Re-reading Selected Recent Architectural Projects in Isfahan from the Perspective of the Architectural Formation Process

Abstract

The aim of this research is to examine the extent to which the criteria of Dr. Mohammad-Mansour Falamaki’s theory of “Architectural Formation” are realized in four award-winning works of the Memar Award 2025, namely “Chaharbagh Metro Station No. 1,” “Dar-Divar Project,” “Hamsang House,” and “Aban House.” These works represent four influential orientations in contemporary Iranian architecture: context-oriented architecture with an emphasis on historical continuity; poetic and transcendental architecture grounded in subjective experience; human-centered architecture with interior and bio-existential dimensions; and conceptual architecture oriented toward integrating material and meaning at the scale of everyday life. Considering today’s challenges in synthesizing function, meaning, and existential experience in spatial design, this study offers a comparative framework to assess the theoretical efficacy of Falamaki’s model in analyzing contemporary Iranian architectural works. This study is qualitative-comparative in nature, and data were collected through the examination of design documents, official jury statements of the Memar Award, plans, construction drawings, and field observations. The analysis was conducted based on Falamaki’s three theoretical axes: architectural fundamentals (material, time, light, and energy); branches of intertwinement (function, form, morphology, structure, and environmental integration); and semantic cycles (value-based and transcendental). The findings were organized into comparative tables and analytical scoring matrices to clarify the relationship between meaning and function in each project. The results showed that Chaharbagh Metro Station demonstrates context-oriented architecture at the level of fundamentals and branches of intertwinement, achieved through the use of local materials and historical continuity. The “Dar-Divar” project, in the axis of semantic cycles, creates a poetic and transcendental experience. “Hamsang House,” through its integrated structure and human-scaled geometry, establishes a more complete interaction between the physical form and the mind. “Aban House,” through the intertwinement of light, material, and energy, has achieved a conceptual and interdisciplinary spatial experience. In conclusion, the four studied projects each embody one facet of Falamaki’s theory in practice: social contextualism, poetic transcendence, human-existential living, and conceptual meaning-orientation. The findings confirm that the theory of “Architectural Formation” not only has the capacity to analyze diverse contemporary works but can also serve as a localized framework for critique, education, and the future design of architecture in Iran.