© Shomali Design Studio (Yaser Rashid Shomali & Yasin Rashid Shomali)
CategoriesArchitecture

30 Best Architecture Firms in Iran

Iran is the second largest country in the Middle East. It is vastly characterized by its diverse cultural heritage and history and distinct landscape topology. Being a descendant of many advanced ancient civilizations and part of the Persian empire, as well as deeply influenced by Islamic culture, Iran holds a rich architectural tradition. After becoming an independent country in 1979, Iranian architects had to find ways to preserve this vivid historical fabric while also satisfying society’s growing needs. Currently, their designs are a blend of tradition and modernity that has introduced a new, contemporary layer to Iranian architecture.

Iran is also a country with a strategic geographical location and valuable natural resources, which, unfortunately, has led to many geopolitical and economic challenges. In this context, architecture played a definitive role, especially under the umbrella of cultural and environmental sustainability. Responding to the vastly changing urban and natural landscapes as well as the water scarcity and desertification, Iranian architects have prioritized topographically as well as socially impactful architectural designs that aid local communities.

With so many architecture firms to choose from, it’s challenging for clients to identify the industry leaders that will be an ideal fit for their project needs. Fortunately, Architizer is able to provide guidance on the top design firms in Iran based on more than a decade of data and industry knowledge.

How are these architecture firms ranked?

The following ranking has been created according to key statistics that demonstrate each firm’s level of architectural excellence. The following metrics have been accumulated to establish each architecture firm’s ranking, in order of priority:

  • The number of A+Awards won (2013 to 2023)
  • The number of A+Awards finalists (2013 to 2023)
  • The number of projects selected as “Project of the Day” (2009 to 2023)
  • The number of projects selected as “Featured Project” (2009 to 2023)
  • The number of projects uploaded to Architizer (2009 to 2023)

Each of these metrics is explained in more detail at the foot of this article. This ranking list will be updated annually, taking into account new achievements of Iran architecture firms throughout the year.

Without further ado, here are the 30 best architecture firms in Iran:


30. Shomali Design Studio (Yaser Rashid Shomali & Yasin Rashid Shomali)

© Shomali Design Studio (Yaser Rashid Shomali & Yasin Rashid Shomali)

© Shomali Design Studio (Yaser Rashid Shomali & Yasin Rashid Shomali)

Shomali Design is a studio of designers based in Tehran, Iran. We consider architecture to be a form of cultural production. Our work extends across the globe and engages the realms of art and architecture.

Some of Shomali Design Studio (Yaser Rashid Shomali & Yasin Rashid Shomali)’s most prominent projects include:

The following statistics helped Shomali Design Studio (Yaser Rashid Shomali & Yasin Rashid Shomali) achieve 30th place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Iran:

A+Awards Winner 1
Featured Projects 2
Total Projects 1

29. EZ Studio (Pedram Ezadi)

© EZ Studio (Pedram Ezadi)

© EZ Studio (Pedram Ezadi)

A multi-disciplinary practice based in Iran-Esfahan which specializes in architecture, interior architecture, to the landscaping and curation of art work to create an integrated complete environment for clients. Our processes bring us into contact with many skilled trades which enable us to fabricate many bespoke items for our client’s projects where an item may not be available off the shelf. Founded in 2015, the practice manifests architecture across diverse scales of design with superlative craft, detail and materiality.

Architectural discourse is applied in equal measure to each of the disciplines — architecture, interior and design to create highly resolved buildings, spaces and objects beautifully balanced in form, function and detail. Our unique architectural approach to design traces context, environment, sustainability and human behavior to create spaces and experiences individual to each project, location and client. As a boutique design driven office, we are recognized through consistent high quality of design and professionalism at optimized budget.

Some of EZ Studio (Pedram Ezadi)’s most prominent projects include:

The following statistics helped EZ Studio (Pedram Ezadi) achieve 29th place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Iran:

Featured Projects 2
Total Projects 2

28. ArmaniArchitects

© ArmaniArchitects

© ArmaniArchitects

Λrmani Λrchitects is an innovative multidisciplinary collaborative practice founded by Amir Armani Asl and Kiana Ghader that focuses on architecture, interior design, landscape design, custom fabrication and parametric design and design objects.

Some of ArmaniArchitects’s most prominent projects include:

The following statistics helped ArmaniArchitects achieve 28th place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Iran:

Featured Projects 2
Total Projects 5

27. Boozhgan Architectural Studio

© Boozhgan Architectural Studio

© Boozhgan Architectural Studio

Boozhgan Architectural Studio was established in 2007 By Hamed Badri Ahmadi. Boozhgan has been involved in various projects with different scales, such as: residential buildings, offices and workspaces, commercial complexes as well as renovation and reconstruction of private houses and public historical buildings, which are either built or are under construction and have been awarded and honored by national and international architectural competitions. In our design process, we try to benefit from all the positive capacities of the site and the project and convert it to a simple and clear solution.

Some of Boozhgan Architectural Studio’s most prominent projects include:

  • Asef Office Building, Tehran, Iran
  • Haiat- e – Elahie Residential Building, Tehran, Iran
  • Renovation Of a House, Zanjān, Iran,
  • NEGAH OFFICE BUILDING, Tehrān, Iran,
  • Baranoosh Residential Building , Tehrān, Iran

The following statistics helped Boozhgan Architectural Studio achieve 27th place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Iran:

Featured Projects 2
Total Projects 8

26. FEASTUDIO

© FEASTUDIO

© FEASTUDIO

The office of “Fundamental Architectural Experience” [FEASTUDIO] was founded by Arash Nasiri and Ensieh Khamse in 2006. The office has tried so far to achieve a consistent, coherent language in their work based on their progressive experiences and the relations between the ideas and the work, a distinctive language by which to avoid architectural production being merely in the line of exigency and to push boundaries in order to let creativity and active, multilateral strategies in.

Some of FEASTUDIO’s most prominent projects include:

The following statistics helped FEASTUDIO achieve 26th place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Iran:

A+Awards Finalist 1
Featured Projects 2
Total Projects 2

25. Cedrus Studio

© Studio DeeD (Masih Mostajeran / Hakim Hemadi )

© Studio DeeD (Masih Mostajeran / Hakim Hemadi )

Cedrus is a Tehran-based, research-driven design and construction studio founded by Mohammad Mehdi Saeedi in 2017. The studio supported by a passionate team of skilled architects, landscape architects and interior designers. The studio’s projects range from single-family villas to residential, commercial and mixed-use large-scale complexes.

Some of Cedrus Studio’s most prominent projects include:

  • Peyvand Residential Building, Tehran, Iran
  • Cedrus Residential Building, Tehran, Iran
  • Villa 174, Babolsar, Iran
  • Elite Cafe, Tehran, Iran
  • Shariat Villa, Karaj, Iran

The following statistics helped Cedrus Studio achieve 25th place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Iran:

A+Awards Finalist 1
Featured Projects 2
Total Projects 9

24. KA Studio (Khavarian Architecture Studio)

© Hossein Farahani

© Hossein Farahani

Mohammad Khavarian is an Iranian architecture firm that practices architecture, urbanism, interior design and research with a team of seventy plus Iranian architects and designers working together worldwide. Through its intensely involved and focused practice. Mohammad Khavarian applies critical thinking to a process that extends beyond the boundaries of architectural production to realize specific and unexpected solutions. It seeks to engage people and cultures, technologies and materials, psychologies and experiences. and recognizes architecture as a connective and Fundamental social construct. Architectures imaged as a matrix from which to construct future realities — conceptual, spatial and experiential — and a rigorous search for new potentials to realize specific unexpected solutions inhabited by the lives of people and cities

Some of KA Studio( Khavarian Architecture Studio)’s most prominent projects include:

  • Yast Khaneh, Yazd, Iran
  • IMPI Office building, Tehran, Iran
  • Variant house, Tehran, Iran
  • Dehnou school, Jiroft, Iran
  • Tabriz university metro station, Tabriz, Iran

The following statistics helped KA Studio( Khavarian Architecture Studio) achieve 24th place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Iran:

Featured Projects 3
Total Projects 5

23. ReNa Design

© Reza Najafian

© Reza Najafian

Founded in 2012, ReNa Design is a young architectural group active in design, architecture and research. The office is primarily concerned with issues of functionality and context. This approach is easily seen through the firm’s projects, ranging in different categories and types. ReNa Design pays a great amount of attention and care to materials and construction technology which are in turn applied to completely innovative and non-conventional conditions. Since its inception, ReNa Design has won many national awards and competitions in fields of architecture, design and interior design.

