Every year, the Me’marnashr Institute (publisher of Me’mar Magazine) conducts the Me’mar Grand Award in conjunction with the construction industry. For the fourth Me’mar Grand Award for residential buildings, the call for the submission of works was issued in the spring of 2004. The Super Pipe International Company supported this year’s award. Awards, much like the previous years, included: the Me’mar Medallion 2004, the Recognition Tablet, 100 million rials for the first place, and recognition tablets for the second to fifth places, as well as the special Super Pipe Award of 50 million rials for the best mechanical design.
The original number of submitted designs was 81, of which 3 were rejected for lacking sufficient documentation and 3 for participating in previous competitions. Ultimately, 75 designs competed before a jury of five.
- Homa Farjadi (England)
- Nader Tehrani (United States)
- Neshmatollah Monsef (Iran)
- Kamran Afshar Naderi (Iran)
- Shahab Katouzian (Iran)
Jury sessions were held on November 15–16, 2004 (25–26 Aban 1383) with the five-member jury panel present.
Drafting the Statement: The jury members, after utilizing the evaluations they had made about the designs, formulated their statement and reached a majority consensus during the session. The jury statement was announced in the same session upon completion of their deliberations.
From the 75 submitted designs, after two rounds of elimination, 16 designs advanced to the final stage.
2nd Place (shared) — Project No. 72: Bokhara 1 Apartments, Lavasan — Noushin Gheyasi
2nd Place (shared) — Project No. 52: Bemanian Villa, Isfahan — Baharak Keshani
3rd Place — Project No. 8: Piroozi Residential Complex, Ahvaz — Mehdi Moghareh Abed
4th Place — Project No. 37: Ranjbar House, Tehran — Amin Tadj
5th Place — Project No. 74: Double Skin House, Lavasan — Reza Daneshmir
| Project | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| No. 14 — Stair House | 13 | 5 | 8 |
| No. 72 — Bokhara 1 | 7 | 27 | 14 |
| No. 52 — Bemanian Villa | 7 | 27 | 14 |
| No. 8 — Piroozi Complex | 5.7 | 7.8 | 12.7 |
| No. 37 — Ranjbar House | 6.7 | 6 | 5.6 |
Of the 75 participating designs, more than half — over 43 designs — had responded to the mechanical installations questionnaire. However, all 75 designs were evaluated and judged from a mechanical installations perspective.
Project No. 28 — Saba Tower (33 stories, 88 residential units)
Also noted for installations:
Project No. 72 — Bokhara Apartments
The jury panel issued its statement at the conclusion of the sessions on November 16, 2004 (28 Aban 1383).
First Place — Project No. 14: Stair House, Tehran — Ramin Mehdizadeh
Second Place (shared) — Project No. 72: Bokhara 1 Apartments, Lavasan — Noushin Gheyasi
Second Place (shared) — Project No. 52: Bemanian Villa, Isfahan — Baharak Keshani
Third Place — Project No. 8: Piroozi Residential Complex, Ahvaz — Mehdi Moghareh Abed
Fourth Place — Project No. 37: Ranjbar House, Tehran — Amin Tadj
Fifth Place — Project No. 74: Double Skin House, Lavasan — Reza Daneshmir
Professor, Faculty of Architecture, University of Tehran. A prominent figure in Iranian architectural education, Katouzian has shaped generations of architects through his teaching and scholarly work at Iran’s foremost architecture program.
Architect; Professor, Architectural Association (AA), London. An Iranian-British architect and educator, Farjadi has maintained a practice bridging Iranian and international architectural discourse. Her position at the AA places her at the centre of global architectural pedagogy.
Architect and Engineer. A practitioner with extensive experience in Iranian construction and architectural practice, Monsef brought technical expertise and knowledge of local building traditions to the jury’s deliberations.
Architect; Professor, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Founding principal of NADAAA, Tehrani is known for his rigorous approach to material innovation and tectonic expression. His academic and professional work bridges theory and practice in contemporary architecture.
Editor-in-chief, Me’mar Magazine; Architecture Critic. As the editorial voice of Me’mar, Afshar Naderi has been instrumental in documenting and critically evaluating Iranian architecture. His writing and editorial direction have made the magazine a vital record of the country’s built environment.
