1st Prize Winner

Designers: Farshad Mehdizadeh, Raha Ashrafi 

Client: Isfahan Municipality | Isfahan Housing Development Organization | شهرداری اصفهان، توسعه مسکن اصفهان

Location: Isfahan, Iran

Area: 50,000 sqm

This project defined as a facade designing project for an existing structure located in Isfahan Dreamland. The design process started with the façade, and was initially assumed to be an incorrect approach to design, as designing a facade for a commercial complex which is essentially an introspective project is anticipated to act incongruously between the interior and the exterior and cannot be an appropriate design strategy for resolving the internal issues of the project. On the other hand interaction between the project and its context (Dreamland) was obviously very important and became a primary design goal as well as a guideline to initiate the design. This interaction could generate mutual advantages for the entire complex which could not be possible due to a parking lot existing between the commercial complex and the Dreamland theme park, so the parking lot was eliminated and its function altered to a plaza. The principal design idea developed from an emphasis on the existing structure and exploiting its potential to respond to the brief and the new functional requirements. Furthermore the building reverted to the cubic system which its fundamental structure cells were based upon; the existing structural DNA which are 6 x 6 modules. The fractal growth and reproduction of cubic modules generates an organizational system for the interior as well as the exterior of the building and introduces terraces and horizontal slabs which on the one hand connect the plaza to the roof and on the other combine the inside and outside spaces of the complex. The integration of interior and exterior spaces optimizes human movement and circulation which ultimately rejuvenates the entire commercial area. The entertainment plaza encompasses cafes, restaurants, galleries and open spaces which make the facade habitable.