German architects BRT, in collaboration with Iranian architects Design Core [4s] win design competition in Iran

All images and graphics courtesy of BRT; © by BRT;  See detailed credits at the end of this post

Winning entry in a design competition for a commercial- residential complex in Mashad, second largest city of Iran

German architects BRT, in collaboration with Iranian architects Design Core [4s] have recently been awarded first place in a design competition for a commercial- residential complex in Mashad, second largest city of Iran. The development totals approx. 80,000 sqm commercial, hotel, hotel apartment, residential and parking building construction area, located at one of the most valuable sites in the direction of Holy Shrine.

Urban Planning

The formal building concept mainly comprises a structural assembly that results from the stipulated building lines and constructed heights as well as sight axes and road alignments, thus creating an impressive solitaire shape that follows the heterogeneous situation of the plot in a subtle way. With its folded-down band motif the shape of the building defines the concluding or closed end of the block structure and simultaneously a kind of gate in the direction of the shrine. Thanks to the flowing nature of the structure the direction along the northern main avenue is emphasised. At the same time public, semi-public and private areas are created that are arranged to suit the respective utilisations. A special aim of the design is to create varying qualities of general public – from urban, lively activity along the main roads, via places to rest and reflect, to the private garden. With view of the very lively bustle, limited public access and possibilities of quiet withdrawal are of great importance. The shape of the building represents on the one hand the closed end of the block structure, but at the same time offers the possibility of entering a quiet courtyard area and enjoying the peace prevailing there. The courtyard will be planted with shady trees, water features will radiate an atmosphere of peace, cafés provide attractive places to linger a while. It provides the district with a place for passing time and relaxing.

Hotel

The hotel is positioned in a prominent place along the eastern main road and in the top of the building. It therefore represents the face of the complex at the crossroads. A water feature in the transit area to the courtyard delimitates public access and creates a representative approach area for the hotel. The main access to the hotel is via a central lobby that can be equally well reached from the crossroads as from the courtyard. A folded glass façade defines the special utilisation and creates a spacious, representative entrance hall that corresponds to the demands of a 5-star hotel. Here is the heart of the hotel – here the guests come and go, meet one another, wait, read a newspaper and drink tea.

Residences

The residence apartments are located in the western wings of the building with access from the western approach to the complex. The apartment section is an independent complex and technically, statically and functionally self-sufficient so that it has been constructed and is operated separately.

Shops

The shopping precinct is in the pedestal on the main northern road. The shops are located on ground floor and level 01 both on the main road and also around the courtyard. A particular characteristic is the arcade in front of the shops that runs around the pedestal on all sides and allows visitors to stroll around the precinct and still be protected against the weather.

Architectural Design:

Design Core, Tehran/Iran
Sam Tehranchi, Maryam Kompany, Ali Nabi, Houshang Jahed

BRT Architects, Hamburg/Germany
Hadi Tehrani, Ingo Hartfil, Heike Heister, Alice Pape, Manal Fakhouri, Zarko Serafimoski, Evgeny Stolyarov

Project Facts:

Project Name :
Commercial-Residential Complex in Mashhad, Iran

Location:
Mashhad / Iran; North-East of Iran

District:
-

Use:
5-star hotel, hotel apartments, residential spaces, commercial spaces, a public park and a multi-story public parking

Client:
8th Urban Design Building Company

Physical Program:
Tash Consulting Engineers

Jury:
Mr. Abdolalizadeh
Mr. Eraj Kalantari
Mr. Abbas Ahmadi
Mr. Abolfath Sepanlou
Mr. Seyyed Reza Hashemi
Mr. Khosrou Sahhaf
Mr. Amir Omidvar
Client’s Representative:
Mr. Hasan Khorshidi

Site Area:
13,020 sqm

Bldg. Area:
Covered site area: 8,880 sqm

Gross Floor Area:
84,000 sqm

Coverage Ratio:
Approx. 60%

Stories above Ground
9 - 12

Stories below Ground
3

Structure:
„High” seismic activity zone.

Reinforced concrete cores and shafts, interconnected by reinforced concrete slabs, supported by r/c coloumns.

The grids distance of the r/c coloumns varies between limits of 5.40m and 10.80m.

One part of the building complex with 8 floors spans over 35 m without intermediate supports.
An internal “bridge-structure” is proposed to form a twin-strutted truss, supported by abutments.
Max.Height:
47.3 m

Landscape Area:
Approx. 4,000 sqm

Parking Lots:
1,041 cars

Exterior Finish:
Storey-high window elements placed between outside supports and floor slabs and a cladding of the closed section with sandstone

Central Lobby with all-glass facade & skylight on steel structure.

Completion period:
Unknown