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
architectural photography (172 articles)
cristiano bianchi and kristina drapić document pyongyang, north korea's 'model city'
guilherme da rosa captures the clean white lines of bevk perović's ljubljana islamic center
mariyan atanasov captures 'urban tetris architecture' in bulgaria
cody ellingham captures the nocturnal neon cityscape of bangkok in photography series
joão morgado captures matteo foresti's luxurious sauna in sweden
robert götzfried captures the vibrant nostalgia of bowling alleys across germany
architecture in iran (51 articles)
amir kharaghani and elham asgharpoor wrap a metal lattice around villa in iran
MADO architects envisions oblique walls of concrete for sisangan villa in iran
MADO architects designs a layered façade to create vertical neighborhood in tehran
dbinstagram (247 articles)
new york sunshine-designed UNKNWN store opens during art basel miami
david adjaye and daniel boyd to shelter new sydney plaza with giant perforated canopy
goko turns a 1920s mexican house into a chapel-like recording music studio
mohammad hassan forouzanfar (4 articles)
mohammad hassan forouzanfar combines iranian and american landmarks for 'peace' project
mohammad hassan forouzanfar introduces skyscrapers to iranian villages
mohammad hassan forouzanfar rethinks iranian monuments as dreamy high-rises
art news
chokoon builds portraits of thai monarchs using only characters from their names
#art
U_nderscore series is a set of computationally generated portrait artwork which touches upon the concept of language and identity.
U_nderscore series is a set of computationally generated portrait artwork which touches upon the concept of language and identity.
leandro erlich raises climate change awareness with traffic jam installation in miami
#art
order of importance recasts our 21st century reality as 66 life-sized sculptures of cars and trucks queue at an imaginary stand still.
order of importance recasts our 21st century reality as 66 life-sized sculptures of cars and trucks queue at an imaginary stand still.
TOP 10 large-scale artworks of 2019
#art
continuing our annual review of the year’s BIG stories, we take a look at the TOP 10 large-scale artworks that caught our eye in 2019.
continuing our annual review of the year’s BIG stories, we take a look at the TOP 10 large-scale artworks that caught our eye in 2019.
benedict redgrove captures the boundary-pushing form of the SALAFF C2 supercar
#art
the photographs portray an elevated and refined vision of the supercar – the fullest expression of SALAFF’s artistic intention.
the photographs portray an elevated and refined vision of the supercar – the fullest expression of SALAFF’s artistic intention.
Boring, unimaginative and reckless. It feels like just taking a postmodern building and stacking it on top of an old iranian building or historic monument. There is no fusion or natural blend of old and new. Especially the postmodern buildings on top of the historical monuments feels like an insult and assault on the historic significance of these sites. Feels more like a cry for attention than a real architectural aspiration.
I understand this can be a sensitive subject – combining modern and historic architecture, but I have to say, I found these images quite compelling and I’m intrigued. In my opinion, the concept of ‘fusion’ is executed much more successfully than other attempts I’ve seen in the past.
Very creative and original. Blending and fusing the past and future. It takes a bit for your eyes to get used to it but once there it opens up a whole world of imagination. Takes imagination to see his work.
Per those images – apparently his perception is that contemporary architecture is superimposed architecture. A very narrow view
It is not “retrofuturism”! Retrofuturism – is vision of the future from the past eras! How people in the past envisioned future!
Fascinating. Maybe more curves would blend the two differences in a more sensible way of connection, but I believe that was not the purpose of the Architect. Well done job.
Cannot imagine if the Noter Dame has this postmodern approach on its new rooftop. The commenter who is positive in here may be opposite. Hope and understand the blending and fusing onto Notre Dame is also very creative and original, doesn’t need a spire shape, right?
I love it. It’s incredible artistry