionally expected to complete their education in a specific timeframe, after which they would enter the professional world. But the professional world they encountered bore little resemblance to their academic training. The gap between classroom instruction and the realities of construction sites, client demands, and building regulations was vast and disorienting.
In recent years, the number of architecture graduates has increased dramatically. More than forty universities across Iran now offer architecture programs, producing hundreds of graduates annually. While this expansion of architectural education is commendable in principle, it has created a situation where the supply of young architects far exceeds the demand for their services. The result is intense competition for limited opportunities, driving many talented graduates out of the profession entirely.
The role of professional associations in supporting young architects has been minimal at best. The Architecture and Urbanism Council, despite its mandate to oversee professional standards and support the profession, has done little to create pathways for young graduates. Similarly, the various engineering organizations that exist in each province tend to serve the interests of established practitioners rather than newcomers to the profession.
One particularly troubling aspect of the current situation is the relationship between architecture and political power. In Iranian society, large architectural commissions tend to flow through channels that are closely connected to political and economic power centers. Young architects, who typically lack such connections, find themselves shut out of significant projects. The few who do manage to secure important commissions often do so through family connections or by attaching themselves to established firms as junior partners with limited creative input.
The situation is not entirely bleak, however. Some young architects have found ways to work within the system while maintaining their creative integrity. Small residential projects, interior renovations, and collaborations with sympathetic developers have provided platforms for experimentation and growth. A few have gained recognition through international competitions and publications, even as they struggle for opportunities at home.
The critical question for the future of Iranian architecture is whether the profession can create structures that nurture young talent rather than suppress it. The experience of other countries suggests that a healthy architectural culture requires active mentorship programs, open competition systems, and professional associations that advocate for all practitioners, not just the established elite. Until Iran addresses these structural issues, the issues of young architects will remain unresolved, and the country's architectural culture will be the poorer for it.