Popli Khalatbari Vocational School for Girls

The Popli Khalatbari Vocational School for Girls in Tehran, designed by Bahram Shekourian of Padiav Parth Architectural Group, won third place at the 5th Grand Memar Award in 2005. The school provides vocational education facilities with particular attention to creating a nurturing learning environment through careful architectural design.

Hadi Tehrani appreciated the school's approach to creating an educational environment, highlighting the careful use of natural light and the relationship between indoor and outdoor spaces. Kamran Afshar Naderi noted that educational buildings require particular sensitivity that this project demonstrated successfully. The courtyard-centered plan creates a protected interior landscape that serves as the social heart of the school.

The brick-clad facades establish a warm, approachable character while the interior corridors use clerestory lighting to guide circulation and create a sense of spatial progression appropriate to a place of learning.