mohammad hassan forouzanfar brings contemporary architecture to ancient iran

for his latest project, designer mohammad hassan forouzanfar has created a series of photomontages that fuse icons of contemporary architecture with ancient sites in iran. similarly to his previous projects, which have included introducing skyscrapers to iranian villages, ‘retrofuturism’ considers how to restore the historic buildings with additions from world renowned architects such as zaha hadid, daniel liebskind and norman foster.

rostam castle, sistan and baluchestan

all images courtesy of mohammad hassan forouzanfar

for ‘retrofuturism’, forouzanfar has selected places in iran including pre-islamic royal palaces and castles in fars, sistan, and baluchistan, khuzestan and kashan provinces. the insertions of contemporary western architecture offer a contradictory mix that links iran’s past to the future and present of the west. 

naqsh-e rostam, fars

the series creates an intriguing combination of materials, styles and eras. elements of contemporary buildings, characterized by cool glass and metal, extrude from the desert landscape and historic stone buildings, resulting in a striking set of images. in essence, the project presents a new definition of restoration, one that provides a critical and avant-garde look at iranian architectural artifacts.

takht-e-jamshid, fars

izad-khast castle, fars

izad-khast castle, fars

rostam castle, sistan and baluchestan

shahr-e eukhteh, zahedan

chaqazanbil, khuzestan

tepe sialk, kashan

palace of ardashir, fars

project info:

project name: ‘retrofuturism’

design: mohammad hassan forouzanfar

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: lynne myers | designboom