Colored Domes For Colored Island

2024 Author: David Durham | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-01-09 00:52

Iran has the longest coastline of all the countries overlooking the Persian Gulf, at the same time it uses the potential of this coast least of all: mainly for the transportation of oil products. Tourism is underdeveloped there, which has a negative impact on the well-being of local residents; the topic of environmental protection is relevant.

Hormuz Island, with an area of 42 km2 near the port city of Bandar Abbas, was once a bustling trade center, but has lost its former significance today. He is famous for his

colorful landscapes: among its rocks there is ocher, which is actively mined here. Part of the territory is protected areas, there is also a settlement of the same name to the island; in total, about 6,500 people live here.

In recent years, despite the undeveloped infrastructure, Hormuz has attracted many tourists. The available hotels, hostels, rooms rented by local residents are not enough, so most tourists, especially those who are not ready to live in a tent, come to the island for one day, which is disadvantageous for the local economy. In response, investors from Tehran and landowners living in Bandar Abbas on the island, who organize a land art festival there every year (during which they lay out the so-called

earthen carpet), a complex for tourists with a pronounced social function was conceived. It includes the Rong Community Center, where tourists can meet local residents, the Badban Education Center for the tourism industry, and Majara, an apartment for visitors to the island.

First on the project by ZAV Architects

was realized "Rong", now completed "Majara" (translated from Farsi "Adventure"). For both buildings, the super-adobe construction technology developed by Nader Khalili of the California Institute of Earth Architecture was used. The construction is carried out from a mixture of earth and sand, using cement and lime mortar. The main thing in the process is the use of biodegradable synthetic bags, where the mixture is placed, and they are stacked sequentially, as when sculpting a vessel from a clay "sausage". In Hormuz's case, the method was adjusted: the soil on the island was in short supply, so there was more sand in the mixture (it was dredged from the seabed in the port), so more local cement was used.

Local materials, an important component of a “sustainable” project, were complemented by the recruitment of workers living on the island: the construction employed about 50 people every day, most of whom were unskilled, mainly earning a living from fishing. Thanks to the project, they received construction specialties, from bricklayer to painter. A total of 38,000 man-days were spent. For the newly opened hotel, the same number of employees were recruited, from the manager to the security guard.

Проект Presence in Hormuz 02 – апартаменты Majara Фото © Soroush Majidi

The territory of the complex is one hectare, the area of the hotel itself with suites is 4000 m2. There are 17 such rooms, they can accommodate up to 84 people in total. The project budget was 180 billion Iranian riyals (US $ 4.275 million).

Проект Presence in Hormuz 02 – апартаменты Majara Фото © Tahmineh Monzavi

"Madjara" was built on the seashore, next to the beach, where the land art festival is taking place. The complex consists of 200 domes, 77 of them are more than 3.5 m high, however, in general, their small size was chosen to make it easier for local builders to erect them. In addition, they are lower and wider than the super-adob technology provides, so it had to be slightly adjusted. For 77 tall domes, a steel frame was used, but steel consumed 8.3 kg per square meter, while in an ordinary building it was 50–65 kg per meter. The bright color of the complex reminds of local minerals, but paint based on them was not used here, since ocher is mined on Hormuz by non-ecological methods.

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1/5 Project Presence in Hormuz 02 - Majara Apartments Photo © Tahmineh Monzavi
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2/5 Project Presence in Hormuz 02 - Majara Apartments Photo © Tahmineh Monzavi
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3/5 Project Presence in Hormuz 02 - Majara Apartments Photo © Tahmineh Monzavi
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4/5 Project Presence in Hormuz 02 - Majara Apartments Photo © Payman Barkhordari
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5/5 Project Presence in Hormuz 02 - Majara Apartments Photo © Payman Barkhordari

The hotel uses a minimum of water, which is why the swimming pools in the rooftop solariums for women are small, with a capacity of 5 cubic meters. Irrigation of drought-resistant green spaces, also capable of holding soil (this is a special problem on the island), is done with an economical drip method and reused water. Drinking grooves are provided for gazelles and other wild animals.

The daily water consumption in one room is 300 liters, of which 100 liters is "secondary" water, while in a regular hotel this amount can reach 600 liters, and in the most expensive hotels in hot climates - up to 800 liters. "Madjara" has its own water treatment plant using the ozonation method, the water used in the kitchen is especially purified from oil. Food waste is used for composting.