Some of ReNa Design’s most prominent projects include:

The following statistics helped ReNa Design achieve 23rd place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Iran:

A+Awards Winner 1
Featured Projects 3
Total Projects 3

22. Arsh4d Studio

© Arsh4d Studio

© Arsh4d Studio

Arsh4d, a team of designers led by Alireza Sherafati and Pantea Eslami, seeks select projects that fundamentally re-think how buildings interact with people and the natural environment. Starting with intensive research, we seek to understand each project in its environmental, cultural, and contemporary context, so that our work may engage with layers of time and a strong sense of place. We believe our projects are part of a larger whole, acting as a joint helping to bind and enhance their context for human experiences. We’re passionate about human-centered design, and how design can impact our lives through sustainability, resilience, well-being, diversity and inclusion, and mobility. And we’re committed to advancing design through research.

Our portfolio includes a wide range of projects from the small scale of a private home to the large scale of urban design. Many projects are highly recognized public facilities, such as plazas, shopping malls and headquarters, and they have completed distinguished private projects including offices, public entertainment facilities and apartment buildings.

Some of Arsh4d Studio’s most prominent projects include:

  • Stacked Garden Villas`, Namakabrud, Iran
  • Candy Shop, Tehran, Iran
  • Villa Residential, Tehran, Iran
  • UP VILLA, Abali, Iran
  • ARG Shopping Mall, Tehran, Iran

The following statistics helped Arsh4d Studio achieve 22nd place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Iran:

A+Awards Winner 1
A+Awards Finalist 1
Featured Projects 2
Total Projects 5

21. ayeneh office

© ayeneh office

© ayeneh office

Since its inception in 2001 by Ali Soltani and Atefeh Karbasi, the Ayeneh Office officially started its architectural activities in 2003. Architects of the Ayeneh Office believe that architecture like a mirror should reflect the context or the surrounding environment in the general sense. Context in this regard refers to the setting that a project begins to happen. Architecture welcomes the good way of living in a place and accepts its goodness.

In other words, architecture, in one sense, acts as mirror to reflect the life of its context, and broadly speaking, it even reflects many features of the context (such as technology, crafting skills, economics, politics, crafting duration, and culture). The approach and design method in the Ayeneh office is to delve into the heart of both the subject and the place in order to reflect or increase their desirability. We try to excavate the project subject — which is the life that is going to flow in it — as well as its location to find the initial concepts shaping the design and then epitomize it in our architecture.

Some of ayeneh office’s most prominent projects include:

The following statistics helped ayeneh office achieve 21st place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Iran:

Featured Projects 3
Total Projects 3

20. BRACKET Design studio

© BRACKET Design studio

© BRACKET Design studio

Bracket Design Studio is a full-service design firm founded in 2006 by Shervin Hosseini. We offer services in urban design, interior space planning, furniture design and architecture from micro to macro scale. Our highly collaborative staff comes from wide-ranging theoretical and practical backgrounds, including designing, scripting, planning and construction of public and private projects.

Offering innovative insights, materials and technology into our projects, we strongly consider the available possibilities of the site and the needs of clients in order to find the best solutions by constantly revising and redefining the projects. Each project, for us, entails its own singular approach which is essentially developed out of experience and intuition.

Some of BRACKET Design studio’s most prominent projects include:

The following statistics helped BRACKET Design studio achieve 20th place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Iran:

Featured Projects 3
Total Projects 6

19. Alidoost & Partners

© Alidoost & Partners

© Alidoost & Partners

Founded and directed by Shahab Alidoost and Sona Eftekharazam, Alidoost and Partners is a multidisciplinary office that focuses on architecture and design, from large scale planning to furniture. Rich with multiple expertises, our office is fueled by talented designers and experienced architects that jointly develop projects from early sketches to on-site supervision. All of which, regardless of scale, outlines an approach that is affirmatively social in its outcome, enthusiastic in its ambition and professional in its process.

At the core of our architecture is the ability to take a fresh look at design issues through experienced eyes. Our approach aims at turning intense research and analysis of practical and theoretical matters into the driving forces of design. By continuously developing rigorous methods of analysis and execution, Alidoost & Partners is able to combine innovative thinking and efficient production.

Some of Alidoost & Partners’s most prominent projects include:

  • GOLIRAN Flower Shop, Rasht, Iran
  • 3×2, Tehran, Iran
  • MIKA-911, Tehran, Iran
  • “NILOOFAR” Residential Building, Tehran, Iran
  • Facade Renovation of ALVAND Office Building, Tehran, Iran

The following statistics helped Alidoost & Partners achieve 19th place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Iran:

Featured Projects 3
Total Projects 12

18. HABIBEH MADJDABADI Architecture Studio

© HABIBEH MADJDABADI Architecture Studio

© HABIBEH MADJDABADI Architecture Studio

HABIBEH MADJDABADI, born in 1977, is an Iranian architect, author, designer, and speaker. In 2002 she graduated by a Master’s degree in Architecture from Azad University of Tehran and started her professional career in 2003 by establishing her design studio in Tehran right after winning first prize in the design competition of restoring a historical building (belonging to Zand dynasty) in Iran.

Madjdabadi emphasizes the role of culture and geographical matters in her designs as well as putting a vast attention into choosing the materials and methods of fabrication. Materials are important means of ‘expression’ in her works and she considers them from a poetic point of view.

Some of HABIBEH MADJDABADI Architecture Studio’s most prominent projects include:

  • Genetic Mutation II (Villa CHAR BAGH ), Karaj, Iran
  • VALIASR Square, Tehran Province, Iran
  • Mahtabi House, Golpayegan, Iran
  • 40 Knots House, Tehran, Iran
  • Mellat Bank Pilot Façade, Tehran, Iran

The following statistics helped HABIBEH MADJDABADI Architecture Studio achieve 18th place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Iran:

Featured Projects 3
Total Projects 13

17. KanLan [Kamran Heirati, Tallan Khosravizadeh]

© KanLan [Kamran Heirati, Tallan Khosravizadeh]

© KanLan [Kamran Heirati, Tallan Khosravizadeh]

Kamran Heirati Architects was established to enhance the architecture and human experience by incorporating Iran’s authentic culture into its designs and respond to today’s community challenges. Established in 2001, this office has produced award-winning architectural and interior design projects across Iran and other countries.

Some of KanLan [Kamran Heirati, Tallan Khosravizadeh]’s most prominent projects include:

A+Awards Finalist ”1″
Featured Projects ”3″
Total Projects ”4″

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16. 35-51 ARCHITECTURE Office

© 35-51 ARCHITECTURE Office

© 35-51 ARCHITECTURE Office

35-51 ARCHITECTURE Office was founded by Hamid Abbasloo, Abbas Yaghooti, Neda Adiban Rad in 2014. They are involved in architecture, interior design and landscape projects in the Iran and beyond.

