Pattern Habitat for New Julfa

Project Name: Pattern Habitat for New Julfa

Year: 2009-10

Client: City of Isfahan

Location: Isfahan, Iran

Keywords: Urban politics, Armenian minority, Place, Identity, Neighborhood, Housing

 

Challenge: Combatting gentrification of New Julfa -- the Armenian quarter in the city of Isfahan, Iran.

 

Solution: An architecture designed to fully reflect local inhabitants’ unique behavioral patterns and daily rituals (e.g. neighborhood gatherings), family structure (e.g., 2-3 generations in one building), history (e.g., exterior alleyways on multiple levels), and place identity (e.g., symbolism of tearoom or sunken courtyard). Additionally, the pattern habitat elevates social equity by providing options for different levels of income and people of all ages.

 

The combination of these factors strengthens native residents’ sense of attachment to place while rendering it unattractive for non-natives with the intention to acquire single houses in the district. By acquiring a single building, new residents’ need to adopt the rituals reflected by the architecture and become part of the neighborhood chain that is reinforced by the Pattern Habitat.