The Official unveiling of the “German Villas Edition,”
Ladies and gentlemen …… may I have your attention, please! Thank you so much for joining us on this occasion; “launch of the villa magazine German villas issue” I truly appreciate your attendance on this occasion—the entire guests of honor. In recent years; incredibly hard and challenging for many people, including us. Although the coronavirus and the sanction restrictions have been a huge focus, collaboration has been a constant theme with our work in the past three years. So, we started to collaborate with different embassies in Iran, such as Finland, Norway, Sweden, Italy, and Switzerland. We have also made active cooperations with architectural organizations and universities. We are now trusted by over 600 leading architecture firms worldwide, from Japan to South America. Today, we are so honored to celebrate this collaboration with the embassy of the federal republic of Germany. I am Amir, an Iranian architect and the editor-in-chief of the villa magazine; My background is a delicate amalgam of many roots, languages, and cultures. Lacking a common ground, I found architecture as a language from which to speak and to promote cultural integrations. I am so honored to be here today for this ceremony among you. We decided to change the venue due to new corona virus situations. The initial plan was to gather in the colored glass building in darabad that was a good example of the Bauhaus influence on contemporary Iranian architecture. I got the commission to design the building in 2008. A marriage between art and industry behind closed colored curtains of that building could make us feel the connection and sense of the place. But this place is something else again! A long historical story lies behind this villa that you can read more about on our website soon. We do not have any pieces of evidence yet, that this is a Bauhaus villa. Just take a look at the inner and outer villa, the glass and steel materials, the simple minimalistic forms, and the asymmetrical spatial organization. They are the key elements of the Bauhaus. Back to the magazine …. I am so proud of the quality of our work: the visual experience, content, and the artistic taste of the annual edition Issue No.12, which in my opinion, is one of the best issues of all. You can find eight leading German architects in this issue and 16 Iconic villas projects in Germany that are trying to develop an “architectural dialect” and a “contemporary manifestation.” These villas are not just a second home… or an escape from the city life. They are an ideal setting for conversations of “architectural inventions.” Take a look at the timeline of “the idea of German villas” page no. 5. Is there a relationship between the historical German castles and the modern democratized villas? YES… if we understand them as a fantasy retreat from the world. An imaginary life to answer the human’s psychological needs. Moreover, there are exciting topics which we have opened to discuss in this special issue: A call for paper – award for research -rediscovering Bauhaus heritage in Iran / the influence of Bauhaus on Iranian art and architecture in 3 themes: design, culture, and history! In the end, you will find the news about the unbuilt villa award + the Norwegian issue ceremony, and the upcoming issue – villa dialogue with leading Iranian architects. An architectural discourse on the ideology and typology of Iranian villas. I hope you read and enjoy our work. We are so eager to hear your critical comments or any suggestions. We are open to any collaboration helping us discover more about villa-life and villa-culture in a different part of the world. Just above and beyond that, I am so proud of making this work happen in #IRAN, a country, under the most severe #sanctions and in a state of isolation. Tomorrow is the Iranian “DAY OF LOVE” and the day of “THE WOMAN AND THE EARTH” in the Iranian Zoroaster calendar. I want to express my gratitude to my wife, friends, mentors, the advisory board, the editorial board, media, sponsors. I would like to thank Mr. Stephan Reitze, the head of the cultural section of the Royal German embassy in Iran, for his generous support and for helping us spread the word! I would like to thank our guests of honor from different embassies to Tehran. May this event start a great cultural exchange between our countries for the years and decades to come! I would like to invite Mr. Stephan Reitze to come here and make a speech to formally release this very special issue of the villa magazine.
Dear Amir-Abbas Aboutalebi, dear guests and colleagues, It is my great pleasure to welcome all of you here today in this Covid-friendly and well-fitting venue. The Ambassador sends his greetings and wishes us a memorable reception. Thanks to our partner, the Villa Magazine and its extraordinary team, we can celebrate the publishing of the German Villas Edition together. I was personally enthusiastic when I learnt that it would also cover the Bauhaus school of architecture. When Amir-Abbas approached us for the first time with his idea, we discussed the concept of villas in architecture and the role they play as a pioneer in pushing boundaries of beforehand unthinkable approaches and new ways. It was therefore crystal-clear for the German Embassy that a special issue on German villas as well as Bauhaus movement and the latter’s impact on Iranian architecture should see the light of day as soon as possible. Thus, I owe my genuine gratitude to everybody involved who helped realizing this project in these especially health-wise challenging times. Yet, Covid offers unexpected opportunities: Due to the pandemic, we are able to shed light on 100 years of Bauhaus in 2022, while the actual anniversary took place in 2019. What remains today of the Bauhaus school which was founded in Weimar 1919? The ideas and concepts of design and functionality prove to be of persistent vitality, even nowadays. Bauhaus left a legacy for modernism in this world, which overcame geographical boundaries. Our venue here underlines that finding and Bauhaus’ relevance for architecture, design and culture. It conducted to a larger diversity in architecture, with Bauhaus elements being adapted to specific cultural contexts. I hence highly welcome that the Villa Magazine explores the Bauhaus heritage also in Iran. While the institution Bauhaus had a rather short lifespan, its impact is in contrast very long-standing. Our gathering today proves that. Thank you very much, dear Amir-Abbas and dear Villa Magazine team, distinguished guests, I wish all of you a great time discovering this special edition.
Cultural representatives from Germany, Slovenia, Italy, the Czech Republic, Japan, Switzerland, France, and Norway attended the unveiling ceremony of the Villa magazine Issue No.12.
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