In the interval between the publication of the previous issue and the current one, we thought we would seize this midway moment for some reflection and counsel with the friends and associates of Memar on the manner of continuing along this road. The rising trend in the magazine's circulation is, in itself, a positive sign; but mere reliance on the market deprives an institution whose aim is the elevation of architecture of the courage to fight. If our hand cannot reach the skirts of all readers and well-wishers, near and far, then it was no great trouble to convene two meetings with our closer associates.
The first meeting was held with a larger group of younger people who had become part of the family of the magazine through the introduction of their works or the preparation of articles for it; and the result of the jury for the Grand Memar Award 80 also showed that most of them are ready to take up the torch of architecture from the hands of the generation before them. By virtue of the activity and inquisitive spirit that belongs to youth, this group naturally carries the needs and aspirations of its own generation. The second meeting we held with teachers and instructors, writers and magazine-experts, magazine-makers, and seasoned hands who can see the more distant horizon. We now bring here a summary of the views and proposals of both groups, with repetitions and similar items removed and a degree of grouping. Our purpose is only to record a list of the opinions and proposals of these two important meetings, which is, in fact, the result of an evaluation and foresight that is fairly confident and undeniable. We therefore set aside the recital of arguments for and against, and the explanations that might be given to justify some of the items. In our view, all the criticisms are realistic and, at the same time, by expressing a high level of expectation, confirm the magazine's evolutionary course. It is not without reason that, in spite of the fact that most of the contents of the present issue had been ready months before these consultative meetings, some of the awaited changes have already been made in this very issue.
Of all the interested readers with whom we did not have the good fortune of a face-to-face conversation, we ask that they not withhold their further views and proposals from us, and we earnestly request them to assist us, by every possible means, in realising this awaited evolutionary course.
Session One
A — Generalities
1 — The magazine's print run is small relative to our architectural community. Could the magazine not be published at intervals of one or two months?
2 — Good architecture magazines around the world are thematic. Why is Memar not thematic? Whereas Shahr (City) is thematic. Could one not merge Shahr and Memar?
3 — Being thematic is, at the same time, not at odds with the variety of the magazine.
4 — The magazine should refrain from scattered work, should reach beyond the reporting of events, and should try to introduce and carry forward a line or current of evolution and have its own architectural taste. Even the cover images of the magazine should not represent diverse outlooks and tastes.
5 — Adopting a particular intellectual subject in the present circumstances is, for the magazine, still premature.
6 — In principle, an architecture magazine should not back a particular intellectual current, and basically such a like-minded group cannot be found.
7 — Among the transformative events of the architectural community has been the Grand Award, which has succeeded in gathering this present community around a single table; investment and planning in this area are necessary.
8 — Better work in the field of interior design is being done in the country, and a more thorough search and effort are needed to find and introduce it.
9 — The magazine's audience is not only architects; it is also clients, since the magazine has won their trust.
10 — The magazine should also address the architecture of neighbouring countries and, more broadly, the Asian region — even Africa — and connect with the architectural communities of these regions.
11 — The magazine's logo (name-mark) is not at the desirable level.
B — A critique of the current process
1 — Rather than putting forward the name and role of a single person in the production of a project, it is better to put forward the names and roles of all those involved, and in principle to attend to the collective aspect of producing architectural work.
2 — The place of criticism in the magazine is empty; and if there is criticism, it is either tendentious or merely general.
3 — Not only good projects, but bad ones too, should be brought under criticism, and the social reasons for them should be discussed.
4 — The absence of criticism and of an intellectual and educational current in Iran has caused us, in spite of the existence of a great number of offices and active architects, to be unable so far to give rise to and introduce an architectural current of our own.
5 — What is the reason for the repeated publication of the work of particular and well-known architects?
6 — In introducing projects, one should not be content with the explanations of the designers; rather a group of experts should give their views on the various features of the work and bring it under critique, and more attention should be paid to detail.
7 — Beside the bodily analysis of projects, the conditions of the work, the means available, and the limitations should also be discussed; especially the difficult conditions of work of those architects who labour at the profession with love and devotion.
