Benetton Building, Teheran
International Architectural competition
"Site A"

A metropolitan city with a rich history, Teheran has gone through several incarnations; it is just as comfortable with its modern architecture as it is with its Qajar, Pahlavi & Islamic monuments. While the western world might have trouble deciphering the complexities of this identity, the people of Teheran seem comfortable with their own skin. It is this multifaceted skin that the building design tries to capture.

Reminiscent of the elaborately decorated colored glass of the Golestan Palace, the skin of the upper floors is devised of two layers; the outer layer is of clear glass fritted with traditional geometric patterns, the inner layer alternates between clear glass, translucent Plexiglas and thermally insulated spandrel glass. There is also an opportunity to interchange the frit on the outer layer with solar harnessing photovoltaic cells without any compromise to the overall aesthetic effect. The result is a building skin that changes appearance throughout the day. This southern facing façade also plays an environmental function by regulating ambient and solar heat gain, thus increasing the thermal comfort of the interior space. Another darker building mass acts as a visual backdrop to the main skin.

Akin to the traditional bazaar, the ground level is left transparent, blurring the line between the public sidewalk and the semi-private retail spaces.
The retail plane maintains the continuity of the urban street edge; horizontal shading devices above help regulate solar heat gain.

Taking its cues from the irregularity of the site, the building mass is carved out creating several outdoor terraces utilized by the office users; promoting a vibrant & collaborative work environment.

Entry to the office spaces, apartments and underground garage are all pushed to the end of the side street maximizing the retail frontage on Vali Asr Ave which in turn enliven and animate the public realm at street level. All loading & delivery are located on the P1 level out of public sight.