PRESENCE

Community empowerment via urban development, Hormuz Island, Iran – Hormuz is a once-great ancient port in the crucial strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf, south of Iran, that controls the transit of petroleum from the Middle East. The island boasts stunningly vivid surreal sceneries. Surprisingly, the locals of the picturesque, scenic, and politically significant island suffer economically, becoming involved in criminal trafficking operations via their boats.

Majara top view / Courtesy of DJI

Presence in Hormuz is a series of urban developments created by a semi-public entity that contracted ZAV Architects to empower the island's local communities. Its second phase is a multifunctional cultural house known as Majara residence (meaning adventure), which connects the cultural and economic life of locals and tourists alike.

Locally produced furniture is used to furnish the spaces / Courtesy of Tahmineh Monzavi

Hormuz island's rainbow terrain is formed by the accumulation of an unlimited number of coloured particles, including soil, sand, gravel, and stone. This project features a carpet woven with granular knots inspired by the particles that make up the island's ecotone. The sandbags that form the spatial particles (also known as domes) are filled with dredging sand from the Hormuz port, as if the ground had inflated to make room for lodging.

Courtesy of Tahmineh Monzavi