Iranian Contemporary Architecture: Looking Forward and Backward
Arman Hadilou, Soroush Farzin-moghadam, Naser Shahsavari.

Contemporary architecture in Iran has been affected by the Revolution and can be divided into two main epochs: the modernity brought by the first generations of modern architects educated in western countries, and the era after the Revolution when conservative architects have sought solutions in Islamic architecture. We are now seeing the emergence of young architects graduating from national universities. In this session, the presenters will review Iran’s contemporary architecture and discuss cultural and technical transformations that have influenced it. Despite the differences, one thing is certain: Iranian architects have struggled to find a middle ground that can answer functional necessities and resolve the conflict between modernism and tradition.

 Hadilou, Arman

Associate Architect Arman Hadilou works as a project designer on high-rise residential towers at SCB Architects in San Francisco. Until recently, he worked for Miro Rivera Architects. His work focuses on the use of parametric modeling, digital fabrication, and simulation analysis.  He has in-depth technical knowledge in various parametric modeling platforms and believes these tools can strengthen a designer’s intuition while also increasing the designer’s flexibility to respond to changes. Hadilou holds an undergraduate degree from Shahid Beheshti University (Tehran), a Master of Urban Design from Iran University of Science and Technology, and a Master of Architecture from the University of Texas at Austin, where he conducted lectures and workshops on advance design technology.  His professional work contains a number of published and award winning projects that range in scale from buildings to products.

 Farzin-Moghdam, Soroush

Soroush Farzin-Moghadam is a PhD candidate in Regional Planning and holds a Master of Architecture at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He joined UMass Campus Planning as a graduate Green Building Researcher in January 2013.  Soroush also holds a Bachelor of Architecture engineering from Shahid Behesti University (Tehran, 2006) and a Master of Science in Building Technology from Tarbiat Modares University (Tehran, 2010). He has collaborated with several architectural firms on projects ranging from residential complexes to airports and authored several articles about energy and urban modeling. His PhD research is focused on IUMAT (Integrated Urban Metabolism Analysis tool), a system-based sustainability analysis tool that will use urban operational system inputs to analyze overall sustainability.

 Shahsavari, Naser

Architect Naser Shahsavari is a faculty member at the University of Shahid Beheshti in Tehran, and a member of Tehran Construction Engineering Organization.