We, as the Designer Interviews ("DI") had the distinct pleasure and opportunity to interview award-winning, most creative and innovative Davood Boroojeni ("DB").
As a technically competent architect with over 15 years of professional experience, he has been involved in different stages of architectural projects including conception of preliminary design ideas, schematic design and design development, as well as producing submittal packages, visual presentations, construction documents, layouts and details through close dialogue with clients, producers, and other engineers. He believe that his communication skills, public relations and problem-solving experience, combined with his background in related software, and his ability to research, schedule and coordinate design in various stages of the project, has made him an employee to depend on, and a key team member.
Davood Boroojeni Designs
We are pleased to share with you original and innovative design work by Davood Boroojeni.
Davood Boroojeni Design - Shamim Polymer Factory
Davood Boroojeni Design - Gilbam Residential House
Designer Interview of Davood Boroojeni:
DI: Could you please tell us more about your art and design background? What made you become an artist/designer? Have you always wanted to be a designer?
DB : My interest in design and especially architecture started from my childhood. One of our family members named Vahid Azarnejad was an architect; his attitude and the way he looked at various phenomena attracted me. He lived differently from others. It was exciting to think that an architect has the ability to define the way people live. Fortunately, I had the chance to live with such a unique and extraordinary coach for years and learn how to live. After graduating from high school, I entered the College of Fine Arts, University of Tehran, to study architecture. The atmosphere of that college was exciting. All you had to do was sit in the courtyard for a moment and become an architect, painter, sculptor, graphic artist or industrial designer.
DI: Can you tell us more about your company / design studio?
DB : Davood Boroojeni Office is a partnership established in 2006 to engage in architectural, interior and landscape design along with relevant research and studies. It has since grown into a practice in residential, cultural, office and mixed-use developments as well as construction site mobilization. It continues to produce elegant design solution that exceeds client's expectations. Recognized for its ability to work with efficiency and precision, Davood Boroojeni Office also identifies its architectural practices with a thorough understanding of the context, environment and construction technology.
DI: What is "design" for you?
DB : Architecture is like a container for life. Just as a glass that is created to pour water into it, architecture is created for life.
DI: What kinds of works do you like designing most?
DB : Each project has its own challenges and this is exciting. I like projects that eventually are implemented and constructed. It is wonderful to see the moment when people settle into the project and start using it.
DI: What is your most favorite design, could you please tell more about it?
DB : Among our office’s designs, I like 3 designs of Gilbam house, Shamim Polymer factory and Kia Lab more than the others. In these three designs, the context has paid more attention. Gilbam house, located on a hill in northern of Iran, has a 360-degree view of the surrounding mountains and forests. The place has an extraordinary atmosphere. In this design, we tried to bring this atmosphere into the house through different walls. The design has not been made yet. Shamim Polymer Factory which won the Silver Award of A'DESIGN, was also a challenging project for us. In this project, we focused on the quality of shared areas. Our main goal in the project was to create coexistence areas. For this purpose, and based on the pattern of local architecture, a courtyard has been forecast in the middle of the building, which is a gathering place for the factory employees. Kia Lab is located in a small town. The land of the project has a dense texture. In this project, we have tried to direct any passages around the project into the building and thus turn the building into a regional center. This project is under construction.
DI: What was the first thing you designed for a company?
DB : The first project of our office was designing an entertainment garden in the south of Tehran. The project land was about 190,000 square meters. This project had been constructed several years after I had presented my master's thesis on the subject of mapping the Safavids Dolatkhaneh in Isfahan. The thesis was significantly influenced by the architecture of Iranian Dolatkhaneh and the garden. The main structure of the aforementioned project has also been greatly affected by the architecture of Dolatkhaneh.
DI: What is your favorite material / platform / technology?
DB : Different materials are using in this industry, but for me the important factor to choose and use materials, is purity. That is why I work with exposed concrete more than other materials.
DI: When do you feel the most creative?
DB : I am more creative when I fantasize. Because of living in the eastern hemisphere of the earth, daydreaming has become one of my senses like hearing and sight. This often happens early in the morning.
