International Architecture Awards 2012

Located on Vali-Asr street, the longest road in the Middle East, this office sits in Tehran’s city centre, which is full of restaurants, shops and galleries. This location is defined by the buzz of the people and a constant sense of motion from the traffic. Here we didn't want the building to be indifferent about its surrounding events , so we took this dynamic and transported it onto the building facade. We saw the building facade as a city skin, that’s why we didn’t want it to be disrupted by different materials. Instead, we aimed to emulate the urban flow by choosing a continuous surface, then we slashed it and pulled it back towards the core. Indeed, the building looks wrapped in overstretched plastic bands, creating the illusion of an actively moving shell.
Inside, the floor is black marble, setting a purist black and white aesthetic against a futuristic facade. The beauty of the design, however, lies in the connection between this exterior surface and the inside wall. Even the interior resonates the sleek modern dynamism of the marble shell .
The outer walls are covered in white marble which have been cut horizontally. Marble was chosen here for its durability and “glossiness”. And indeed the sunrays, which shine “a lot” in Tehran, reflect off the white glossy stone and beautifully brightening up the building’s environment , but aesthetics aside, the reflective quality of stone also decreases energy consumption, a point yet to become standard in Middle Eastern architecture where air conditioning is still seen as the norm. Small openings in the facade minimise the heat (which gets up to 40ºC in summer) entering the building, while in winter they work in reverse by keeping the warmth in.
The building restrictions only allowed for a two-storey build; currently a private bank is renting the office, which is predominantly open plan to allow maximum flexibility.
In the urban context of Tehran, and Iranian architecture in general, which largely features industrial materials like glass or Alucobond cladding – it is an innovative approach to stone. In Iran, stone is considered classic architecture. With this project ,we wanted to change the rules and show how this traditional, natural material can be used in a contemporary way.
The stone slopes also channel light into the building, creating a unique and peaceful ambience which keeps you far away from the hustle and bustle of the city next to the skin.