Some of 35-51 ARCHITECTURE Office’s most prominent projects include:

The following statistics helped 35-51 ARCHITECTURE Office achieve 16th place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Iran:

A+Awards Winner 1
Featured Projects 4
Total Projects 2

15. Davood Boroojeni Office

© Davood Boroojeni Office

© Davood Boroojeni Office

As a technically competent architecture firm with over 15 years of professional experience, we have been involved in different stages of architectural projects including the conception of preliminary design ideas, schematic design and design development, as well as producing submittal packages, visual presentations, construction documents, layouts and details through close dialogue with clients, producers and other engineers. We believe that our communication skills, public relations and problem-solving experience, combined with our background in related software, and our ability to research, schedule and coordinate design in various stages of the project, has made us a firm to depend on, and a key team member.

Some of Davood Boroojeni Office’s most prominent projects include:

The following statistics helped Davood Boroojeni Office achieve 15th place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Iran:

A+Awards Winner 1
Featured Projects 4
Total Projects 4

14. Rvad Studio

© Rvad Studio

© Rvad Studio

RVAD Architecture Studio is co-founded in Tehran, Iran in 2020 by two young Iranian architects, Ms. Hannaneh Misaghi and Mr. Hasan Dehghanpour. The studio’s design ideals are focused on extending the relationship between architecture and humanity with consideration of history and culture so as to produce designs appropriate for each site and in service of both the society and its citizens. RVAD Studio aims to present architectural solutions focused on the needs of future generations and their potential in view of each project’s benefit to present a new perspective on social relationships. The design projects range from single-family houses to residential, commercial and mixed-use large-scale complexes, to urban master plans.

Some of Rvad Studio’s most prominent projects include:

The following statistics helped Rvad Studio achieve 14th place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Iran:

A+Awards Winner 2
Featured Projects 3
Total Projects 2

13. BonnArq Architects

© BonnArq Architects

© BonnArq Architects

Behzad Atabaki Studio is an architecture, urban design, landscape architecture, interior design and furniture design studio. It was founded by Behzad Atabaki in 1999 and is currently a team of professionals such as architects, model makers, landscape designers and fine artists. The studio has adopted a multidisciplinary approach towards its projects, becoming involved in all stages of design and construction.

Some of BonnArq Architects’s most prominent projects include:

  • Niayesh Office Building, Tehran, Iran
  • Park residential, Tehran, Iran
  • Villa Didaar, Nowshahr, Iran
  • Aftab Office Building, Tehran, Iran
  • ChaharGah House, Mosha, Iran

The following statistics helped BonnArq Architects achieve 13th place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Iran:

Featured Projects 4
Total Projects 6

12. RYRA Studio

© RYRA Studio

© RYRA Studio

RYRA Design and construction studio was founded in 2000 with a goal of creating unique spaces by using new aspects of contemporary architecture. It seeks to develop designs that encompass in an expressive way the spatial needs, the spirit of the location and the constructive solution of the project. Artistic view is a key factor in RYRA design approach.

The work of RYRA in these years resulted in a collection of varied types in different fields of architecture which have been widely published and exhibited; this firm won several prizes in the most prestigious competitions held in Iran and abroad for its innovative designs. Vali-Asr building of this studio has been selected as the best office building of the year in World Architecture Festival in 2010.

Some of RYRA Studio’s most prominent projects include:

The following statistics helped RYRA Studio achieve 12th place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Iran:

A+Awards Winner 2
Featured Projects 1
Total Projects 5

11. Admun Studio

© Parham Taghioff

© Parham Taghioff

Considering contemporary lifestyle requirements while having future in mind, we believe in diagrammatic approaches toward tradition rather than formal repetition.

Some of Admun Studio’s most prominent projects include:

  • Cloaked in Bricks, Tehran, Iran
  • Aperture, Bumehen, Iran
  • Chooji restaurant, Tehran, Iran
  • Tiraje Cinema, Tehran, Iran
  • Laico Showroom, Tehran, Iran

The following statistics helped Admun Studio achieve 11th place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Iran:

A+Awards Winner 2
Featured Projects 4
Total Projects 8

10. AshariArchitects

© AshariArchitects

© AshariArchitects

Ashari Architects was founded by Iranian architect and university professor Amir Hossein Ashari. It is an Architecture Office firm designing primarily Residential Architecture.

Some of AshariArchitects’s most prominent projects include:

  • Sadra Library, Shiraz, Iran
  • TRIANGLE CAFE, Shiraz, Iran
  • THE PAUSE, Shiraz, Iran
  • Life Bridge, Shiraz, Iran
  • Urban Bridge, Isfahan, Iran

The following statistics helped AshariArchitects achieve 10th place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Iran:

Featured Projects 6
Total Projects 28

9. Marizad Architects

© Marizad Architects

© Marizad Architects

Mohsen Marizad Architects bases its design process on the understanding of systems and relationships which are derived from the project criteria, translating these systems into computational parameters from which the design is developed. The practice is not only involved in large-scale architectural projects but product design and academia as well. However, all activities are based on a process of experimentation, discovery and implementation which encourages interdisciplinary collaboration and a bottom-up approach to design.

Some of Marizad Architects’s most prominent projects include:

The following statistics helped Marizad Architects achieve 9th place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Iran:

A+Awards Winner 3
A+Awards Finalist 1
Featured Projects 3
Total Projects 7

8. New Wave Architecture (Lida Almassian / Shahin Heidari)

© New Wave Architecture(Lida Almassian / Shahin Heidari)

© New Wave Architecture(Lida Almassian / Shahin Heidari)

Founded in 2006, New Wave Architecture is a 150 person innovative architecture design firm in Tehran, Iran. It has been nationally and internationally honored with architecture‘s prestigious awards, publications, competitions and citation for design excellence with extensive experience in the campus and educational faculties, specialized hospitals and health care facilities. Other projects include retail design, residential work and recreational facilities. Over 120 projects has been designed, accomplished or due to be completed.

New Wave architecture seeks for global language of architecture to approach an innovative and challenging contemporary movement.It explores the new ways of emerging ideas, demanding and distinctive spaces regarding the aesthetic aspects, humanity and global communication.

Some of New Wave Architecture (Lida Almassian / Shahin Heidari)’s most prominent projects include:

  • Polour Rock Gym, Polour, Iran
  • Meygoun Residential Complex, Meygun, Iran
  • Turbosealtech New incubator and Office building, Tehran, Iran
  • Three Views / A House, Mosha, Iran
  • Iran Pavilion – Expo 2015, Milano, Italy

The following statistics helped New Wave Architecture(Lida Almassian / Shahin Heidari) achieve 8th place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Iran:

A+Awards Winner 2
A+Awards Finalist 1
Featured Projects 6
Total Projects 11

7. Nextoffice

© Nextoffice

© Nextoffice

Alireza Taghaboni, a practicing architect since 2004, founded Next Office in 2009. Taghaboni is also a painter and holds a PhD degree in Architecture. A frequent contributor to Iranian architecture and urbanism magazines and periodicals, he is a tutor and partner at the center for contemporary architecture, a private institution in Tehran that offers an alternative architectural education program.

Next Office, based in Tehran, aims to provide a contemporary alternative to traditional Iranian architecture, responding to the climate conditions, economic, socio political and cultural context of each project. The practice’s work ranges from single-family houses to residential, commercial and mixed-use large-scale complexes, to urban master plans. Over the past decade, the practice has won several Memar Awards, a prestigious national award for architecture in Iran held annually, making it one of the top prize-winning practices in the country.

