Second Place – Commercial
Sharif Office Building
Architect: Hooman Balazadeh
Design Team: Hooba Design
Photography: Parham Taghioff & mohamad hasan Ettefagh
Description:
Sharif office building was designed as a communal work space adjacent to the Sharif University of Technology. The given criteria was to design a building in harmony with the main brick buildings in the university campus.
The project site is next to a local park and in a close distance to Tarasht Public Park. The green spaces on the façade are extensions of the greenery around the site, creating a homogenous entity in the urban scale. Moreover, connecting the two access roads on two sides of the building created an urban plaza within the building which fades the boundary between the building and the city.
The paradox between the world of software design and the real physical world, introduced contradictory topics such as introversion vs, extroversion, solidity vs. transparency, rigidity vs. flexibility in façade, consistency vs. variations in urban scenery, as well as public vs. private zone. It was decided to create a homogenous entity in terms of form and material to reach a state of uncertainty among paradoxes.
Combination of the ancient brick blocks and software design technology resulted in the formation of a smart brick panel forming the entire façade of the building. These panels automatically adjust themselves based on sunlight exposure during the day.
Non solidity (Transparency), sensoriality (connection to the outer world), and being multimedia (data transfer) are the characteristics of the electronic age. This project tries to create an intermediary vision to these contradictory topics in order to introduce a pioneer complex in the electronical industry.
The closed and semi open interior spaces of the building were also designed to fade the boundary between inside and outside, to create different perceptions during day and night. The interior activities could become visible at night, converting the building from introverted to extroverted during each day.
