Location: Tehran, Iran

Program: Infrastructure, Entertainment, Hospitality, Retail, Culture

Area: 63,000m2 GFA

Client: Municipality of Tehran

Status: Competition, 2018

Located in west Tehran, District 22, defined as a dominantly recreational area in the Tehran masterplan, has been the ground for the most recent large-scale developments in the city. The district contains two of the foremost natural features and recreational destinations of metropolitan Tehran, Chitgar Forest Park and the Persian Gulf Lake.

While both the Chitgar forest park and the Persian Gulf lake currently serve individually as major recreational destinations, lack of a coherent and strong connection between the two, has deprived them from playing a complementary role and taking advantage of their co-existence. As such, this project intends to redefine the functional and physical link between the south bank of the lake and the northern edge of the forest park.

In brief, the proposal consists of two inter-connected parts; a) the Connector and b) the masterplan in the form of a commercial-recreational campus.

The Connector

The main connecting element, symbolically formed as an iconic ring, is a panoramic platform that serves as both a functional bridge between the lake and the forest, as well as a public destination for sports, events, exhibitions, outdoor performances, restaurants and activities for children. Moreover, it is a 360° promenade with open views to the lake, the mountains, the forest, and the city of Tehran.

The ring is 16m wide in two merging levels; the lower one which bridges between the forest and the elevated lake bank (7m height difference) is where the main program activities are located, and the upper one which provides an opportunity for open panoramic views, functions as a multi-purpose event space.   

The Masterplan

Tied strongly to the ring via two pedestrian axes and a gridded public park, the masterplan proposes a commercial-recreational campus which forms the southern edge of the lake and the highway. As such, the plan intends to provide private investment opportunities in sectors aligned with the aspirations of the Tehran Masterplan, namely entertainment, culture, recreation and creative industry. While the Ring is considered as a primary destination on the western edge of the plan, the eastern end consists of an entertainment anchor (a Cineplex). The ring and the Cineplex therefore, form two attractive poles on the two-opposite ends of the masterplan, serving an audience at the metropolitan scale.