Some of Nextoffice’s most prominent projects include:

The following statistics helped Nextoffice achieve 7th place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Iran:

A+Awards Finalist 4
Featured Projects 5
Total Projects 10

6. CAAT Studio

© Parham Taghioff

© Parham Taghioff

Mahdi Kamboozia established CAAT Studio (C/KambooziA ArchitecTure Studio) in 2015. The CAAT Studio activity can be construction engineering in the context, to the closer the distance from the idea of the design to the construction. The opinion that future architecture is not only about the advancement of design and construct technology but also in proposing ideas tailored to the new conditions in social relations. This look has evolved over the years to deal with different projects and the growth and development of the studio. We are looking forward to confronting the projects with design problems and come up with a solution. Each assignment defines a different story which shows there are varying answers to each task.

Some of CAAT Studio’s most prominent projects include:

  • Private Jewelry Retail office #04, Tehran, Iran
  • Kamyaran City School, Kamyaran, Iran
  • Forgotten spaces / Anthropology Open Air Museum / under the Mirdamad Bridge, Tehran, Iran
  • Isfahan H to V House, Isfahan, Iran
  • Kahrizak Residential #01, Kahrizak, Iran

The following statistics helped CAAT Studio achieve 6th place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Iran:

A+Awards Winner 2
A+Awards Finalist 1
Featured Projects 6
Total Projects 7

5. Farshad MehdiZadeh Design | FMZD

© Farshad MehdiZadeh Design | FMZD

© Farshad MehdiZadeh Design | FMZD

Farshad MehdiZadeh Design | FMZD was founded by Farshad Mehdizadeh in 2012 in Tehran. In our opinion architecture cannot be designed outside of context, urban activities and relevant interactions. Actually, the context is what brings interactions and life into architecture and redefines the architectural elements. This leads us to design and define the border between the private and public domains. The context gets its particular character from defining the border between inside and outside, Public and private or architecture and metropolis in response to the situations around.

In all my projects my practice has tried to realize architecture not as an icon added to a site, but as an extension or combination of behaviors, events and urban interactions which organize and manipulate the landscape. This is the way that we make our design more sustainable and related to the context. During these projects my design team has also focused on the context to use the local material, construction techniques and apply local and traditional construction workers who sometimes compel us to go to the site and teach them how to improve and apply their local techniques to the project.

Some of Farshad MehdiZadeh Design | FMZD’s most prominent projects include:

The following statistics helped Farshad MehdiZadeh Design | FMZD achieve 5th place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Iran:

A+Awards Winner 2
A+Awards Finalist 3
Featured Projects 6
Total Projects 17

4. Kalbod Design Studio

© Kalbod Design Studio

© Kalbod Design Studio

Kalbod Design Studio is one of the subsets of Kalbod Construction Group, which works in the field of execution and design, was established by Mohammad Rahimizadeh in 2016. During his years of activity, he has designed various projects with a variety of uses. With the aim of providing a contemporary alternative to traditional Iranian architecture, tries responding accurately to challenges of the climatic, economic, political, social and cultural conditions of each project. In addition to creativity and quality, the kalbod studio knows the needs and limitations of its projects well and designs beyond nationalities and specialized disciplines, regardless of borders.

Some of Kalbod Design Studio’s most prominent projects include:

The following statistics helped Kalbod Design Studio achieve 4th place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Iran:

Featured Projects 11
Total Projects 19

3. ZAV Architects

© ZAV Architects

© ZAV Architects

ZAV’s Practice of Architecture: An Unfinished Plan to challenging the earth defining our theoretical framework of ZAV, making us realize that the structure and spaces organizing the work of ZAV need to be reconsidered in the actual building of the office. In 2018 our office was redesigned in accordance to the framework. Each title represents a space inside the office and states its mission.

Architecture can redefine its capacities beyond the limits put in place by the building industry and is able to shift its operation field from that of a passive object to designing an entire process to get engaged as a socio-political agent. ZAV’s solution for attaining social optimum in a developing economy is incorporating architecture in the GDP.

Some of ZAV Architects’s most prominent projects include:

The following statistics helped ZAV Architects achieve 3rd place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Iran:

A+Awards Winner 3
A+Awards Finalist 4
Featured Projects 6
Total Projects 12

2. Hooba Design

© Hooba Design

© Hooba Design

Born in 1978, Hooman Balazadeh is the founder and executive director of HOOBA Design Group. Gaining his Master of Architecture in 2003, Balazadeh started working at Shirdel & Partners, where he was a design member for two years, active on several projects. Balazadeh established HOOBA Design in 2007 with the aim of developing projects in harmony with the cultural and geographical characteristics of the site so that each project forms a new platform for research and investigation. This office has focused on various topics such as light, color, relation between architecture and the city, building materials, development of spatial diagrams in the Persian Architecture, etc.

Some of Hooba Design’s most prominent projects include:

  • Sharif Office Building, Tehran, Iran
  • Espriss Café, Tehran, Iran
  • Ozgol Residential Apartment, Tehran, Iran
  • Valiahdi Office Building, Karaj, Iran
  • Aptus Factory Showroom, Karaj, Iran

Top image: Hitra Office & Commercial Building, Tehran, Iran

The following statistics helped Hooba Design achieve 2nd place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Iran:

A+Awards Winner 5
A+Awards Finalist 4
Featured Projects 6
Total Projects 20

1. Mado Architects

© Mado Architects

© Mado Architects

The Tehran-based MADO STUDIO was founded by Maziar Dolatabadi on 1998. In the beginning it was working under the title AXIS when it changed its name to MADO on 2017. During these years MADO has designed and executed over 300 projects with different usages around the world, with the purpose of designing and creating new and distinguished architectural spaces. In these years of nonstop activities, we have created numerous imaginative ideas with executable solutions for our projects. With these ideas and solutions, we have continuously managed to utilize spaces in the best way possible while minimizing our clients’ cost and implementation time.

Some of Mado Architects’s most prominent projects include:

The following statistics helped Mado Architects achieve 1st place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Iran:

A+Awards Winner 3
Featured Projects 14
Total Projects 35

Why Should I Trust Architizer’s Ranking?

With more than 30,000 architecture firms and over 130,000 projects within its database, Architizer is proud to host the world’s largest online community of architects and building product manufacturers. Its celebrated A+Awards program is also the largest celebration of architecture and building products, with more than 400 jurors and hundreds of thousands of public votes helping to recognize the world’s best architecture each year.

Architizer also powers firm directories for a number of AIA (American Institute of Architects) Chapters nationwide, including the official directory of architecture firms for AIA New York.

An example of a project page on Architizer with Project Award Badges highlighted

A Guide to Project Awards

The blue “+” badge denotes that a project has won a prestigious A+Award as described above. Hovering over the badge reveals details of the award, including award category, year, and whether the project won the jury or popular choice award.

The orange Project of the Day and yellow Featured Project badges are awarded by Architizer’s Editorial team, and are selected based on a number of factors. The following factors increase a project’s likelihood of being featured or awarded Project of the Day status:

  • Project completed within the last 3 years
  • A well written, concise project description of at least 3 paragraphs
  • Architectural design with a high level of both functional and aesthetic value
  • High quality, in focus photographs
  • At least 8 photographs of both the interior and exterior of the building
  • Inclusion of architectural drawings and renderings
  • Inclusion of construction photographs

There are 7 Projects of the Day each week and a further 31 Featured Projects. Each Project of the Day is published on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram Stories, while each Featured Project is published on Facebook. Each Project of the Day also features in Architizer’s Weekly Projects Newsletter and shared with 170,000 subscribers.

 


 

We’re constantly look for the world’s best architects to join our community. If you would like to understand more about this ranking list and learn how your firm can achieve a presence on it, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at editorial@architizer.com.

Reference

Jan Hendzel
CategoriesInterior Design

“Emerging talents require nurture” says Jan Hendzel

More can be done to support emerging designers in London says Jan Hendzel, who curated an exhibition focused on emerging talent at this year’s London Design Festival.

