Barbod Fruit House

Barbod's Fruit House in Gorgan won Third Place in the Residential Buildings category at the 8th Memar Award (2008). Designed by Zav Co. — Mohammadreza Ghoudsi and Parsa Ardem — for client Ahmad Aliabadi, the house occupies a 180-square-meter plot in Gorgan's Afsaran neighborhood. Named after the client's son Barbod, who loves fruit, the house incorporates a fruit garden within its compact courtyard. Construction began in 2006 and was completed in 2008 with a built area of 120 square meters and a total budget of approximately 10 million tomans.

The architecture draws deeply from Gorgan's vernacular building traditions while maintaining a thoroughly contemporary sensibility. The thatched reed roof — assembled from locally sourced bundled reeds — references the traditional roofing of northern Iran while serving as a distinctive formal element that sets the house apart from its neighbors. Local materials including river stones, reclaimed wood from fruit crates and honey boxes, and layered stone from the surrounding hills create a rich material palette rooted in place. Interior walls feature a continuous band of Persian calligraphy, and the open-plan living space is organized around freestanding concrete and stone volumes that serve as kitchen counters and storage, topped with turquoise-glazed tiles.

International juror Vicente Guallart observed that "this project is better than what the photographs show — the proportions are appropriate and the elements are well-composed." Jury member Farokh Ghahremanpour called it "definitely an interesting project" noting that "from the perspective of variety and richness, it has succeeded." The house demonstrates how modest means and deep attention to local materials and traditions can produce architecture of genuine distinction.