National Library of Iran

The National Library of Iran is a monumental public library in the Abbasabad district of northern Tehran, designed by Pirraz Consulting Engineers (Yousef Shariatzadeh, Mohsen Mirheydar, and Yadollah Razaghi) and constructed between 1996 and 2004. With a gross area of 97,000 square meters on a 62,000-square-meter site, the building has a capacity of up to seven million items and serves as the country's premier research library and repository. Its stepped, ziggurat-like massing responds to the site's natural topography, while pathways, arcades, water channels, and piazzas create an inviting sequence inspired by traditional Iranian garden design.