The Noor-e-Mobin G2 primary school

The Noor-e-Mobin G2 Primary School in Semnan was designed by Davar Rezaei with the goal of creating a fundamentally different kind of educational space. By drawing on the indigenous architectural elements of Semnan and combining them with contemporary educational needs, the designer created a dynamic and inspiring environment for children that reinterprets local building traditions through a modern pedagogical lens. The school building features a central courtyard with classrooms opening onto outdoor spaces, enabling learning in the open air. Brick serves as the primary facade material, deployed in diverse geometric patterns that ensure harmony with Semnan's urban fabric while simultaneously establishing an independent and distinctive identity for the school. The material palette roots the building in its context without resorting to pastiche. Intermediate spaces, ramps, and staircases leading to usable rooftops provide students with diverse movement paths and create a rich, multi-layered spatial experience at a child's scale. Built on a 1,000-square-meter site with 280 square meters of built area, the school won First Place in the Public Buildings category at the 18th Memar Award (2018).