Architecture
Entering architecture school in 1999; right at the turn of the century put me in a category of architecture students who learned architecture with no computer aid at the very beginning and gradually experienced the design industry becoming intertwined with computer-aided techniques. Computers first appeared in front of our eyes as a drafting tool, and little by little became more capable of a tool to think with. I should say my immigration to the U.S. and studying architecture at Pratt, was the start of a new era in my life as a designer.
I was not a big fan of parametric design which was the popular topic of the time (2010), but learning how one can sculpt spaces via computer modeling and have control over some parameters to create variations enabled me to see many new possibilities previously hidden from my eyes. Contrary to the school experience, the architecture industry seemed to be far behind and still mostly finding solutions through traditional architectural design methods and processes. The life and career of an architect are mostly dependent on computers, while it’s generally used as a drafting machine or organization tool.
It is used to make the process much more time-efficient and more profitable. Removing all the other means of architectural thinking (such as model making and drawing) from studio space has made architecture offices resemble big factories of “building making”. Therefore being an architect could be a dull job to a certain extent.
Besides all the negative aspects; living a life as an architect or being involved in the architecture industry could give one a broader horizon and a unique perspective. I am certain twelve years of experience in this field left me with countless valuable gifts.
ASA Design Competition
Location: Imaginary Site
RPI - 2020
Critic: Todd Brooks
Design Team: Tommy Metzger, Nima Farzaneh
The Ezra Rachlin Summer Pavilion is a multi-purpose performing arts venue and the summer home of the Austin Symphony. Originally designed to resemble the world’s largest exponential horn, the venue evolved into a conation of many different cultural, architectural designs and motifs. From the precise intricacies of the Iranian muqarnas to the strong, rigid forms of the pavilion enclosure, to the smooth, curving structure of the pedestrian walkways, the product is a venue that evokes a spirit as unique and diverse as the performances it hosts.
Marine Research Center
Location: Roosevelt Island
Pratt Institute - 2011
Critic: Erich Schoenenberge
Distinguished project - published in In Process 2011
Parametric studies and biomimicry were the two main issues in this project. The research began with the study of marine research life (marine research center) to explore the formal, spatial, and biological characteristics of underwater creatures. This project is based on the growth pattern and spatial structure of coral reefs. The basic component which is parametrically adjustable was designed according to the spatial and formal condition of aggregated corals.
Inhabitable Strata
Location: Foley Square; Manhattan
Pratt Institute - 2011; Thesis project for MS Architecture
Critic: Jason Vigneri-Beane, Vito Acconci
Distinguished project - published in In Process 2011
Evolutionary processes in different aspects of life are forever affecting the definition of the city and changing the role of architecture. In the near future cities, we confront a more ambiguous condition of the built environment, where discernibility between their component parts and programs are blurred we may see cities which shape one entity with different meanings and functions embedded in superimposed “STRATA”. This hypothesis would result in a kind of randomness in spite of the internal order of each layer.
The High Line Termination
Location: Meatpacking District; Manhattan
Pratt Institute - 2010;
Critic: Philip Parker
Analysis of the site, the program, and a surface governed the structure of this studio. The main challenge in this project was experiencing potentials and possibilities of materials and their intensive properties to explore and create new architectural space. Implementation of computer technology to produce and create intensive fields and surfaces, aggregation of these surfaces, and finally applying and merging other aspects of architectural matters such as Culture-Industry (cultural bath) and site intensities in order to conceptualize the project, was another main focus.
Target Field
Location: Minneapolis, Minneapolis
Perkins Eastman - 2012
Role: Intermediate Designer
Conceived as Minneapolis’ Grand Central Station, Target Field Station is transit and cultural nexus that will have over 500 trains per day including light and commuter rail stations connecting buses, bikes, and cars. Sited adjacent to Target Field Stadium between downtown and the thriving North Loop loft district, the project integrates neighborhood, stadium, transit, and future mixed-use development through the careful sculpting of public space.
