Dr. Hassan Taheri: thinking through construction

Hassan Taheri is an architect, developer and co-founder of Azhianeh. Trained first in civil engineering (BSc) and then in architecture (MA and PhD), he keeps structural and architectural decisions at one table. Based in Tehran, since 1384 (2005) he has designed and built residential towers and tourism projects in Tehran and Mazandaran, including Rokan Sense in Mahmoudabad. His work connects architectural research with direct experience of design and construction. A recurring question is how to preserve spatial quality within technical, time and cost constraints. Design and delivery are not separate worlds: a construction decision can protect or alter an architectural intention.

As the practice moved into development, the question expanded beyond the building. Site assessment, programme, intended users and delivery feasibility need to be considered before the form is fixed. Development means holding these decisions together so that a viable project also offers worthwhile places to live.

Hassan Taheri describes himself as a designer and a futures-oriented architect. For him, the philosophy of architecture and the identity of the past are fundamental: in his thinking and in his projects he borrows from the past, from culture and from the authenticity of this land, and with contemporary high-tech methods he draws each project and carries it through to operation.

Research into future needs is part of today’s work: questions of climate, energy, ways of living and technology whose answers must already be visible in the design. Joining the past with the future, and building a life rooted in the culture of this land, is part of his mission and Azhianeh’s.

For Hassan Taheri, property development begins with the potential of a place. Before a site becomes a quantity of floor space, it is a set of relationships: access, neighbours, climate, users and the practical possibility of construction. Designing a residential tower, villa or hospitality complex therefore involves choices about everyday life and resources. The question is how economic viability can support architectural quality, and how design decisions affect construction and maintenance costs.

Research creates room to question ready-made answers. Architecture’s relationship with nature and tourism, shared space and the life of a building need to be examined both in study and in site decisions. In collaboration with Shokoufeh Zaheri and project teams, his approach connects scales, from site planning and building organisation to details encountered every day. This is a working criterion: architectural quality needs to remain traceable through procurement, construction and use.

Today the practice spans architectural design, investment, development and delivery. The scope of responsibility is defined for each residential tower, hotel, villa or tourism project. What connects them is a continuous view of spatial programme, construction, resources and operation.