1. Retail vs. public spaces. Urban /social influence of the design. The main goal during the design process of this building was to create public space using innovative way of creating retail areas. Passage on the ground floor is always open and can act like a small “inner” street. There are two green areas closing it from both sides creating a kind of oasis next to noisy Vali Asr Street. The social problem of modern retail spaces is that customers are just anonymous strangers who never talk to each other. How noisy and full of life the old markets were and how silent and dull modern shops often are? This project has an ambition to change it. The passage idea, already mentioned is nothing new. But the way of shopping is. It forces customers to think about other people in the shop. There is a big slide fixed to the ceiling. Clothes are hanging on it. If you want to see some item you have to move also some other clothes to get yours. This could cause inconvenience to the others. If you want to avoid it, you have to negotiate with other customers interested in this group of items how you can move all the clothes not to disturb them.
2. Architecture /form. Form of the building follows two factors: a) reminiscence of ziggurat, which was one of the earliest forms on this land. b) functional requirements of the program Factor a), like the social goal of retail area, is corresponding with the historic context of this place.
3. Architecture /detail. Façade is covered with engraved aluminum panels. It protects the interior from overheating and creates a decorative, complex shade inside the building. Pattern on the elevation corresponds with Persian decoration. On office and apartment floors window shutters are also made of these panels so the façade stays homogeneous in its design.
4. Circulation for different functions within the building. Core in the middle of the building is responsible for vertical routing. There are 4 groups of elevators covering the needs of different users and one common fire evacuation staircase.
Elevator 1 – public use. It is placed between hall on the ground floor and level1.
Elevator 2 – technical lift between storage rooms.
Elevator 3 – apartment use.
Elevator 4 – office use. There are two elevators to cover 5 office floors.
authors: Jakub Piotr Kalinowski, Piotr Kus, Krzysztof Rewski and me – Grzegorz Witold Woronowicz
