Memar has turned four years old. Memar is both a magazine and an endeavor that transcends a mere publication. Memar serves as a center for preserving and safeguarding this endeavor — an endeavor in the vast arena of the country's architecture, dedicated to investigating and questioning what pertains to the truth of Iranian architecture.
When we embarked on this journey, our chief concern was how the flow of Iranian architectural discourse had been and could continue to serve the advancement and flourishing of Iranian architecture. What guided us was a desire for precision: that even a modest contribution could reflect architectural knowledge and serve not merely as a first step but as a prerequisite for deeper understanding. Producing all of this, with all its variety, has been an enormous undertaking.
In our section on world architecture, we have published articles and compilations related to books and architectural journals from around the world and Iran. The external activities of Memar Magazine — in introducing Iranian architecture and architects — have been of particular importance. Issues were organized around dedicated themes. The descriptions and interpretations offered by Memar for introduction and recognition have been intended as study collections. Examples of international urban planning have been presented alongside successful national models.
Furthermore, in introducing and critiquing Iranian architecture, the magazine's direct relationship with its audience — architects and urban planners — is evident in the presentation of plans and works of Iranian architects, published in both Farsi and Latin scripts. In the architectural introduction section, the primary audience has been architecture students, graduates, and especially established and emerging architects. The greatest significance of this section lies in its evidence gathered from among hundreds of architectural endeavors.
The works presented over these three years demonstrate that they are being produced more effectively than in any previous period, and their flourishing, in Memar's view, remains the true measure of the distinction between genuine urban planning and mere construction.
If our theoretical foundations — beyond a few initial drafts — have attracted the attention of a wider circle of thinkers, especially among students and architects, then our materials have also summoned a better social standing, and the discipline of architecture and urban planning can be understood as meaningful discourse and interpretation.
Introduction and Critique of Iranian Architecture
Returning to the subject at hand: the great cycle of Iranian architecture — a delightful and innovative specialization.
Individual and Group Portfolios
The evaluation of the introduction and critique sections of Iranian architects spans three dimensions in terms of scope and level of activity — both focused and expansive. Across 25 issues of Memar Magazine, it is well known that this has been an extremely valuable endeavor. A group of independent architectural researchers, alongside the magazine, has contributed approximately 750 articles in the field of introducing and critiquing Iranian architecture across various periods. Twelve monographic issues have cinematically documented the history of cities, activities, and the precious diversity of travel and research.
The aim of the curated selections section on Iranian architecture has never been merely to publish sufficiently but rather to document, explore, and serve as introductory volumes presenting fresh discoveries from researchers. In every issue, a new turn has risen.
Schools of thought, styles, and periods; philosophical perspectives and interpretations regarding architecture have also been deliberately placed under discussion. In nearly all cases, a single article addressing the very concept of theory in architecture has been accompanied by a general intellectual piece connecting it to Iranian architecture and its history and essence.
The historical record — both old and new — of Iranian architecture, shaped by an alluring modernism, has provided the foundations for studying the divergent reasons behind Iranian architectural evolution. Design and engineering over the past three years have yielded rather magnificent experiences. These accumulated portfolios and articles on diverse architectural styles constitute what we have assembled. If the current characteristics of Iranian architecture were to be questioned, this body of knowledge would serve as conceptual information for nurturing the promised theory — two legacies in the making.
Society observes, yet in Iran, the poor quality of construction and execution itself constitutes a major component of genuine architectural transformation. It is the duty of architects and their architectural proposals to grapple with and study construction and execution methodically, and to seek effective advocacy for architecture. The advancement of buildings, products, and construction methods — facility management and construction — is a topic of discussion worldwide.
None of these changes in the world remain static in language or subject. In the majority of cases, accomplished architects express their views. It is hoped that Iranian architects will persevere to ensure this endeavor finds its rightful place.
If plans and zoning regulations attain the importance they deserve, and if publishing veterans with greater experience provide their assessments for the magazine's selection and editorial choices, then Memar's distinctive identity as an Iranian professional architectural journal will be firmly established.
Construction and architects hold a very important position among their audience for various reasons, and there is also an opportunity to be defined through industrial methods. Histories, market approaches, resilience engineering, and more — the rhetoric of Memar Magazine now rests upon experience and deeper engagement.
Yet in Iran, there have been contractions and expansions. When the magazine has encountered periods where politics has been dominant, we have consistently faced challenges head-on.
The noble foundation of our first friends and supporters — creative, capable colleagues, artists, government allies, publishers, and note-writers — along with scholars from renowned institutions and innovative thinkers across the country, has ensured that articles continue to be produced, and that the free intellectual enterprise has borne ever more fruitful results without obstacles.