Masters Second Year (DS22)

This project examines how development in the heart of a densely populated city can tear the social fabric of the community. Tehran’s low-rise housing community has been split by the Navab highway and further divided by the high-rises that line it. After displacing 10,000 people from Navab to give way for this project, nothing was done to reconnect the community. The high-rise development has blocked the visual link, disrupting the city’s pattern of intensity. My project has identified this highway as a scar on Tehran's urban landscape, and my architecture will serve as an incubator to heal the split it has created. To do this, I looked back at how buildings were made in the region historically. Iran has had courtyards in houses since its inception. These courtyards acted as a mix of public and private space because they were a step into people’s houses, but they were not an intrusion. Some buildings utilised courtyards by having all their windows face them, thus providing great privacy. I’ve brought the courtyards back into Navab, alongside Persian gardens, to rejuvenate the space and give the community a reason to reconnect.