In taking part in the International Architecture Showcase as part of London Festival of Architecture 2014, Hossein Hejrat was chosen to represent the designers and constructors of Zav within the framework of the programme and in coopera- tion with the chosen London office, Duggan Morris Architects, in a two-week project aiming at urban conceptualisation of the Poplar District in London. The International Architecture Showcase programme brought ten young architects representing ten architectural offices across the world in contact with ten reputable and somehow young architectural offices in London to brainstorm on the urban rehabilitation of Poplar, a poor district in London mostly inhabited by Muslim residents. At the beginning of this two-week experience, the organ- izers distributed five specific sites among the groups, each site being chosen for studying one important topic in urban devel- opment and design. It seemed that the ideal of the organizers was to gather clear views that could serve as examples for urban design and development in the sites chosen for this experience. The five rubrics consisted of: Nature, Culture, Town Centers, Housing and Transmission. The topic given to the Iranian/British group was Housing. The following text aims at documenting the design process and the final result of this experience:
Day One Hossein Hejrat goes to Duggan Morris office and the morning is spent on introducing group members. It seems that through sharing their professional background the two parties gain an initial trust in the existence of a common architectural vocabu- lary and set of goals. The afternoon is spent reviewing the initial reference docu- ments provided by the organisers to the group. This is done individually and in group.
Second Day On the invitation of the organisers, on the second day morn- ing, the group goes to visit the site and meet the urban man- agement and the private developers of the district.
نشيد نبيان، محمدرضا قدوسى، حسين هجرتNashid Nabian, Mohammadreza Ghoddousi, Hossein Hejrat
THE EXPERIENCE OF LONDON FESTIVAL OF ARCHITECTURE 2014
DESIGNING A PLATFORM FOR DESIGN:
Third Day In their first session for defining a general prospect for the project, the group decides that the main goal of the design is to prepare a comprehensive design for the site focused on the production of a new residential pattern corresponding to the brief provided by the organisers. After the session, the first studies are done by the group and the site of the project is analysed.
Fourth Day Hejrat and one the members of the group go to the site to carry out field research. A first-hand experience of the site and the way inhabitants use the existing urban spaces changes the viewpoint of the group regarding the nature of the project and results in the revision of the initial prospect. At the end of the fourth day, the group comes to the con- clusion that the time of comprehensive designs is over. The current era requires intelligent, systematic, strategic, interven- tion for rehabilitation of the existing situation of urban districts. The change in viewpoint is influenced by the academic disser- tations of the heads of the Iranian and British groups. ‘…Joe Morris wrote on the whiteboard: “Master Plan is Dead!” …When explaining the project for the organisers, Joe started his talk with the same sentence!...’
Fifth and Sixth Day As the final product of the project and instead of a compre- hensive design, the group prepares a large map of the district presenting a collage of examples of individual small-scale interventions influential in enhancing inhabitants’ quality of life.
Seventh Day At the representation session the produced collage is pre- sented to the organisers and inhabitants. The inhabitants are invited to cooperate in a practice of conceptualisation. The project finally turns into a platform for an exchange of archi- tectural ideas. The final result is a think tank comprised of the designers and users of the design.
پانوشت ها: 1- Duggan Morris Architects 2- Poplar District