Jan Hendzel Studio curated the 11:11 exhibition, which paired 11 established designers with 11 emerging designers, to draw attention to interesting south London designers.

Jan Hendzel
The 11:11 exhibition (top) was curated by Jan Hendzel (above)

“Our emphasis was on creating a platform to support the grassroots and emerging creators of south London,” Hendzel told Dezeen.

“By forging new relationships and connecting the established design industry with up-and-coming makers, 11:11 aims to create a more inclusive and diverse future in design.”

Bowater drawers by Jan Hendzel Studio alongside artwork by Carl Koch
Bowater drawers by Jan Hendzel Studio with Column I by Alison Crowther and Argentus by Dominic McHenry and Untitled Ceramic tiles by Carl Koch on wall

For the exhibition, 11 established designers – A Rum Fellow, Alison Crowther, Charlotte Kingsnorth, Daniel Schofield, Grain & Knot, Jan Hendzel Studio, Martino Gamper, Novocastrian, Sedilia, Simone Brewster, Raw Edges – each displayed their work alongside an emerging designer selected from an open call.

The emerging designers showcased were Alice Adler, Carl Koch, Dominic McHenry, Jacob Marks, Mariangel Talamas Leal, Moss, Silje Loa, Söder Studio, Unu Sohn, William Waterhouse and Woojin Joo.

Frames by Charlotte Kingsnorth
The Wrong Tree Picture Frame and Mirror by Charlotte Kingsnorth behind Thoroughly Odd by Woojin Joo

Hendzel believes that events like LDF can create space for emerging talents to showcase their work, but often focuses on university-educated designers.

“The importance of offering a platform to emerging talent, especially that of grassroots and local level creatives, is to offer empowerment and to demonstrate that design is a profession that can offer meaningful and exciting careers,” he said.

Lupita Lounge Chair by Mariangel Talamas Leal alongside Periscope Rug by A Rum Fellow and BUTW Floor Lamp by Charlotte Kingsnorth
Lupita Lounge Chair by Mariangel Talamas Leal alongside Periscope Rug by A Rum Fellow and BUTW Floor Lamp by Charlotte Kingsnorth

“When the design festival rolls into town, yes, I believe we do have platforms for emerging creatives; however, one big issue is that design shows can be cost-prohibitive and often focus on university-educated people, which by default puts the profession at the more elitist end of things,” he continued.

“If you don’t have cash or a degree then finding a platform to celebrate your ideas can be difficult.”

A Martino Gamper chair alongside a table by
A Martino Gamper chair alongside with F2 Dice and F2 Line by Moss on plinth by Jan Hendzel Studio.

He believes that LDF and others can do more to support emerging talents, and suggests that providing free space for exhibitions and installations would be a way of doing this.

“Emerging talents require nurture, they require safe places to practise their respective disciplines and they require opportunities for growth through connections and collaborations with established practitioners to elevate their craft,” he explained.

“A great opportunity would be to find and offer more free spaces to emerging groups, alongside bursaries and support packages in how to promote your event and develop your respective craft within a design district.”

Grain & Knot
Sculptural wall hangings by Grain & Knot with Pina Lamps by Jacob Marks

The exhibition, which is taking place at Staffordshire St gallery in Peckham, includes numerous pieces of furniture with chairs designed by Gamper and Leal, as well as drawers by Jan Hendzel Studio and Crowther.

Sedilia’s contribution was a Roll Top Chair and Roll Top Ottoman.

The exhibition also include mirrors designed by Jan Hendzel Studio, Novocastrian and Kingsnorth, and clothing by Soeder.

Also on display were lights by Schofield and by Marks.

The Port Free Mirror by Novocastrian alongside the Roll Top Chair and Roll Top Ottoman by Sedilia with Song 1 Awe-to Series by William Waterhouse hanging from ceiling and Draped in Wood by Silje Loa on a plinth
The Port Free Mirror by Novocastrian alongside the Roll Top Chair and Roll Top Ottoman by Sedilia with Song 1 Awe-to Series by William Waterhouse hanging from ceiling and Draped in Wood by Silje Loa on a plinth

Another exhibition showcasing the work of emerging designers at LDF was Drop02, which contained work from IKEA and H&M’s Atelier100 design incubator.

Other projects currently on display as part of the festival include a prototype modular furniture system by Zaha Hadid Design and furniture by Andu Masebo crafted from a scrapped car.

Smock 01 by Addison Soeder behind Landmark Coffee Table and Side Table with Ray Lamp by Daniel Schofield
Smock 01 by Addison Soeder behind Landmark Coffee Table and Side Table with Ray Lamp by Daniel Schofield

The photography is by BJ Deakin Photography.

The 11:11 exhibition takes place 16-24 September at the Staffordshire St gallery as part of London Design Festival 2023. See our London Design Festival 2023 guide on Dezeen Events Guide for information about the many other exhibitions, installations and talks taking place throughout the week.



Reference

Mapping the seafloor in high-resolution
CategoriesSustainable News

Mapping the seafloor in high-resolution

Spotted: Did you know that ocean basins are home to 94 per cent of the world’s total wildlife? As with many environments on land, the ocean’s health is also under threat, compromising a vast ecosystem. But it is near impossible to understand and improve biodiversity without accurate data. This is the task that German startup PlanBlue has set its sights on.  

The company, which is a spin-out from The Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology, uses an innovative system of ‘underwater satellites’ to map the ocean floor and gather the data necessary to make progress in terms of ecosystem restoration. By combining hyperspectral imaging, satellite navigation, and artificial-intelligence-powered (AI) automated data processing, the company’s system can process map areas quickly, easily, and in great detail – including information on organism health. 

PlanBlue’s products include Orthoimagery, which provides detailed maps of seabeds; Coverage, which detects and distinguishes seagrass meadows; and Carbon Stock, which can estimate the quantity of carbon contained within seagrass meadows. 

In March 2023, PlanBlue was announced as one of the winners of the World Economic Forum’s Ocean Data Challenge, and the company is currently planning a series A funding round to help it establish data distribution centres worldwide.

In the archive, Springwise has also spotted the use of lasers to monitor underwater environments, as well as the use of turmeric to restore coral reefs.

Written By: Amanda Simms

Reference

restoration unveils centuries-old wooden roof structure inside portuguese residence
CategoriesArchitecture

restoration unveils centuries-old roof structure inside portuguese residence

Combo Studio revives Casa São Victor in Porto

 

Combo Studio breathes new life into Casa São Victor, a historical building in Porto dating back to 1880-1881 that had lost its original charm due to ill-fated interventions that compromised its architectural integrity and spatial essence. The profit-driven alterations convert the building into collective housing, overshadowing its intrinsic character. The renovation aims to uncover the building’s original attributes preserving its heritage. Originally conceived as a single-family residence, the house features high ceilings, intricate carpentry, and a central staircase crowned by a conical skylight. The project revives the original spatial quality and comfort by subtracting any intrusive elements from the interior.

 

The project centers primarily on the revitalization of the building’s interior, excluding the untouched ground-floor commercial space. Spanning four floors, the dwelling’s layout unfolds connecting the various levels through the central staircase. The first floor houses the living area and kitchen, while the second floor offers a bedroom and bathroom. Ascending to the third floor reveals another bedroom and bathroom.

restoration unveils centuries-old wooden roof structure inside portuguese residence
all images by Alexander Bogorodskiy

 

 

renovation reinterprets original architectural attributes

 

Originally conceived for an artist, a flexible studio-bedroom is devised on the top floor, offering versatility for combining sleeping areas with artistic pursuits. Along the entire length of the main wall, the design team installs a tripartite folding table, an adaptable centerpiece that can assume multiple configurations tailored to the workspace’s needs, discreetly folding into a wall paneling when not in use.

