Habitat for Orphan Girls (Khansar, Iran)

A fourfold of strategic decisions drive the architecture of a shelter in the city of Khansar for orphaned girls. In response to the financial limitations of the project, an honest design is adopted without superfluous layers of finishing and ornamentation. Therefore, the brick is left visible as a natural building material. Because it is hard to live out one's right in choosing one's lifestyle as an orphaned girl in a male-dominated religious city such as Khansar, the architects tried to "liberate" the "oppressed". In a critique of the status quo, the facade of the project transforms into a medium the allows the building to close down or open up to the city. This becomes apparent through the hand-operated exterior curtains of the balconies. The site of the project is located within a historic part of the city and was proposed to the owner of the site by the design team. Urban heritage, as a construct of culture, has the potential to initiate financial prosperity for the city and its inhabitants. As such, the past of the city becomes the future of its orphaned inhabitants. Finally, the shelter is designed like a house to respect the basic human needs of its inhabitants.; the need for privacy and a sense of belonging. As such, the shelter accommodates private rooms as well as social spaces.

Farsh Film Studio (Tehran, Iran)

The project of Gholam Ali Beski's house restoration is formed by the idea of resistance against the logic of a market-driven economy. Before the offset, there were four apartments in the building. Today the project includes the three-story Farsh Film Studio and the Cafe museum on the ground floor. The urban borderline of the building is saved and its inward offset has created an in-between space. Its design is conceived as interaction with the existing condition of the building and its reinforcement. This has been achieved by preserving and using a wide range of existing materials. Only certain layers of new elements have been added. As a result, the Farsh Film Studio is a building with two separate connected functions that have equal access to the yard. The interior is spacious and through the large windows, the generous incidence of daylight is possible. Concrete and brick have been combined in the interior while the exterior facade is entirely covered with light brick. The vertical window gives the building a specific character.