Habibeh Madjdabadi
Biography
ABOUT
Habibeh Madjdabadi is a prominent Iranian architect recognized for her innovative ideas that prioritize culture, geographical context, and material expression. Her work transcends architectural boundaries, blending artisanal craftsmanship with contemporary design. Central to her philosophy is the concept of “approximation,” which embraces controlled imperfections to enrich architectural complexity. Approximation celebrates the beauty of handmade processes, valuing the human touch and intentional irregularities as vital elements in creating unique architectural identities.
Equally significant is her concept of “Khassiat,” a term she coined to describe an abstract quality that answers the fundamental “why” behind a design. Khassiat embodies the essence that elevates a project from mere functionality to something impactful and extraordinary. As she explains, “Khassiat is the active ingredient that transforms a design into something meaningful and resonant with its context and purpose.” Madjdabadi has explored this concept extensively in her writings and presented it at international forums, including the Designyatra conference in India in 2024.
Her contributions have earned global recognition, including shortlisting for the prestigious Aga Khan Award for Architecture in 2016. She was also featured in “100 Women Architects in Practice,” a RIBA publication showcasing influential women architects worldwide. The selection was conducted by Dezeen Magazine and Pratt Institute School of Architecture.
AWARDS
- Aga Khan Award for Architecture Finalist – 40 Knots House (2016)
- First Place in MEMAR Awards for Architecture – Approximation House (2021)
- Tamayouz Women in Architecture and Construction Award (2019)
- Chicago Award Winner – Mellat Bank Corporate Façade (2014)
- International Brick Award Finalist – 40 Knots House (2014)
PROJECTS TO BE PRESENTED DURING THE EVENT
Project #1: Mutant Hut
Start year: 21.09.2024
Mutant-Hut by Iranian architect Habibeh Madjdabadi is one of twelve Houses designed by renowned architects from various countries for the Voronet Park development. This initiative invites twelve international architects to create distinctive living spaces on a shared site of 11,000 square meters, offering visitors the opportunity to experience architecturally significant environments amid the breathtaking mountainous landscape of Voronet. Madjdabadi takes the archetypal image of a hut as the starting point for her design of a house in Voronet Park. By transforming this familiar form, she creates a bold new vision that is both rooted in tradition and resolutely contemporary. The core concept centers around the hut shape, clad in dark wood, which is an essential element of local architecture in Voronet, where wooden houses predominate. The house’s form intentionally creates a tension between angular and curvilinear elements. The angular hut archetype contrasts with the curved volumes that echo the natural topography of the land. Sited in front of the main entrance, the triangular hut-shaped facade emphasizes the axis of approach. Madjdabadi gradually distorts and elongates the recognizable archetypal form, growing two volumes on the north and south sides of the house. The longer extended wing is uplifted, allowing the land to flow beneath, while the house touches the ground at only two points. By minimizing its footprint, the house reduces interference with nature. This creates a tunnel-like void space that connects the upper and lower parts of the sloping site, a unique relationship with the land that is a hallmark of Madjdabadi’s work.
Project #2: Meydan Commercial Building
Start year: 20.11.2022
Meydan (the equivalent of the square in Persian), is the name of a commercial building located on the northeast corner of a roundabout called Meydan Kakh (literally Palace Square). The square owes its name to the fact that during the last dynasty of Iran, a royal palace stood nearby. Many intellectuals and diplomats lived there and until the 70s, the most prestigious boutiques, restaurants, and cinemas were found in this neighborhood. Development of this area was started during the Second World War. At that time an old art deco-style brick house was erected on the small plot (530 m2) of our project. For several years, until the demolition of the house in 2020, It remained abandoned and in bad condition. The collective imagination of the square was linked with the half-ruined building and its jagged alignments and ridges. During the 30s, 40s, and 50s, Tehran had developed its version of art-deco style conformed to the local construction techniques, and the old building on Kakh square, as one of the few, surviving examples, was respected by the people. When the Iranian Architect “Habibeh Madjdabadi” received the commission, the old house was already dismantled and, in its place, there were some new foundations and columns at the bottom of a deep excavation ditch.” I found myself in a condition to deal with two realities: the traces of an old project to change, and the memories of an inexistent architectural heritage. “The architect says. she decided to keep the entrance of the building, on the corner of the plot facing Meydan and used a curvilinear shape to recall the old building and to make the entrance more attractive. The podium is designated for shopping, while the office units are fitted into the upper floors. The restaurants and café are in-between and the roof of the podium is used as the attached terrace. Three sections of the building: shops, offices, and restaurants slide on each other. In such a way, the building mass looks light and dynamic. Except for the curved surfaces facing Meydan, the facades are covered with an ad-hoc vertical louver system. The blades are made of light concrete panels and have a randomized jagged silhouette. In addition to shielding from solar radiation, the form of louvers recalls the rough edges of the brick walls belonging to the old ruins. “Appreciation of ruins is a heritage of romanticism, and this fits with my character and also with our collective imagination of old Tehran. “The architect says. Returning to her idea of valorizing the approximation of the hand-crafted objects, she allows workers to rotate arbitrarily, the blades around their vertical axis. In such a way, the randomness of the facade elements is reinforced. The Meydan project is meant to introduce a new alternative to the common shoebox-shape commercial buildings downtown.
Project #2: Approximation House
Start year: 26.06.2020
This narrow multistory house is located on the west side of Tehran, where the city has found its way between the steep slopes of ALBORZ chain on the north and the salty desert on the south. The building is positioned on a narrow plot (w=8.5) and is confined on two sides to other constructions. A small setback from the street provides a small space for the front yard. The house consists of two duplex apartments for a father and his daughter. There is also a flat dedicated to the guesthouse. Although the apartments are rather small, the interior has all the qualities of a three-dimensional space: it is articulated in section and can be discovered from several points of view in the space. The skylights, introduce the natural light and the sky scene into the house. The term approximation stands for special design approach, which aims to humanize the entire process of creation, from design to execution, by valorizing the imperfectness of hand made against perfectness of the industry wise processes and products. As an alternative and critical solution, the project in question avoids the typical building zoning in separate flats, and creates an interior space that develops vertically; it makes extensive use of craftsmanship, while avoiding any historicist aesthetics, instead of typical massive products for facade, it makes use of hand shaped wood and green in a façade, it doesn’t have any flat surface, but a tridimensional penetrable external envelope; it has no explicit reference to the traditional architecture, but respects the core concepts of the local traditions.