Saad Abad Garden-Museum Art Center
Tehran-Iran 1997

After the victory of the Islamic revolution in Iran, the complex of "Saad Abad" Royal Palaces was transformed into a cultural complex and museum. The rearrangement of the compound and its new functions called for new buildings that would house art galleries, shops, public spaces for cultural gatherings and etc.

Regarding the perfection of the compound and the elegant arrangement of the buildings in the landscape, it does not seem appropriate to create additional buildings on the site. Therefore in order to respond to the requirements, it was decided that the required spaces should be organized inside the wall of the garden. This is an attractive modern concept that at the same time stems from the concepts in Persian traditional garden designing. In many Persian garden compounds such as Bagh-e-Fin in Kashan and Bagh-e- Shahzadeh in Mahan, the buildings have been placed inside the surrounding wall so as not to harm the internal order of the garden.

The determining factor for the proposal is the desire to achieve a high degree of transparency and legerity. Also we have been inspired by the architectural style of Shemiran area. This is manifested in our proposal as a very lightweight roof of red stone that freely floats above the wall (the container of the functions).
The wall is designed in a way that brings no harm to the trees that stand beside the existing old wall. Wherever the trees stand on the way, the wall embraces them.

In points of entrance, flat surfaces around the wall make it more prominent both functionally and spatially.
The presence of this red wall around the garden implies the idea of a snake embracing a treasure.