 

The restoration extends to the replacement of certain carpentry elements, such as craft baseboards and doors with their respective jambs. A restored partition wall within the water closet, unveiled during demolitions, now serves as a statement piece. In the top-floor bedroom, the removal of a false ceiling unveils the entire roof structure and a petite mansard, infusing the space with an airy expanse and natural light. Traditional materials like wood, Estremoz marble, and azulejos, along with a palette of light hues are thoughtfully chosen to visually amplify the interior’s sense of space. The aesthetic and formal features of the building’s original period act as a guide for the renovation project as elements from the past resurface, reinterpreted with a modern touch. The kitchen echoes old kitchens with grand chimneys and stone sinks, simplified for contemporary living.

restoration unveils centuries-old wooden roof structure inside portuguese residence
in the top-floor bedroom, the removal of a false ceiling unveils the entire roof structure

restoration unveils centuries-old wooden roof structure inside portuguese residence
the project revives the original spatial quality by subtracting any intrusive elements from the interior

restoration unveils centuries-old wooden roof structure inside portuguese residence
the house features high ceilings, intricate carpentry, and a central staircase crowned by a conical skylight

restoration unveils centuries-old wooden roof structure inside portuguese residence
spanning four floors, the dwelling’s layout unfolds connecting the levels through the central staircase

Reference

Vasto gallery by Mesura apartment interior
CategoriesInterior Design

Mesura furnishes Casa Vasto apartment with “constellation of objects”

Local studio Mesura has designed a live-work home for a gallery owner that combines exhibition space with living quarters in a former factory in Barcelona.

Casa Vasto is situated in the city’s seaside neighbourhood El Poblenou, characterised by its 18th-century industrial buildings that were deindustrialised in the 1960s and 70s.

Vasto gallery by Mesura apartment interior
Unfurnished areas serve as exhibition space

The apartment is located in one of these former factories and comprises two spaces – the public living and kitchen area that also houses gallery exhibitions, and the private bedroom and bathroom that are reserved solely for the owner’s use.

A service core made from birch wood divides the space without being attached to the walls or to the ceiling, which has an unusual vaulted design characteristic of factories built in Barcelona in the 19th century. This channels services to the kitchen and bathroom components and contains a toilet, shower and storage.

Vasto gallery by Mesura apartment interior
Bespoke furniture sits alongside design classics

On one side of the core is the living and gallery space. This has plenty of space to hold exhibitions and is filled with monolithic furnishings that create functional zones, including a long dining table with cylindrical legs and a blocky stainless-steel kitchen island.

A low, sprawling sofa defines the lounge area, which centres around a coffee table fashioned from waste material created during the apartment’s construction by designer Sara Regal.

Vasto gallery by Mesura apartment interior
Low-lying furnishings underline the height of the space and the unique ceiling

Artworks and furniture have been arranged throughout the space, which was curated in collaboration between the owners and Mesura.

“The project’s interior design is reinterpreted as a constellation of unique objects detached from the apartment’s limits,” said Mesura.

“These elements contrast with the white-washed walls and light-wood furnishings to emerge as accents of colour and form, weaving a cohesive and contemporary identity throughout the project, drawing focus to the pieces and artwork.”

Vasto gallery by Mesura apartment interior
The minimalistic kitchen unit shares the central core’s oblong profile

Bespoke pieces custom-made for Casa Vasto are flanked by iconic design classics, such as architect Mies van der Rohe’s MR10 Chair and architect Mario Botta’s Seconda Chai.

“Some of the interior pieces were specifically designed for the space – kitchen, dining table, service core, bathtub – and the others – sofas, chairs, lighting – were more of a process with the clients, who had their own preferences and interests,” Mesura told Dezeen.

Frames are hung on the walls in the bedroom, which also contains two sinks and a bathtub encased in blocky concrete volumes.

As in the rest of the space, rectangular windows extend from floor level to let natural light into the space.

Vasto gallery by Mesura apartment interior
The bed, bath and sink unit are all custom-made for the project

“We think the pieces selected for the interiors create a comfortable and unique atmosphere when in touch with the bespoke furniture we designed for the project,” the studio told Dezeen.

Other adaptive reuse apartment projects on Dezeen include an apartment in a converted bank office by Puntofilipino and a flat in a former chocolate factory by SSdH.

The photography is by Salva López.

Reference

Simplified hydroponics systems - Springwise
CategoriesSustainable News

Simplified hydroponics systems – Springwise

Spotted: The Global Report on Food Crises (GRFC) 2023 estimates that over a quarter of a billion people were acutely food-insecure in 2022, something UN Secretary-General António Guterres calls “a stinging indictment of humanity’s failure to make progress towards Sustainable Development Goal 2 to end hunger, and achieve food security and improved nutrition for all.” Ugandan agtech company Hydroponics Gardens Masaka is working to reduce the number of people experiencing food insecurity by providing supported hydroponic growing programmes.  

Designed specifically for smallholder farmers and entrepreneurs – especially women – the hydroponic gardens grow feed for animals and vegetables for the community. The company provides training on the hardware and software required to run a hydroponic farm, along with growing and harvesting techniques. And to help accelerate the profitability of the garden, the startup supplies growers with direct-to-consumer business models and plans.  

Because the gardens don’t require soil, and use much less water than traditional gardens, the systems can be installed in a range of smaller spaces. Young growth barley grows large enough in just five to eight days to be fed to livestock, and the hydroponic gardens can be installed either vertically or horizontally, depending on what best suits the homeowner’s space. Cabbage, kale, spinach, and other greens are crops Hydroponics Gardens Masaka recommends for home-growing.  

Owners can choose varied levels of automation for the systems, and waste is minimal, which is partially why hydroponic farming is a more sustainable means of growing food. So far, from the over 500 growing systems Hydroponics Gardens Masaka has installed for home use, more than 100 tonnes of food have been generated.  

As the need for locally grown food continues to increase, innovators are creating a range of solutions. In the archive, Springwise has spotted examples such as the use of food waste for hydroponic nutrients and an app-led connected grow pod for home use.

Written By: Keely Khoury

Reference

Aerial view of Silver Lining House
CategoriesArchitecture

Mork-Ulnes creates house in San Francisco that “breaks from tradition”

Mork-Ulnes Architects has completed the Silver Lining House, a crisp, gabled home clad in black-stained cedar that was designed for an architectural photographer and interior designer.

Located on a sloped site in San Francisco’s Bernal Heights neighbourhood, the house sits among Victorian and Edwardian homes that line the area’s hilly streets.

Aerial view of Silver Lining House
Silver Lining House is a black-stained cedar dwelling in San Francisco

The project was designed for architectural photographer Bruce Damonte and interior designer Alison Damonte, who have long been friends with architect Casper Mork-Ulnes, founder of Mork-Ulnes Architects.

The couple, who are avid collectors, desired a home that showcased their treasured belongings and supported their creative work.

Gabled home by Mork-Ulnes
Mork-Ulnes Architects designed the home with a gabled roof

“We knew from the outset that this project would be an interesting collaboration, balancing our reductive tendencies with the more exuberant and maximalist impulses of our client/friends, whose style we had always admired and wanted to celebrate,” said Casper Mork-Ulnes.

The architect and his team at Mork-Ulnes Architects – which has offices in San Francisco and Oslo – conceived a home for the Damontes that “conceptually functions as a container for their furniture and art collections and a laboratory for their work”.

Penthouse-style white kitchen with gabled roof
The top level was envisioned as a penthouse-type space

Rectangular in plan, the home rises three levels and features a crisp, gabled form. Facades are clad in strips of black-stained cedar and are punctured with openings of varying sizes.

The architects took cues from the surrounding context when deciding on key design elements such as scale, massing and cladding – but they also strayed from the norm.