8 — The 'In the World' section is mostly translation from foreign magazines. Is it not possible to prepare it directly and independently? Practical difficulties, solutions, and recent achievements are among the primary needs of younger architects.
9 — The content of the magazine's projects and articles bears witness to a commitment to a certain level of architectural quality, while some of the advertisements, contrary to that commitment, promote market-place taste.
C — Proposals
1 — One of the serious needs of our architectural community is the critique of architectural education and the reporting of news of developments in architectural education in the world. Memar magazine does not deal with this subject very much, although the critique of architectural education could perhaps be regarded as the magazine's most important aim.
2 — The magazine should face the new challenges and horizons of architectural education and enter these areas as well.
3 — Memar should confront the bad and ill-teaching currents of architecture, especially when they occur on a large scale — such as the new town of Pardis — and bring them under critique. The same goes for matters such as the made-up formula of the pyramidal envelope of high-rise on large plots, which, despite the absence of the least urban-design or architectural justification, has become a directive and a regulation.
4 — News of international architectural meetings and congresses, as well as announcements of international competitions and notices of architectural theses, should be reflected in the magazine.
5 — Good Iranian architects work abroad and are not known inside the country; the magazine should introduce them and their work.
6 — In step with the increase in its means for preparing serious material, Memar should equip the special working groups for that material.
7 — In the printing of commercial advertisements, one should not be content with introducing the appearance of the product and a few advertising slogans.
8 — Given the increase in the volume of advertising, does Memar not wish to reconsider its policy of receiving an honorarium for project introductions?
Session Two
A — Generalities
1 — If possible, the interval of publication of the magazine should be made shorter.
B — A critique of the current process
1 — The language of the articles is heavy; an effort should be made to express the content in a simple language close to that of conversation. Some of the recent translations are also not successful. Sometimes, too, the grasp of theoretical discussions can be eased by adding images.
2 — Very long articles are not suitable for such a magazine and tire the reader.
3 — The editorial, while focusing on important and fundamental matters, should be written in very simple language.
4 — Projects should not be published with indifference and without critique; in particular, serious currents like the design of embassies must definitely be discussed and criticised.
5 — Sometimes projects are introduced in the magazine that fall below the magazine's customary standard; and since the magazine is trusted by the community, this becomes a source of bad teaching.
6 — The bilingual character of the magazine (English alongside Farsi) should be strengthened more than this, and an effort should be made to distribute the magazine both in active architectural centres of the region — for example the Emirates — and in European countries.
7 — The magazine should fix its policy in the matter of advertising, since the increase in advertising volume in recent issues seems unbalanced. Perhaps, given the magazine's growing standing, a definite ceiling for advertisements could be set, or the advertisements could be printed in a separate supplement.
8 — The great distance between the advertisements at the beginning of the magazine and the editorial has an unwelcome psychological effect on the reader.
C — Proposals
1 — The charter of the Memar Publishing Institute has aims beyond the publication of the magazine, and the magazine should be used as a tool for organising the work of the profession.
2 — One of the duties of the magazine is the simplification of theoretical issues for the young.
3 — The magazine should pay more attention to technical and scientific aspects, and especially to recent innovations in this field.
4 — The discussion of the construction industries — the architect's tools for raising quality — should be brought into the magazine, and the construction industries should make the architects' judgement the criterion of the quality of the products of their own work.
5 — Memarnashr Institute, alongside its work on the magazine, should engage in complementary tasks for the spread of correct architecture in society — such as a review of primary- and secondary-school textbooks.
6 — One should not be content with introducing projects alone. Society needs to know what great social and administrative obstacles stand in the way of architectural progress; for instance, the financial pressure that the government has so far put on consultants has had no result other than lowering the level of architecture in the country.
7 — Concentrating on outstanding architecture leads to the forgetting of common architecture, which is the principal need of society.
8 — Memar can publish the important content of its five-year output in the form of a book, and it would be better still if, alongside its four quarterly issues, it could put out a yearbook each year as well.
