Iran 2016

The pavilion is designed based on a representation of urban schemata of buildings in a reverse order stretched from the ceiling to the walls and parts of the floor. The form is chosen in order to manifest the reverse process of reviving these residential areas and neighborhoods. The approach is based on not returning to the past but establishing connections between various social and local groups in order to share main problematic issues and cooperate with each other by benefiting from small successes in the augmentation of living quality.

The main interactive wall of the pavilion—considering some stories—consists of a video projection of the story and an interactive bar below. When visitors enter, according to the area touched, one of the stories is selected and played back. Meanwhile, some points will blink on the interactive bar, if the visitor touches any of them more details will be presented on the screen. Some details are also printable whenever the “print” option is available and activated.

Social, political and economic circumstances in the past four decades in Iran, the side effects of Capital Accumulation based on construction, mass sell on city spaces, uncontrolled immigration to big cities and their suburbs, along with urban plans imposed by governmental institutions without taking human and social participation into consideration in dense and deteriorating parts or historical areas of cities like Tehran has led to the major diminution of living quality and the lessening of life spaces. A major part of the regions in these cities are evacuated due to low living qualities and many of them are in danger of being destroyed and turned into commercial centers. Considering the theme of the Biennale, the focus of this work is on reviving movements and develop-based ideas in urban spaces, living areas and deteriorating residential areas in Iran’s big cities in near future. This project has tried to put an end to abrupt non-researched changes and wrong solutions to current problems. Moreover, by undertaking a futuristic and conscious approach it has been taken into consideration architectural spaces’ high quality, living standards and current social insights which might help the expansion of local people’s cooperation in the renovation of these spaces. It has been tried to revive these areas and consider avant-garde movements in the “play” realm of current life worlds in order to recognize people’s innovative ideas and connect them via NGOs and cooperative groups.

Exhibitors: Yasaman Lashgari, Golshan Narimani Ghahnavieh, Ali Khodaverdi.