Contemporary Architecture

8th Memar Award Jury Report

Sanam Kalantari · Memar 52 · Aban–Dey 1387 / November 2008

Audience at the 8th Memar Award ceremony, Asman Hall, Academy of Arts, November 2008

The Eighth Annual Memar Award was held in November 2008 with the collaboration of the Iranian Society of Consulting Engineers, and the financial support of product promotion companies: Superpipe International, Lara Glass Blocks, Knauf Iran, Alloc Iran, and Persian Standard Insurance.

96 entries competed in this year's Award which included residential and public buildings.

The jury members — Ms Mahvash Mehrafshan, Farokh Ghahremanpour, Farhad Ahmadi, Mohammadreza Ghaemi, and Vicente Guallart from Spain — chose 9 residential and 8 public projects from among all the entries as selected works.

Jury panel and sponsor representatives at the 8th Memar Award ceremony

Winners — Residential Projects

First Place: Villa for a Friend, Lavasan

Razan Architects — Alireza Taghaboni, Parisa Almohammadi
Client: Namvar, Rostam Yazdi

Second Place: Building No. 2, Dowlat Street, Tehran

Arsh Design Group — Alireza Sherafati, Rambod Ilkhani, Pantea Eslaemi
Client: Ali Nezamian

Third Place: Barbod's Fruit House, Gorgan

Zav Co. — Mohammadreza Ghoudsi, Parsa Ardem
Client: Ahmad Aliabadi

Residential building award presentations at the 8th Memar Award ceremony

Winners — Public Projects

First Place: Mellat Park Cineplex, Tehran

Fluid Motion Consulting Engineers — Catherine Spiridonoff, Reza Daneshmir
Client: Organization for Development of Cultural Spaces (Tehran Municipality)

Second Place: Embassy of I.R. Iran in Bangkok, Thailand

Naghsh-e-Jahan-e-Pars Consulting Engineers — Seyyed Hadi Mirmiran, Hamid Moininan
Client: Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Third Place: Cinematograph of Cinema Museum, Tehran

Sakhtar-e-Tarh Architectural Office — Houman Salamat
Client: Organization for Development of Cultural Spaces (Tehran Municipality)

Award presentations at the 8th Memar Award ceremony

Honorary Mention — Restoration-Reconstruction

Chamran Museum, Renovation, Tehran

Soureh Consulting Engineers — Farzad Rostamfar
Client: Organization for Development of Cultural Spaces (Tehran Municipality)

Raessi Delvari Museum, Renovation, Bushehr

Hamed Badri Ahmadi, Mahshid Karami
Client: Iran Cultural Heritage Organization (Bushehr province)

Honorary mention presentation at the ceremony

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Judging Process and Methodology

Judging sessions were held on Saturday and Sunday, the 11th and 12th of Aban. First, the jurors spent several hours reviewing the entries, examining plans they deemed noteworthy and eliminating those that did not merit consideration. In the first round of elimination, 26 residential projects and 9 public building projects were removed, leaving the remaining works for closer examination.

Among the works, there were also some interior design entries which were novel additions to the competition. The jurors assessed entries from Tehran and its surroundings, 19 projects in Isfahan, and the remaining works from Gorgan, Kermanshah, Mashhad, Bushehr, Bandar Abbas, Yazd, Kerman, Kish, Oshan, Qazvin, Damavand, Khuzestan, and other cities.

The jurors decided to select finalists and rank the projects through a collaborative discussion process. Four projects receiving the highest votes in the first round proceeded to the second stage.

Selected Works — Residential Buildings

Barbod's Fruit House, Gorgan — Zav Co., Mohammadreza Ghoudsi, Parsa Ardem

Guallart: It appears that this project is better than what the photographs show. The proportions are appropriate and the elements are well-composed.

Ghahremanpour: This is definitely an interesting project. From the perspective of variety and richness, it has succeeded.

Saharkish Residential Complex, Kish — Padiav Parth Architectural Group, Bahram Shokuohan

Guallart: The composition of this project is healthy and the entries and exits are well-proportioned. However, the facades are somewhat conventional.

Ghaemi: Considering that this is an island environment with architectural constraints, the project has managed well.

Building No. 2, Dowlat Street, Tehran — Arsh Design Group, Alireza Sherafati, Rambod Ilkhani, Pantea Eslaemi

Guallart: This is a residential project with good solutions, and the entry is handled well. However, the only bedroom has just one room and a relatively small living space.

Mehrafshan: I think that what they have created is quite good, especially the stairway which creates an attractive view.

Villashahr Residential Complex, Rodbar Ghasran — Bonsar Architectural Office, Mohammad Majidi

Guallart: In the Bonsar project, one general observation has been made and from that perspective, the architect has divided each unit into small blocks and thereby created a sense of individuality for the complex. The solution is good and the result is an entirely acceptable project.