Living room interior design in San Francisco home by Mork-Ulnes
It feature a living space

“While replicating the roof forms, entry portal/stoop and massing of the Victorian homes, the new house also breaks from tradition with a black-painted facade and ribbon windows that visually connect the interior of the house to the neighbourhood,” the team said.

“Tradition is reinterpreted here with a decidedly contemporary perspective, where formal research and construction techniques are integral to creating an original and innovative outcome that engages its surroundings while also prompting further inquiry,” the team added.

Primary bedroom suite
The ground level holds a primary bedroom suite

Totalling 2,818 square feet (261 square metres), the home has a “flipped floor plan”, in which private quarters are found on lower levels and communal spaces are placed up high.

The ground level holds a garage, primary bedroom suite, laundry room and sunken garden. The main entrance is found on the first floor, where the team placed a guest suite, a home office, two bathrooms and intimate spaces for relaxing and entertaining.

Rooftop terrace
A terrace offers sweeping views of the city

The top level – envisioned as a penthouse-type space – encompasses a kitchen, dining area, living room and powder room. A terrace offers sweeping views of the city.

Floors are linked by a curved staircase topped with a skylight. Half-polished chrome slats bounce reflections around the stairwell, an effect meant to “mimic the experience of walking through a disco ball”.

Curved staircase topped with a skylight
Floors are linked by a curved staircase topped with a skylight

Mirrored surfaces are found in other parts of the house, lending a feeling of playfulness while also producing spacial and light-generating effects, the team said.

Overall, the home’s interior design – overseen by Alison Damonte – offers a mix of colours, textures and patterns that “reflect the owners’ collective creative spirit”, the team said.

Sustainability was in mind throughout the project, leading to the inclusion of elements such as high-performance windows, exterior solar shading and energy-efficient appliances.

Rooftop solar panels generate electricity that can be stored in a Powerwall battery system, and unused electricity is sent back to the power grid.

Interior design by Alison Damonte
The home’s interior design was overseen by Alison Damonte

The home’s completion marks the end of a journey spanning more than a decade.

In 2010, the Damontes purchased a modest residence in Bernal Heights dating to the early 1900s.

Colourful table inside Silver Lining House by Mork-Ulnes Architects
Silver Lining House includes various colourful accents

Several years later, they enlisted Mork-Ulnes to renovate the house, and just when plans were being finalized in 2017, the house caught fire and was partly destroyed.

The team salvaged what they could and reworked the design.

Silver Lining House by Mork-Ulnes Architects
The home’s completion marks the end of a journey spanning more than a decade

“While the incident forced a reevaluation of scope and scale of the redesign, the couple’s goal remained the same – to create a home that acted as a capsule of art and inspiration,” the team said.

Other projects by Mork-Ulnes include an eight-sided house in Oregon that was built using cross-laminated timber and a California residence clad in Corten steel to protect the building from wildfire.

The photography is by Bruce Damonte


Project credits:

Architect: Mork-Ulnes Architects
Project design team: Casper Mork-Ulnes, Lexie Mork-Ulnes, Phi Van Phan, Gregoriy Ladigin
Interior designer: Alison Damonte
Construction manager: Raffi Nazarian
Landscape architect: Terremoto
Structural engineer: Santos & Urritia
Lighting design: PritchardPeck
General contractor: Rico’s General Construction, Inc
Cabinetmaker: Hopebuilt

Reference

Townhouse rear extension with cube pale-brick volumes
CategoriesInterior Design

Light and Air opens up Z House in Brooklyn to the outdoors

Local studio Light and Air has introduced a light-filled void at the centre of a Brooklyn townhouse as part of a major reconfiguration and extension project.

The home in the leafy Clinton Hill neighbourhood was bought by a family of four with roots in India and required a complete gut renovation to open up the spaces to the outside.

Townhouse rear extension with cube pale-brick volumes
The overhaul of Z House involved a significant rear extension, comprising cube volumes clad in pale brick

“They wanted a house that exhibited a strong connection to nature, featuring a more seamless integration between inside and out,” said Light and Air.

The project involved extending the building one level vertically, bringing its total number of storeys to four, as well as pushing it out significantly at the back.

Kitchen and dining area with oak millwork and pale brick wall
The brick continues into the kitchen and dining area on the lower floor

While the historic front facade was carefully restored, the rear elevation now presents as a contemporary stack of pale-brick cube volumes.

The interior was completely reorganized to allow sightlines between the original spaces, the new extensions and the outdoors.

Kitchen with brick walls, oak millwork and a central island
Oak millwork in the kitchen continues through the minimal interiors

The most dramatic change involved swapping the stacked staircase with a switchback configuration – a similar approach taken by the studio at another Brooklyn townhouse in 2018.

This arrangement allows for improved visual connections between the levels and gave the project its name, Z House.

Wooden staircase that leads to perpendicular white staircase above
Reconfiguring the house involved swapping the stacked staircase for a switchback arrangement from the parlour level to the top floor

In addition, an angled skylight was added above the staircase void, bringing in light all the way down to the parlour 40 feet (12 metres) below.

“Filled by light and air, the stair’s drama is heightened by the placement of large windows punctuating the rear facade, allowing the vertical space to open to the exterior,” said the studio.

Switchback staircase beside a corridor with wooden doors
A skylight over the staircase void brings light down into the home

Of the home’s four storeys, the lower levels are occupied by the public spaces including the kitchen, dining, living and media rooms.

The top two levels are reserved for the children’s rooms and the primary suite respectively. The uppermost floor also accommodates a home office and provides access to a roof terrace created by the rear extension.

“This private, elevated, exterior space offers a unique domestic experience not typically found in most Brooklyn rowhouses,” Light and Air said.

Interiors throughout are clean and minimal, with white walls and custom oak millwork, built-ins and furniture.

Bedroom with custom oak bed and built-ins
The primary bedroom on the top floor features a custom oak bed and built-ins

The pale brick of the rear facade is also expressed inside the double-height kitchen and dining area, which is open to the back patio.

“Located above the garden level addition is a green roof that buffers sightlines from the parlor floor, creating the effect of a floating garden beyond,” said Light and Air.

Historic townhouse facade in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn
The historic street facade of the Clinton Hill townhouse was also restored as part of the renovation

Founded by Shane Neufeld in 2017, the studio has completed a variety of interior design projects across New York City.

These include a Brooklyn apartment retrofitted with ample custom cabinetry and a spiral staircase and a Financial District loft where partitions were removed to create an open, inviting space.

The photography is by Kevin Kunstadt.

Reference

Photo of a green Bello! bench by Hydro and Lars Beller Fjetland camouflaged within a dense field of clover
CategoriesSustainable News

Hydro celebrates sustainable partnerships at London Design Festival

Promotion: aluminium and renewable energy company Hydro is exhibiting its collaboration with designer Lars Beller Fjetland at the London Design Festival, exploring how partnerships can help make the metals industry more sustainable.

Earlier this year Hydro and Fjetland partnered to launch Bello! bench, a piece of outdoor seating made from extruded aluminium with 90 per cent recycled content.

Hydro is now exhibiting the bench at Material Matters at Oxo Tower, in a display that aims to communicate how the project advances the company’s ambition to decarbonise society.

Photo of a green Bello! bench by Hydro and Lars Beller Fjetland camouflaged within a dense field of clover
The Bello! bench is the latest designer collaboration from Hydro

“Material and manufacturing literacy are key to creating truly sustainable products”, says Hydro’s marketing director, Asle Forsbak, noting an estimate that 80 per cent of a product’s environmental footprint is determined in the design phase.

The company aims to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 and push the whole industry towards those goals as well.

