Iranian architectural office ZAV Architects features in Archello’s 25 best architecture firms in Iran. This article highlights a recently completed Iran-based project undertaken by ZAV.
Dr. Beski Science Foundation
Tehran-based architectural office ZAV Architects takes a research-driven and pragmatic approach to architecture, striving to explore themes with both a realistic and practical nature. The studio’s design for the Dr. Beski Science Foundation leverages the “grandmother’s” circular economy approach in its construction and provides a valuable community space using locally available resources.
The Dr. Beski Science Foundation is an educational platform in Gonbad-e Kavus, a remote city near Iran's north-eastern border with Turkmenistan. “The city needs versatile public and cultural spaces to support the development of its present and future urban life,” says ZAV Architects. To fulfill this need, the Dr. Beski Science Foundation offers adaptable spaces that support a range of functions.
The Foundation’s original purpose was to enhance Gonbad-e Kavus's scientific profile by providing workshops, laboratories, and a small conference hall for students and researchers. However, there were initial concerns about the viability of the project within a remote city that lacked urban spaces as well as concerns over Iran's restrictive political environment. ZAV Architects questioned whether or not the project would attract and retain students and researchers? The studio decided a “more interdisciplinary and culturally vibrant approach” was needed, shifting the focus towards strengthening the local community.
The Dr. Beski Science Foundation is a versatile building, designed with open-plan floors that will meet the needs of various activities with minimal modifications, including educational workshops, professional gatherings, conferences, exhibitions, and co-working: the building’s flexible nature ensures it will remain relevant for its community of users.
This flexibility extends to the Foundation’s construction — it promotes a circular economy approach similar to traditional Iranian resourcefulness. ZAV Architects calls this “the ‘grandmother’s’ circular economy,” explaining: “This model enhances the local social economy by transforming simple, available resources into valuable spaces.” The grandmotherly approach is one that sets much store by practicality and resource efficiency, viewing them in an aesthetically pleasing manner.
“The project embraces available materials, local craftsmanship, site characteristics, and surrounding areas as resources that address the ultimate design,” says ZAV. “Buildings in Gonbad typically use a concrete frame and clay block infill, and commonly feature unfinished side facades with rough cement finishes. This building intentionally mirrors the city's facades, demonstrating that even unfinished resources can inspire unconventional designs.”
Concrete framing and autoclaved block walls (constructed using lightweight precast concrete blocks cured in a strong heated container) provide structural support as well as thermal and sound insulation — autoclaved lightweight concrete blocks also reduce the building's overall weight. “The project adopts ‘honest tectonics’ and ‘imperfect aesthetics’,” says ZAV Architects. “This eliminates interior finishes, resulting in the reduced consumption of resources, minimal waste, a lighter building structure, and lower construction costs.” Other materials such as gypsum boards and steel profiles can be removed, replaced, and reused during the Foundation’s lifespan. Renewable energy is generated by rooftop photovoltaic panels and the building makes use of natural ventilation.
The Dr. Beski Science Foundation is built on a triangular plot — the site’s physical arrangement helped determine the building’s triangular stepped design. Built to align with the surrounding urban fabric, the Foundation’s volume gradually reduces from five levels to two levels. A ground-floor courtyard connects with the street via a semi-open covered space; the building’s terraces extend the amount of green space, opening the building to the city at different levels.
Dr. Gholamali Beski
Dr. Gholamali Beski (1931 – 2019) was an Iranian physician and environmentalist known as the “father of nature”. “Almost everyone in Iran remembers the white-bearded old man that was Baba Beski, aka Dr. Gholamali Beski, always wearing his signature white clothes, speaking passionately about how natural resources are in immediate danger, and how humans ought to live a healthier and a more environmentally-friendly life,” recalls ZAV Architects.
Dr. Beski Science Foundation gross built area: 572 square meters (6,157 square feet)
