Tehran Tower

Location: Tehran (Iran)
Area: 3.100m² (33.368 SF)
Date: 2017
Client: eVolo
Status: Unbuilt

The trajectory of urban utopia in the past century went from destruction to gentrification. In this process of re-appropriation, the familiar value of landmarks could once again be celebrated as a newfound place for collective identity. The next generation cities, where emerging social and political models are being honed, are equally looking at shaping their own places of popular convergence, physically and intuitively.

The towers are both nodes and markers. They are forms of individual and collective appropriation activated at different scales (pedestrian, urban and landscape) but also in response to ever increasing needs of sustainable forms of transportation. Symbolically and literally weaving the city, belonging to all from up close and afar.

Tehran (a city of 8 million) has emerged as a megalopolis with a distinct typology. A relatively recent city, it rests on no ancient footprint and has organically adapted to its natural context. A generic city of sort from afar, only to be identified with the backdrop of mountains but a unique city from up close with tightly knit networks, neighbourhoods and commercial life.

Our proposed towers have minimized footprints as their base only serves as access to the transportations system. They arch over existing constructions, higher enough to allow light and air through and as they rise, they provide large floor plates for a variety of public uses. The towers are interconnected by a network of cable car system, spanning over the city and allowing not just for clean and enjoyable transportation but also a renewed urban experience, of appropriation.