On May 8, 2018, Trump officially withdrew from the JCPOA. At precisely this time, we purchased a dilapidated house in Isfahan's Sichan neighborhood — where today Tohid Street runs through its middle — using all our capital and savings. This house had one floor, one basement, and a small courtyard with a lively tree. The path forward was clear: either partner up and build for investment, or hold temporarily as savings. But we decided to play our part and return an abandoned place — abandoned because it was unusable for contemporary life — back into a usable cycle. Perhaps we could fulfill our social responsibility, make an impact on society, and instead of stagnation and repetition, experience practice and connection.
Program: Based on the needs we identified, we created a space aimed at hosting and experiencing artists' lives in one of Isfahan's neighborhoods, for interaction with audiences. We envisioned a space as a platform for gaining upcoming experiences.
Demolition Design: As a first step, we defined the demolition design through scenarios of subtraction, addition, and preservation. To match the program with the project's physical body, we identified wasted spaces in the basement and stairwell.
Subtraction Scenario: With a general image of our design, we began the demolition design. We preserved everything that was needed and removed everything that conflicted with the project's program, including: doors; some walls; the roof staircase; courtyard and basement stairs; cabinets; scraping ceiling plaster where it had bubbled; broken tile surfaces; removing the staircase window; and excavating the basement courtyard floor as much as possible and needed.
Addition Scenario: Everything we added was nurtured as a green entity within the project, comprising: added walls and bandaging of demolished sections; added circulation paths through stairs, bridges, and ladders; columns and beams needed for structural reinforcement; mechanical systems and designed objects. We produced colored mineral building material by combining gravel, sand, stone powder, white cement, and black cement, and after drying, polished the surface to use this new material for covering interior and exterior walls.
Preservation Scenario: Alongside subtraction and addition, we also preserved and maintained certain parts: repointing the brick jack arch; polishing the floor mosaics that had emerged from beneath ceramic tiles; sandblasting the facade stone; and finishing the beams and columns. We also kept some windows, plasterwork, walls, and ceilings that did not need alteration in their original form.