Reza Daneshmir: Unpredictable Spaces

Reza Daneshmir, born in 1965, co-founded Fluid Motion Architects together with Catherine Spiridonoff. He also explored painting and music while studying architecture and had participated in 8 individual and group painting exhibitions over Tehran prominent galleries and museums. In 2000 he started his practice in architecture by Ave Gallery project. It was renovating an abandoned pool and transforming it to a furniture and artwork gallery. More than 150 architecture projects design focusing on cultural and public projects such as Mellat Cineplex, Vali-e Asr Mosque and Ava Platt are his significant and internationally recognized works. For him architecture is like a theatre that people of any social level could be present at it and based on a particular spatial organization, they play roles and simultaneously watch other plays. His critical thinking is to figure out how to organize these spaces in addition to every building’s functionality. His works are widely evaluated, studied and printed in local and international publications such as The Guardian London Edition (2017), l’express Paris Edition (2018), Architectural Guide, Iran (2017), Architectural Design London Edition “Iran, Past, Present and Future” (2012). In 2018 the Associated Press released a short film about Reza and Catherine that explores the challenging Vali-e Asr Mosque project.

The fundamental fascination of metropolis today lies in their ability to generate unexpected situations. Beyond facilitating human coexistence, today’s metropolis is defined by their spatial complexity, shaped by a diverse and often unpredictable layering of elements that continuously produce novel conditions. This is especially true in vibrant cities like Tehran, where constant transformation and reconfiguration give rise to fresh urban experiences at every turn.

This capacity for the new spatial sequences, is one of the most attractive features of urban life. It emerges from the diversity and heterogeneity of urban elements, their chance juxtapositions, and the dynamic tensions created between them. These qualities allow us to move fluidly from one spatial experience to another, evoking a renewed sense of awareness and discovery.

We have been keen to pursue these urban qualities into our own architectural projects, exploring how to cultivate unexpected spatial conditions. These moments of surprise are not always dictated by the client’s original brief; rather, they emerge when we reframe the initial program and elevate it to a new conceptual level.