In Response to the Contentious: From Past Roots to Future Bridges

Author: Alireza Taghaboni
Affiliation: Next Office

Abstract
Next Office’s first project was commissioned by a friend. Being considered a religious minority, the client desired a house with a perfect view while being concerned with his privacy being compromised as the price of opening up to the desired vistas. The phobia of being “gazed at”, by the unwanted eyes on the one hand, and the desire for being the unobstructed gazer on the other hand, created a contentious situation for the project. Desiring a view without risking one’s privacy; the client wanted an eye whose pupil could not be seen. Wanting to see without being seen is contradictory in nature. Although in the peculiar case of this very frst project, the client’s being a member of a religious minority was exacerbating the situation, this desire reveals certain sensitivity towards the relationship between outside and inside, which is not uncommon amongst us Iranians.