Hooba Design Group Founder Human Balazade: "The 21st Century Will Require Architects To Create Unique Projects Deeply Related To The Location"

One of the leading architectural bureaus of Iran is ready to contribute to the architectural development of Moscow. The founder of Hooba Design Group, Human Balazade, said BFM.ru about why the concept of “place identity” is so important for the architecture of the XXI century, whether Iranian architects have found a balance between aesthetics and economics and what kind of project he would like to create in the Russian capital

In mid-August, representatives of the Iranian architectural studio Hooba Design Group visited Moscow. Probably, not everyone is familiar with her work even in Russian architectural circles (although, apart from Iran itself, Hooba Design Group has implemented projects in Italy and Dubai), so let’s say at least that Iranians recently celebrated the victory in the RIBA International Emerging Architect 2021 international award. Denise Bennetts, Chairman of the RIBA Awards Group, described the award-winning design of the Kohan Ceram office center in Tehran as “an architecture of restraint, ingenuity and elegance.”

According to Ekaterina Maximova, head of CM International’s competition practice (the company that was one of the first to contact the architectural circles of Iran and in whose office we are talking), in recent years CM International has been actively attracting foreign architects to participate in competitions. Moreover, we are talking not only about Moscow, but also about other cities and regions of the country.

Ekaterina Maksimova, Head of CM International Competition Practice, “We believe that international open and closed competitions are an excellent tool for the development of our industry. The competition of such a plan allows for the formation of truly high-quality projects and helps the international exchange of expert assessment and architectural innovations. It is no secret that today Western architects have difficulties working with Russia, but our company actively communicates with many architectural bureaus from Latin America, the Middle East and Asia. At the same time, CM International does not seek to find a bureau with experience in Russia, but builds work processes from scratch and grows partners both for Moscow and for the country as a whole. This also happened to the Iranian architects from Hooba Design Group, whom we were the first to involve in the Russian market. The company has been highly appreciated by representatives of the architectural community and is now beginning to take an increasingly active part in projects in Moscow and other cities of the country.”

What components define the architectural style of Hooba Design Group? How did Iranian architects see the current Moscow and what, in their own opinion, could they bring to the architectural portrait of the Russian capital? Does the company have specific plans related to Russia? About this in an exclusive interview BFM.ru said the founder of Hooba Design Group, Human Balazade.

— Of course, we should start with a story about your architectural studio, and most importantly, about your author’s architectural style. How can it be described, what is it based on?

— Our company has been around for 20 years, and I will not name the specific number of projects created during this time, but believe me, there are a lot of them. We work in several industries (architectural design, interior design, landscaping projects) and in a wide variety of market segments: these are both high—rise buildings and low-rise residential buildings, commercial real estate, infrastructure projects – factories, bridges, factories. The first and perhaps the most important thing that I can say about our architectural style is innovation and creativity. The basis of our “method” is, firstly, to approach each case individually, both at the level of a general big idea and at the level of individual details, and secondly, to work with new materials. Sometimes we even try to invent new combinations of materials that, in our opinion, will best reflect the idea of a particular project. The next point is a very important connection between the project and its end user, a human being. In every project, we strive to think about meeting not only the physical needs of people, but also their mental, mental, and spiritual needs. Therefore, our architecture is always about the relationship, about the interactivity between an object and its end user. And what is also very important, we are aimed at restoring the connection with nature, which, unfortunately, has been largely lost in the architecture of Iran lately, but was very relevant and active sometime in the past. Therefore, we try to introduce some kind of green element into our projects.

— Are these the foundations of your architectural dialogue with the world?

— Well, I would rather talk about a dialogue not with the world, but, to begin with, with a specific location. We always take into account its features, not only geographical and climatic, but also everything that stands behind the location. So the dialogue begins with the architects’ deep immersion in the history, culture, and identity of the place. I believe that, unlike the 20th century, which was more about globalization, about more and more standardized architectural solutions, the 21st century will require architects to pay serious “point” attention, to create architectural statements, in depth, at the level of roots associated with a specific place. As for the dialogue with end users, here such immersion is both a tribute to the location and its inhabitants, and at the same time providing greater comfort in the perception of a new architectural volume. After all, it is always easier to accept a new project and its proposed lifestyle if the project contains references to things that you understand.

— Is such an approach evident in the modern architectural life of Iran?

— The Iranian architectural tradition is the richest and most ancient, I even find it difficult to say how many hundreds of years it is. Of course, it has its own absolutely unique culture, which is primarily characterized by the amazing unity of all the constituent elements. The unity is both physical, at the level of form, and the unity of psychological and spiritual perception. Another distinctive feature of the architecture of Iran is the active use of handicraft … let’s say, developments. Iran is an ethnically diverse country, in its different regions there are various crafts belonging to one or another ethnic group: stone firing, glass work, clay work. And all this is applied in architecture. Among other things, this is the high skill of the Iranian architect — how to properly assemble the fruits of the craft of various ethnic groups into a consistent unity.

— Yes, but what is at the head of the architectural angle – economics or aesthetics? Any Russian architect understands perfectly well that if he offers something insanely attractive, but completely economically unreasonable, he will most likely be told: “Sorry, dear, we considered the project — no.” And what will they say to his Iranian counterpart?

— Oh… the situation, of course, is not easy, because here, as always, two sides are involved: the architect and the final investor. We would have fought (and are fighting) to the end for an important project for us, but we also understand perfectly well that we would still have to make compromises related to some budget constraints. I will not undertake to claim that the desired balance has been found in Iran, but, let’s just say, the country is on its way to it. Already, we can find projects that combine both acceptable investment indicators and beauty. Nevertheless, there are investors who are so passionate about architecture that they are ready to accept such projects. But often we still see that the project is being implemented based solely on the combination of urgent needs and financial opportunities.

— Your visit to Moscow — are you just visiting us or is there a specific professional interest? Or maybe it’s not just interest anymore, but something more?

— First of all, our current visit is an opportunity to continue our acquaintance with Russia. A little earlier, we had already begun to get acquainted with your culture, including your architectural traditions and peculiarities. Now that the two countries are getting closer, it is, of course, important for us to use every opportunity to enter the Russian market and create something here.

— Let’s repeat once again: is Hooba Design Group planning to enter the Russian market?

— Yes, there is. We cannot tell you in detail yet, but negotiations are underway in Moscow and plans for the implementation of the project in the Russian capital are being considered. I will say that we are considering several sites at once (according to Business FM, three development companies are involved in the negotiations. — BFM). And we are talking about a fairly short period of time, that is, all this is a matter of several months.

— And then it will be possible to talk about specifics… But for now, we can definitely talk about this: how did you see our city and what kind of project would you like to create here?

— You know, it seems to me that the architects who worked in Moscow in the past were happier — because the use of color and natural materials was more welcomed than it is now. I am sure that these distinctive features, these secrets of “colored” craftsmanship should return to the structure of the city. And it’s not just about, let’s say, a brick. Rather, even I would talk over and over again about working with innovative materials, with non-standard combinations of materials from among those that have already been used in the city, worked here before. Therefore, all this is about rethinking colors and materials native to your culture and architecture.

Answering the question, what do you want to build in Moscow more — something “skyscraper” or something chamber, the interlocutor BFM.ru He says thoughtfully, “It doesn’t matter.” “For us, it doesn’t make much difference whether we talk about high-rise construction or something lower-rise, the most important thing remains anthropometricity.