The project by New Wave Architecture (Lida Almassian and Shahin Heidari) for the self-serve restaurant at the University of Sistan and Baluchistan - located in south-east Iran near the borders with Pakistan and Afghanistan - is aimed, like other designs by this studio, at combining different elements, material density and the prominence of volumes, the architectural form becoming a reference point within Zahedan’s urban landscape. The building, of notable size, hinges on the uniformity of appearance derived from the use of travertine cladding on the exterior walls, which is reversed inside the building. Because of the colour and texture of the travertine, from a distance it resembles a continuous band, creating an impression of the building as a compact solid. In reality, the project encompasses an extensive expression of key architectural concepts in bringing together a demonstration of modernity that overlaps with a conceptual use of traditional elements. The building has a rectangular plan, in which the self-serve restaurant and kitchens, with its preparation and storage areas, are aligned in sequence. The restaurant is divided into three distinct areas. On the outside are the two long dining rooms - one for males, one for females. These are connected by a courtyard area, characterized by an exposed grid of concrete beams that, like a massive pergola, mark out squares of sky in the central area. The communicative power of this space and the structures dominates. To the north-west, the elevations of the dining rooms are obliquely opposed, facing towards the interior and exterior respectively. The facade has windows that gradually decrease in size until they become mere recesses in the walls, emphasizing on this side the closed appearance of the buildings that give onto the courtyard and the open nature of the courtyard itself. The reinforced concrete structural system is prominent in the huge V-shaped pillars that run along the length of the building. Completely...
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