DI: Which aspects of a design do you focus more during designing?
DB : The various aspects of design in an architectural design are like pieces of a puzzle. When one piece of the puzzle is lost or put in the wrong place, then the puzzle cannot be solved. Therefore, all aspects are very important in the design process and none of them is more important than the other.
DI: What kind of emotions do you feel when you design?
DB : At the time of designing, the time has lost its meaning. You start working in the morning and a few moments later when you raise your head it is night. The only thing that has the same trait is “love”.
DI: What kind of emotions do you feel when your designs are realized?
DB : It is an exciting time when a design is realized, whether it is on paper or made. You feel most satisfied with yourself. Truly it is a glorious and unique moment.
DI: What makes a design successful?
DB : An architectural design should give appropriate responds to different parameters. These parameters cover a wide variety of needs, wants, and limitations. The success of an architectural design depends on responding to all parameters simultaneously.
DI: When judging a design as good or bad, which aspects do you consider first?
DB : Paying attention to spatial qualities, responding appropriately to functional needs, and providing proper solutions for construction are the most important aspects in the process of judging a design.
DI: From your point of view, what are the responsibilities of a designer for society and environment?
DB : Since architecture involves social and environmental relations, the architect has played an important role in creating balance and stability. With regards to the architect’s responsibility in society, I believe that its duty is to recognize the negative emotions of that society and provide an architectural solution to improve it. For example, if a community is angry for a variety of reasons, it is the architect's responsibility to design conditions to release the excitement and to consider the potential of positive emotion substitution in its design. In the case of the environment, as soon as a building is constructed somewhere, the primary damage is made to the environment. I believe that the most important role of the architect is to carefully study the climatic conditions and provide solutions that are compatible with the climate for architecture. In this way, it can be hoped that the least damage has been made to the environment.
DI: How do you think the "design field" is evolving? What is the future of design?
DB : I believe that the two terms should be separated from each other. The first is the quality of presenting design and the second is the quality of design. The quality of presenting design depends on the skill and practice of the designer and technical and technological advances. Thus, the term of “evolving” can be used for this case because both skill-practice and technique-technology factors are depending time. The main question is: Does the development of tools for presenting design increase the quality of the design presentation, does necessarily lead to an increase in design quality? I think definitely not. The quality of design comes from the quality of imagination, and imagination is not a phenomenon that depends on time, and because it is not limited to time, the use of the word “evolving” is totally incorrect for it. That is why cave walls' paintings about 10,000 years ago are still the highest quality works of human art.
DI: When was your last exhibition and where was it? And when do you want to hold your next exhibition?
DB : The exhibition of the architect's works are showing its architectures. Thus, the last exhibition is Shamim Polymer Factory and the next exhibition will be Kia Laboratory.
DI: Where does the design inspiration for your works come from? How do you feed your creativity? What are your sources of inspirations?
DB : I think all ideas and inspirations are formed from the context of design. So that how each design is created depends on its location. The architect receives signals from the project context through its five senses plus heart intuition. Therefore, the receivers should be strong enough to receive the correct signals.
DI: How would you describe your design style? What made you explore more this style and what are the main characteristics of your style? What's your approach to design?
DB : If it is believed that source of inspiration for any design comes from the context of that design, it must be accepted that style of each design will be different from the other. Because the spirit of location in each project will changes. I do not have a specific style for my design and I do not follow a specific style.
DI: Where do you live? Do you feel the cultural heritage of your country affects your designs? What are the pros and cons during designing as a result of living in your country?
DB : I live in Iran. The people of my country feel better when they walk in the old location or visit an old building. This is the spirit of a location that makes the audience feel good. Also considering the architect’s social mission, it is necessary to know the cultural heritage and up-to-date use of its architectural patterns. The use of old architectural patterns as one of the design parameters of today; always carries the risk that the architect does not consider the spirit of the time in its design and is fascinated by the old architecture, so he/she will only copy the design.
DI: How do you work with companies?
