Italian Ambassador Giuseppe Perrone, Italy’s Commercial Attache David Baloni and veteran Iranian architect and university teacher Kamran Afshar Naderi delivered speeches during this ceremony.

The renowned Italian magazine on architecture and design Domus is about to issue a special booklet entirely dedicated to Iran and specifically to the project “Domus Eyes on Iran” by the Italian Embassy in Tehran.

The booklet, which will be attached to the November issue of Domus magazine and distributed in 89 countries for an expected total of 50,000 copies, was unveiled on the occasion of this event which took place in the gardens of Villa Namazee.

Villa Namazee is a residential building located in the Niavaran district of North Tehran, designed by the great Italian architect Gio’ Ponti between the 1950s and the 1960s. It is in fact one of only three residential buildings (the other two being in Venezuela) designed by Gio’ Ponti, existing outside of Europe.

The booklet on “Domus Eyes on Iran” is the outcome of a high-profile initiative aiming to highlight the special role played in the last 70 years by Iranian architecture and design on the world stage and the successful cooperation established with Italian architects.

Commenting on this special issue, the Italian Ambassador to Iran, H.E. Perrone, stated that bilateral cultural relations between Italy and Iran have traditionally been built upon a solid foundation of confidence, familiarity and mutual respect, adding that Villa Namazee embodies this extraordinary history of collaboration and exchange between the two countries.

Making reference to the unique role played by Domus magazine in its almost 100 years since its birth, throughout which it represented the most eminent voice on architecture and design on a global scale, Perrone thanked all Iranian and Italian architects, researchers and professionals who have made it possible for this initiative to become one of the most successful examples of cultural cooperation between Rome and Teheran.

The initiative features 10 episodes which bring viewers back in time to discover the main stories featuring Iran published by Domus magazine over the last seven decades. Each episode focuses on a different work realized in Iran by Iranian or Italian architects and designers, thereby highlighting the importance of Iran in the history of modern architecture and design and its continuous and fruitful relationship with Italy.

During the event the tenth and last episode of the series “Domus Eyes on Iran” was screened, featuring Villa Namazee itself. As indicated in the episode by Salvatore Licitra, Ponti’s grandson and curator of the Ponti Archives, Villa Namazee represents one of the freest and most complete expressions of Ponti’s architectural production.

In the same interview, Licitra recalls the special interest shown by the famous Italian architect towards the Islamic world and the crucial role he assigned to dialogue between different civilizations as the highest expression of culture, as is evident from the resonance gained throughout the years by the spectacular works he has made in countries like Iran and Pakistan.

Meanwhile Baloni in the event said that a delegation from Domus magazine is to visit Tehran in Iran. He said Iran and Italy enjoy having good experience in architecture and called for more cooperation between the two countries in this field.

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“Pouya Khazaeli Parsa. Persian Modernism and the Social Function of Architecture” is the title of the new episode, screened yesterday at an event hosted by the Italian Ambassador Giuseppe Perrone at his residence in Farmaniyeh, as part of the celebrations of Italian Design Day 2021 in Tehran.

The documentary features Pouya Khazaeli Parsa, the Iranian architect with the highest number of works published by Domus magazine. Among his works that have attracted Domus’ attention in recent years are Khazaeli Parsa’s residential villas in Mazandaran, on the Caspian Sea, and in Darvishabad.

A key feature of these works is the successful combination of the influence of European rationalist and modernist architecture with architectural elements typical of Persian tradition, such as the use of a central courtyard around which the construction revolves.

Another distinctive element in Mr. Khazaeli Parsa’s work, as explains the architect himself, is the social function assigned to architecture in improving the quality of life of ordinary people, especially the most disadvantaged ones.

In the episode screened by the Italian Embassy special attention has been devoted also to two special projects, covered as well by Domus magazine, which visibly illustrate the social function of architecture as conceived by Khazaeli Parsa.

The first one is a bamboo structure built in the forests of Katalom, in northern Iran. The second one relates to the buildings designed for Afghan refugees in the Kerman region, and to the “Rebuild” project developed for the benefit of Syrian displaced people in Jordan. The latter was made possible thanks to the funding provided by Pilosio, one of the leading Italian companies in the field of construction equipment.

The series “Domus Eyes on Iran” takes inspiration from stories published by Domus magazine about Iran from the 1940s until present, focusing on each work’s features and exploring their subsequent evolution, as a showcase of an unhindered history of long-lasting cooperation and exchange between Italy and Iran.

The video-documentary “Pouya Khazaeli Parsa. Persian Modernism and the Social Function of Architecture” and the previous episodes of the series (“Isfahan Persian Gardens and New Urban Trends”, “The Tehran’s Contemporary Museum. The Anti-Monument”, “Qajar Tehran. The Glass & Ceramics Museum and the Italian Residence”, “Orsi Khaneh. A Window on Iran’s Unique Blend of History & Modernity”, “Architecture Meets Nature by Sara Kalantary & Reza Sayadian”, “Gaetano Pesce and the Tehran National Library”, “Villa for an Older Brother”) are available for viewing on the social media platforms of the Italian Embassy in Tehran (YouTube, Instagram, Twitter).

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