MEET THE SPEAKER at SHARE Georgia Forum 2024 \\ Alireza Taghaboni, Founder NextOffice

Alireza Taghaboni, architect and founder of NextOffice, will be one of the speakers at the first edition of SHARE Georgia Forum 2024 programmed on the 11th October in Tbilisi, sharing his philosophy, approaches and presenting the projects conceived in his 20 years of experience.

 

 

Alireza Taghaboni is architect and founder of the practice Next Office based in Tehran. After studying architecture at Guilan University and receiving his master degree, he developed his PhD at Azad University of Science and Research of Tehran. Constantly going back and forth between the intellectual and the physical ends of architecture, between research and practice, between writing and designing, between teaching and painting, Alireza Taghaboni searches for diverse and deep meanings of expression. As he stated in an interview for Financial Times, he believes that “architecture lies somewhere between Kant and carpentry”. He is a frequent contributor to Iranian architecture and urbanism magazines and an active lecturer, having been present in many public events and conferences. He is tutor, partner and head manager (since 2021) at the Contemporary Architects Association (CAAI), a private institution in Tehran that offers an alternative educational programme to formalised pedagogical frameworks in Iran. His valuable contributions to the architectural field have been recognised through the Royal Academy Dorfman award and several Memar Awards — a prestigious national award for architecture in Iran held annually, making it one of the top prize-winning practices in the country.

 

 

In his practice, Alireza Taghaboni is interested in approaching new projects by carefully taking into consideration the context, the past, the tradition but with contemporary, original means. Embracing both local craftsmanship and technology, he believes in the power of experimental use of form in innovative and transformational design. The projects are no strangers to bold forms, sharp angles, parametric curves, ample arcades, vaults, domes and even dynamic elements that change configurations. The spatial qualities of his architecture arise from these surprising uses and intersections of geometries, adapted to the functionalities of each edifice.

Beyond these aspects, Alireza Taghaboni always invests his buildings with poetic significations and an intellectual foundation. Moreover, he aims at responding to the climate conditions, economic, socio political and cultural environment of each intervention. At the same time, Alireza Taghaboni manages to remain rooted in the local and social issues of his country while inscribing his project into a wide barrier-breaking vision on architecture.

 

 

The activity of NextOffice spans from single-family houses to residential, commercial and mixed-use large-scale complexes, to urban master plans. They describe their approach and intentions by stating that “we want to keep our way of thinking and experimenting with contemporary culture and have lessons from the structural and spatial concepts of Iranian architecture. The main purpose of our project is the integrity between these layers.”

Tickets can be purchased here.