Grantham Center Symposium

University of sheffield, 2022

Title: In Search of Accurate Contemporary Architecture in Iran

My poster, “In Search of Accurate Contemporary Architecture in Iran,” addressed a major concern in rural Iranian architecture: the widening gap between much contemporary building practice and the traditional or vernacular architectural patterns that once closely responded to local climate, materials, culture, and daily life. Rather than portraying contemporary rural architecture as inherently negative, the poster argued that many recent developments have often overlooked the environmental intelligence and socio-cultural logic embedded in vernacular forms, resulting in buildings less rooted in place and identity. Current scholarship similarly observes that the shift from vernacular patterns to newer building trends in rural Iran has created socio-cultural and environmental challenges, while also emphasising that lessons from vernacular architecture should not be abandoned but critically reinterpreted for contemporary needs. In this context, the poster called for a more accurate understanding of contemporary architecture in Iran, one that does not reject modern change, but seeks a meaningful balance between present-day demands and the architectural knowledge inherited from rural traditions.