Images courtesy of Perkins Eastman
Port Authority Bus Terminal
Perkins Eastman - 2017;
Location: Manhattan, NewYork
Role: Associate Designer
"In 2017 PE led a consortium of internationally renowned designers, engineers, and urban planners to envision a new solution for the Port Authority Bus Terminal, dubbed "Convergence," Rather than raze and replace the existing terminal building in West Midtown, the collaborative brought a novel, large-scale vision for the world's busiest bus terminal, one that prioritizes accessibility, accommodates increased usage, and capitalizes on the ongoing evolution of Manhattan's west end. "
Text and Images courtesy of Perkins Eastman
Destination Medical Center
Perkins Eastman - 2014;
Location: Minneapolis, Minneapolis
Role: Associate Designer
Perkins Eastman’s design for the Destination Medical Center (DMC) set the vision for Minnesota’s largest development project, positioning Mayo Clinic as the world premiere center for health and transforming the downtown City of Rochester. The master plan establishes six unique places designed for all ages to live, work, play, and thrive in Rochester and anchor the growth of the city for the next 20 years. The design seeks to be market-driven and match the business objectives of the Mayo Clinic and the city with built-in flexibility.
Images courtesy of Perkins Eastman
Destination Medical Center
Perkins Eastman - 2013
Location: Brooklyn, New York
Role: Intermediate Designer
This new freestanding ambulatory care clinic with a modern architectural character that interprets the surrounding brownstones and the larger neighborhood context, its massing accommodates the full program while its stepped facade reduces the scale of extensive street walls and expresses the sloped street and existing development in the area. As a result, the building reads as multiple, smaller facilities that are cohesively joined.
Text and Images courtesy of Perkins Eastman
88 Hotel (competition)
Harmonic Trend in Collaboration with BIG - 2009
Location: Mashhad, Iran
Role: Senior Designer
Rather than designing the building from the outside and then attempting to squeeze the hotel rooms in afterward, we have designed the 88 hotel from the inside out, beginning with the demands and desires of the individual guest. The 88 hotel is designed to provide each pilgrim or tourist with an optimal experience of the Holy Shrine: sheltered from the traffic noise, screened from the views of neighbors and by-passers and opened up towards the view of the Holy Shrine.
Images courtesy of Harmonic Trend and BIG offices
Sara -ye- Marefat Mosque
Harmonic Trend - 2007
Location: Tehran, Iran
Role: Design Assistant, Coordinator
We were asked by the client to design a mosque which consists of two separate halls, each occupying 500 people. Each of these halls should be able to be divided into 2 smaller halls too (one for men and the other one for women). So, the challenge was to create a method resulting in a spatial organization that would respond to the client's brief. Moreover, we wanted to create an uncertain space that could serve as an urban space as well.
Images courtesy of Harmonic Trend office
Redcar Seafront
Harmonic Trend - 2008 (competition)
Location: Redcar, England
Role: Senior Designer
REDCAR intends to be directly connected to the world based on the balance of the program and the budget to become an effective flow considering sustainable development. This schematization is based on people’s requirements, politicians’ decisions, and the experts’ suggestions. The basis of the design is derived from the essence of the city’s reality with particular recognition of the “city itself” and the “city fabric”. The proposal re-organizes the potentials of the city as it’s been the consequence of the natural development and the evolution process of the city.
Images courtesy of Harmonic Trend office
Khak Sefid Cinema Complex
Harmonic Trend - 2007 (competition)
Location: Tehran, Iran
Role: Senior Designer
An 18000 square meter cultural, commercial, and cinema spaces inside an unsecured district with many crimes and illegal activities, to improve social and cultural activities for inhabitants. The idea was to convert BOX (as a symbol of architectural space) to De-BOX, which means making architecture accessible to the public and making enough urban space that encourages people to modify their lifestyle.
Images courtesy of Harmonic Trend office
Golf Tower
Harmonic Trend - 2007 (competition)
Location: Lima, Peru
Role: Senior Designer
The strategic plan in architectural design was attaining an optimum balance between cost and means that will results in a spectacular design with an international approach. I considered a feasible strategy that has the ability to conform to the site’s conditions in its best way while having a high transparency feature. Also, it is designed in a way in order not to make a solid block between the sea and the golf club, what other blocks have ignorantly neglected. So I should have had to consider a large number of voids in the project. Towards this direction, I proposed the strategic interaction of two loops in a way that diagrams show.
Images courtesy of Harmonic Trend office