DB : We work with different companies through project collaboration, whether they are partner companies or employer companies.
DI: What are your suggestions to companies for working with a designer? How can companies select a good designer?
DB : The best way to choose a designer for companies is to review the designer's resume and portfolio. In this way, opinions come closer to each other and the company gets acquainted with the designer's intellectual method.
DI: Can you talk a little about your design process?
DB : The process of designing an architectural project in our office is as follows: -Initial meeting with employer and preparing a checklist of its needs; -Visit the site and prepare a checklist of the project context; -Analyze the employer's demands through different diagrams, with considering conditions required by the project context; -Provide different options for designing based on the diagrams; -Meeting with the employer and then presenting concepts and explaining strengths and weaknesses of each option, and choosing the most appropriate option; -Develop the selected option and prepare additional options based on the approved concept; -Meeting with the employer and then presenting the developed options and explaining the strengths and weaknesses of each option and choosing the most appropriate option; -Preparing technical documents of the first stage, including plans, sections, views, site plan, and three-dimensional images; -Deciding on materials and design details; -Preparing technical documents for implementation.
DI: What are 5 of your favorite design items at home?
DB : Concrete stairs, skylights, wade, suspended terrace, internal bridge
DI: Could you please share some pearls of wisdom for young designers? What are your suggestions to young, up and coming designers?
DB : I believe that seeing accurately and being sensitive to our surrounding objects has the greatest impact on the possibility of creating a design with high quality. Any detail, even the smallest thing, should be considered in the design process. An incorrect detail may destruct the concept of the design and architecture.
DI: From your perspective, what would you say are some positives and negatives of being a designer?
DB : In my opinion, the most important advantage of being a designer is that you do not feel the passage of time because of what you do.
DI: What is your "golden rule" in design?
DB : Any part of the design that you do not feel good about is definitely imperfect in some way.
DI: What skills are most important for a designer?
DB : I don't think skills are important for being a good designer. Strengthening the five senses and at the same time acquiring a proper heart intuition about a design, is more important than anything else.
DI: Which tools do you use during design? What is inside your toolbox? Such as software, application, hardware, books, sources of inspiration etc.?
DB : The most important tool is paper and pen. Of course, it is also important that you can constantly control the quality of spaces in 3D software such as Rhino and SketchUp.
DI: Designing can sometimes be a really time consuming task, how do you manage your time?
DB : For this purpose, I have set specific hours during the day to start and end the design. I start designing almost every morning at a certain time and I close the design at a certain time every evening. When it closes, I will not think about design until tomorrow.
DI: How long does it take to design an object from beginning to end?
DB : Architectural design time depends on the scope and complexity of a project. The minimum design time is about 3 months and the maximum is about 1 year.
DI: What is the most frequently asked question to you, as a designer?
DB : The most common question is how did you come up with such a design? Where did the main idea of the design come from?
DI: What was your most important job experience?
DB : The most important job experience has been the design and construction of Shamim Polymer factory. This is the design that won Silver Award of A'DESIGN.
DI: Who are some of your clients?
DB : As we do a wide variety of architectural designs, our employers are also a wide range from individuals to large companies.
DI: What type of design work do you enjoy the most and why?
DB : Designs that their initial plan is to be constructed are more enjoyable. Constructing a design is more exciting.
DI: What are your future plans? What is next for you?
DB : I am seriously studying the impact of shared middle areas in architecture, and I am pursuing this impact on people's social relationships and their level of dependence on these shared middle areas. This idea is also being pursued in the design of Kia Laboratory, which is a new project.
DI: Do you work as a team, or do you develop your designs yourself?
DB : I usually prefer teamwork to develop designs.
DI: Do you have any works-in-progress being designed that you would like to talk about?
DB : Now I am designing and implementing Kia Lab. This project has 5 floors, the second floor is considered as a shared middle area. People enter the building from the surrounding streets and alleys without having to enter into the building and reach this floor by a staircase. This area has public use and I hope it will be used as the regional center after the work is completed.
DI: How can people contact you?
DB : People can contact me via email or Instagram.