Wishful Architecture For Social Stability

Alireza Taghaboni, a practicing architect since 2004, founded Next Office in 2009. Taghaboni is also a painter and holds a Ph.D. in Architecture. His project, Sharifi-ha house, with its revolving rooms, adapts to a shifting lifestyle and demonstrates a critical take on building regulations and zoning by-laws, was shortlisted at the World Architecture Festival in 2014 and has been acknowledged internationally in professional and public media. In 2018, Taghaboni was awarded the inaugural Royal Academy Dorfman award in recognition of his talent that “represents the future of architecture”. Over the past decade, the practice has won several Memar Awards, a prestigious national award for architecture in Iran held annually, making it one of the top prize-winning practices in the country.

- Sharmila Chakravorty

In his lecture at the 361 degrees conference, Tehran-based architect Alireza Taghobani outlined how architects can play an active role in shaping the future of cities, or countries, with sociopolitical instability by creating humane spaces that further the agenda of bonding, diversity, and the public good.

Architecture in Tehran before the revolution was a mixed bag of magnificent Persian designs, modernist buildings, as well as iconic structures drawing heavy influence from the west. The neighborhood of Tehran-based architect Alireza Taghobani’s childhood was full of houses, designed in a rather international style of architecture, in a dense grid. But after the revolution of 1979, most of these houses, and other western structures were demolished, and formats that were more suited to deal with the density and flux of population to the cities took their place. Based on the revenue generated from oil, the construction industry grew, giving rise to more and more residential colonies, triggering a post-revolution construction and real estate boom.