Seyed Ali Sharifi

Fall 2015

SEYED ALI SHARIFI ( IRAN )
My project is a comparative study of space separators like Berlin wall in the case of the city of Berlin and the iron bars recently installed in downtown of Tehran city. As a flaneur I wander in the city of Berlin to trace the former resistance of citizens opposing the physical and conceptual existence of such separators and compare them to the contemporary endeavors which are being done by Tehrani citizens. I am addresing these questions: is it possible to pass the borders and walls without deconstruction? How do the walls and other separators define different urban subjects and sections?

The walls for an architect are like letters for a writer, and the built spaces are the words thus. As a writer and architect, the walls and the words are in a mutual relation for me. I am taking advantages of these two elements. The cognitive and analytical experience of mind and the formative aspect of everyday life based on creativity. On the other hand as the words are being turned to sentences and sentences to paragraphs to form a text, the architectural spaces are being formed to make finally a city. In this regard, the experience of looking an urban domain from a sleeping room's window is the embodiment of that cognitive and analytical play of the mind.

Simultaneity of writing for magazines like Andishe, Iranshahr, Shabak, Baam and also designing for architectural residential, market, office, city services, and industrial projects are steps to make more meaningful the lives of citizens and making more realistic their process of knowing themselves. I have hold many festivals, conferences with participation of architects. urban planners and sociologists. Finally I have also done some urban photography projects.

In cooperation with Center for Art & Urbanism (ZK/U), Berlin. For further info visit: www.zku-berlin.de