Ahmadi: These are completely radical in this respect — in the context of this project specifically.

Selected Works — Public Buildings

Javid Office Building, Tehran-Qom Highway — Atelier Memaran-e-Paytakht, Hamed Aghli, Solman Shojapour, Kamil Mohammadi, Davood Nasseri

Guallart: The subject of this project is not particularly special. The design of the spaces around it and the terraces are all quite beautiful and full of possibility. The volume of the project is good.

Ghaemi: From this project, in the first round it was eliminated, and in the second round we were impressed. It is a well-known project among architects.

Iranian Research Center, New City of Pardis — Shahram Golamini

Mehrafshan: This is an interesting choice. The building has been given a form that, although it may not look like a traditional building, the photographic quality does not do it justice. In any case, the work has a certain presence.

Amirkabir Factory Gateway, Rasht — Esmaeel Talaee, Reza Sayadian, Sara Kalantari

Mehrafshan: Everyone who has seen this project has praised it. It has a sense of presence and its form is noteworthy.

Ghaemi: The scale of this gateway is interesting, and the relationship between steel and the industrial context is handled well.

Mellat Park Cineplex, Tehran — Fluid Motion Consulting Engineers, Catherine Spiridonoff, Reza Daneshmir

Ghahremanpour: In my view, the plan of this project is very good. It is a building where the volume and proportions are handled well, and the relationship between interior and exterior space is interesting.

Ahmadi: I would like to note that this building's most distinctive feature is the relationship between the park and the building, and the way in which the landscape becomes an integral part of the architecture. The internal spaces are also well-resolved.

Cinematograph of Cinema Museum, Tehran — Sakhtar-e-Tarh Architectural Office, Houman Salamat

Ghahremanpour: I believe this is a very interesting small project. The way the architect has worked with the site constraints and created a distinctive form is notable. The tent-like roof structure is a creative response to the program.

Embassy of I.R. Iran in Bangkok, Thailand — Naghsh-e-Jahan-e-Pars, Seyyed Hadi Mirmiran, Hamid Moininan

Ghahremanpour: This project, from its initial maquette onwards, was ambitious. Considering the diplomatic context and the challenge of representing Iranian identity through modern architecture, the result demonstrates significant design thinking.

Residential Winners Selection

In the first ranking, four projects received the highest votes: Villa for a Friend, Barbod's Fruit House, Building No. 2 Dowlat Street, and Villashahr Residential Complex. Villa for a Friend was unanimously chosen as first place by all jurors.

Public Buildings Winners Selection

In the public buildings category, the jurors similarly engaged in extensive deliberation. Mellat Park Cineplex earned the unanimous first place vote, with the jurors praising its integration with the park landscape and the quality of its internal spaces. The Embassy in Bangkok received second place for its ambitious representation of Iranian identity abroad, and the Cinematograph of Cinema Museum took third for its creative response to a constrained site.

Memar Award

Related in Architecture Database

projectMellat Park Cineplex projectVilla For a Friend projectEmbassy of Iran in Bangkok, Thailand projectBuilding No. 2, Dowlat Street projectThe Cinematograph projectBarbod Fruit House projectRais Ali Delvari Museum projectChamran House (Museum)projectAmirkabir Factory Gateway projectIranian Education and Research Center projectJavid Office Building projectVillashahr Residential Complex projectSaharkish Residential Complex projectSaeed Abad House projectBuilding No. 11 projectSarvestan Residential Complex projectOrdibehesht House personReza Daneshmir personCatherine Spiridonoff personAlireza Taghaboni personParisa Alimohammadi personAlireza Sherafati personRambod Eilkhani personPantea Eslami personHooman Salamat personMohammadreza Ghodusi personParsa Ardam personHamed Badri Ahmadi personShahram Golamini personEsmaeil Talaei personReza Sayadian personSara Kalantari personMohammad Majidi personBahram Shokouhian personHamed Aghli personSolman Shojapour personKomeil Mohammadi personDavood Nasseri personMaryam Babaee personEhsan Hosseini personSaeed Mirmohamad Sadeghi personLadan Zarei personMehdi Moghareh Abed personMahvash Mehrafshan personFarokh Ghahremanpour personFarhad Ahmadi personMohammadreza Ghaemi personVicente Guallart firmFluid Motion Architects firmNaghsh-e Jahan Pars Consulting Engineers firmArsh Design Studio firmSakhtartarh Design Office firmZav Design & Build firmBoozhgan Architecture Studio firmMemaran-e-Paytakht Atelier firmBonsar Architects firmPadiav Parth Architects firmLogical Process in Architectural Design Office personFarzad Rostamfar firmSoureh Consulting Engineers personSeyed Hadi Mirmiran personHamid Moininan

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