This approach has guided the company into partnerships with designers and producers including Tom Dixon, Polestar, Porsche and Cake as it seeks to share knowledge about how to design with aluminium.

Bello! bench by Hydro and Lars Beller Fjetland
The collaboration explores how partnerships can help make the metals industry more sustainable

“As a designer the choices you make at the drawing board decide if the product can be taken apart and recycled again and again, which is why understanding material properties and manufacturing processes is key,” said Forsbak.

According to Forsbak, a deep understanding of engineering, material science and the realities of production all shaped the Bello! bench.

It is made from 90 per cent recycled aluminium, most of which is end-consumer scrap and can be recycled in its entirety.

Photo of a green extruded metal bench sitting within a forest of dence foliage
The bench is made from extruded aluminium with 90 per cent recycled content

Fjetland based his design on penne rigate pasta, luxuriating in the ridged surface texture that could be created through extrusion.

As part of the exhibition, Fjetland is releasing Bello! in a new colour, a “striking, naturalesque green”, and says the design is “a practical example of how we are stronger when we work together”.

“At face value, Hydro might seem like an unlikely exhibitor at the London Design Festival,” said Forsbak. “But with the Bello! bench, we want to demonstrate how the industry and designers can work together to produce a practical and pretty product that can be mass produced, and also meet the society’s growing sustainability demands.”

Close-up photo of the side profile of the Bello! aluminium outdoor bench by Hydro in a green colour, sat within a dense bright green forest
The collaboration advances Hydro’s sustainability goals, according to the company

“At one hand, industrial mass production comes with a slew of challenges regarding environmental sustainability,” said Forsbak. “On the other hand, there needs to be a market pull for companies to produce sustainably.”

Forsbak explains that for “real, impactful change” it is necessary to have an amalgamation of perspectives, expertise and industries when designing products.

“The sustainability challenge of mass production isn’t solved in a vacuum; We need to work closely with our partners to help decarbonise society,” he said. “That is why collaboration is key.”

The Bello! bench can be seen at Hydro’s display at the Material Matters exhibition. The company’s stand will be made from reused structural components from past exhibitions.

To learn more about aluminium and design, visit Hydro’s aluminium knowledge hub, Shapes.

Partnership content

This article was written by Dezeen for Hydro as part of a partnership. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here.

Reference

Planet Champions: Emily Stochl - Springwise
CategoriesSustainable News

Planet Champions: Emily Stochl – Springwise

September is traditionally the month when the fashion industry puts its best foot forward, with fashion weeks taking place in New York, London, Milan and Paris. Social feeds, magazines, and style sections scrutinise the latest collections and ‘what we’ll be wearing’, while fast fashion retailers race to get high street interpretations online and into bricks and mortar stores.

Of course, September isn’t the only landmark month for fashion and the fast fashion juggernaut is relentless, with Chinese firm Shein reportedly releasing on average 6,000 new products a day. Unwanted clothes often end up in landfill, or shipped to the global south where they are either sold in low-value markets or simply burnt.

Fortunately, there are countless innovators around the world looking to shake up the way things are done in the world of textiles, from the creation of new sustainable materials to the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to make manufacturing less wasteful, as well as inspiring activist groups wanting to shed light on the unsustainable reality of our modern wardrobes and encourage change.

We sat down with Emily Stochl, presenter of the Pre-Loved podcast and Director of Education for the non-profit, global advocacy organisation Remake, which is fighting for fair pay and climate justice within the clothing industry.

A discussion with emily stochl

Remake is on a mission to disrupt our current destructive model of consumption and make ‘fashion a force for good’. “We take an ‘and, and, and’ approach,” says Emily. “Education for individuals, brand accountability and policy change. Those are the three pillars of our work because we believe that those three things work in tandem. It takes people to influence politicians and it takes policy to influence brands.” 

As Remake’s director of education, Emily ensures that the 1,700-strong global network of advocates have the materials they need to spread the word about more conscious consumption and fair treatment of garment workers. “I support those communities with ready-to-go materials, whether it’s for lectures, workshops, resources or curriculums – things they can use to communicate the Remake message in whatever space they are in. We believe in this grassroots model, we want to put the information in as many hands as possible.”

Building connection

As is the case for many now working in similar industries, the 2013 Plaza Factory collapse really opened Emily’s eyes to the dark realities of fashion production – and the individuals who are so central to a garment’s creation, but often left forgotten by the big brands they work for.

“Once that major disaster had happened, I wanted to make a difference, but this is a common story – people want to make a difference but we don’t know how to do it on our own. We need community around us. So I went out looking for that community in other sustainability spaces. I found that in the second hand community, I found Remake and the fashion advocacy community and so I got involved both in making the podcast and Remake about the same time around 2017 or 18. For me it was about finding other people who care about these issues so that we can do better together.”

And empathy is core to the Remake mission. “Pre-Covid, one of the things that we would do is take US college students in fashion programmes to meet garment workers similar in age to them in other countries to build a connection. It’s the idea that ‘women just like me‘ in the global south are producing our clothes.”

This insight that change can come through connecting the cheap top you’ve just bought to the person in a factory working up to 14 hours a day to produce hundreds of them is simple, but powerful.

#NoNewClothes

Emily also leads Remake’s #NoNewClothes campaign, which is just drawing to a close. Although as Emily says, “You can do it any time of year! #NoNewClothes is built off the ideology that it takes three months to build a habit that’s going to last. If we can get you to pledge not to buy anything new, to reset that mindset – which is automatically to buy something new – and you can commit for 90 days, it’s going to have an effect on you that we believe will last you for a long time.  

“So much about how we interact with fashion is about fast fashion and marketing messages that tell us to consume. We’re saying press pause for a moment to think about over consumption and see how you can make an impact through water saved and carbon emissions saved.” 

At the current tally, over 1,800 people have taken the pledge, saving around 17.6 million litres of water, and preventing 375,000 kilogrammes of carbon from entering the atmosphere. The ‘ticker’ is constantly updating on the Remake site. Each person commits to reusing clothes, buying second-hand or not buying anything new at all. The last point is the one that often gets missed but is crucial. According to a Time story earlier this year, TikTok influencer Drew Afualo, who has more than 6 million followers, defended a partnership with Shein by saying that “Sustainable fashion is a privilege,” and “Not everyone can afford to shop sustainably.” 

“What I’d put back to someone who is questioning whether this is something you could do, is to ask, ‘Do you think you have what you need to get by for three months?’ And I think for the vast majority of people in the global north they absolutely do. We have enough clothing, we have enough in our closet. The first question I get asked is ‘Where do I shop instead?’ And I get that impulse because we have been trained to think about sustainable swaps but really it’s about more than that. It’s about realising you have enough or that you could be fine with less.”

Looking forward

Reflecting on the enormous impact that fashion production has both on people and our planet is disheartening, and it can feel like the individual is fighting an uphill battle against mega-corporations that are resistant to change. Luckily, Emily is keeping the faith: “I’m an eternally optimistic person, but I stay optimistic because I see change happening every day. Because I get to be a part of campaigns and see people take action and see results. I’m constantly getting that affirmation that people deciding to make change has an effect.”

For instance, at the start of the pandemic, Remake was involved in the coalition working on the #PayUp campaign. When Covid put normal life on pause, big brands started cancelling orders that garment workers had already began production on – without payment. The campaign successfully put $22 billion worth of wages back in the pockets of those workers.

“I think when challenges come your way – like covid – you can think of those as challenges,” Emily says. “But you can also think about them as moments that make people care.”

Are you looking for more positive news on ways fashion is becoming more sustainable? Take a look at our Library for some inspiring fashion innovations, and make sure you’re subscribed to our monthly newsletter so you don’t miss the first look at our next Planet Champion.

Words: Angela Everitt and Matilda Cox

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