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Architects: Persian Garden Studio
- Area: 1360 m²
- Year: 2023
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Photographs:Deed Studio, Kamyar Minoukadeh
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Manufacturers: Alborz, Batik, Dimeh, Heidarian, Jotun Paint Vietnam, Kludirak, LG, Nooraneh Lighting Industry, Tarang Décor, Zeeen
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Lead Architect: Mahsa Majidi
Text description provided by the architects. Vast Gallery & Artist Residency, located in the historic center of Tehran with an area of 1300 sqm, originally consisted of three residential floors and five retail stores. As it was built in the 1930s in the first Pahlavi period, the architecture language was highly influenced by modernist architecture and cultural trends of that era.
Like many other buildings of this period in central Tehran, this building had been abandoned by the owners after the Islamic revolution. The original owners, Armenian musicians who were lead piano players near City Hall, resided in the residential units. Their daily interaction with the surrounding neighborhood and the formation of a sense of community within this area that was strengthened by providing a public service through retail stores became the source of inspiration for renovation and the core of the new programming for rehabilitation of this building after 40 years of abandonment.
With the intention of endorsing rehabilitation in the central part of Tehran and expanding on a long-term project of reestablishing urban tissues, new programs were implemented and extensions were added to the building. After reinforcing the building by adding metal bracings and steel jackets on existing columns, vaulted ceilings were supported by metal beams, and openings were created between floors. Two residential units were transformed into six smaller units and an office space was added to the program. Retail stores were converted into a cafe, pastry shops, and gift shops. Inviting visitors to the complex and highlighting their significant impact on the project's identity thriving from daily communication with the neighborhood residents.
Installing the metal extension structure built in the courtyard, the floor was excavated, and the foundation and guard structure was implemented. Concrete walls were built around the metal skeleton pit, and the stairs structure was connected. At the roof level, this structure was connected to the building and integrated with the metal structure on the roof. Consistent with the historic and cultural identity of the neighborhood and surrounding buildings, as well as creating an urban node, an extension gallery space was designed as a volume placed on the rooftop of this building. In order to create a unique experience while reaching the rooftop volume and keeping the existing main staircase only for residential access, a vertical path was added as an extension to the courtyard that leads to the rooftop gallery through bridges and staircases.
The purpose of defining, designing, and executing such projects is to attract a new generation to the center of Tehran. In recent years, Neighborhoods have lost their identity as residential areas and have taken on commercial or administrative use. By creating multipurpose projects in which residential use is an essential fragment, part of the population will return to these neighborhoods to live, work, and create. And in addition to reviving the area, they increase the sense of hope, belonging, and interest in the neighborhood among the old residents.
