Statement:

So much of architecture is the celebration of the finished product. With this exhibition, we hope to pull the curtain back and make transparent the process, false starts, dead ends, and happy accidents that are not typically seen by the public.”

Ahmadreza Schricker – Founder, ASA-North///

This is not a retrospective design. The redesign of the Argo Factory goes against what has been considered traditional architectural heritage and moves away from it as a valued identity. The building, which has been a beverage production facility for less than a quarter of a century, now serves as a museum of contemporary arts and a cultural center for the people. The main shell of the building has been preserved in this redesign, while the spaces, rooms, and accesses have been synchronized according to the new usage requirements. You can identify the added parts of the building by their curved shapes, such as the main staircase, the gray submarine, the elevator, and the rest. We insist on not hiding them. The distance between the concrete structure and the false walls from the main body of the building is meant to make the architectural periods within the building as apparent as possible. The concrete structure in the northern section is fused with the metal structure in the southern section, making the Argo Factory resistant to earthquakes. The courtyard space, leveled with the street, and the presence of windows facing the pedestrian walkway and street are designed and implemented to invite residents, traders, and passers-by into this museum.

ABOUT ASA

Ahmadreza Schricker Architecture is an international architecture office. Founded in 2015, ASA North's team of engineers, architects, curators and researchers collaborates with artists and writers around the world to design and execute interdisciplinary projects that range in scale from exhibitions to private residences and urban master plans. ASA North is a more traditional architectural practice and is dedicated to the “physical realm, while its sister studio, ASA South, operates in the “virtual realm and is focused on innovation in art, technology, social interaction and lifestyle. ASA East focuses on the past', the preservation of the environment & adaptive reuse. Currently in formation, ASA West seeks to invent architecture for the future' in lesser-explored frontiers and extreme geographies. Selected projects by ASA include a 95,000-squaremetre virtual muscum in Dubai, UAE, a contemporary art gallery and cultural station in Toronto, Canada, designing the master plan for a 7,800-square-metre cultural station and textile museum in the city of Kashan, Iran and reconfiguring the traditional Lenj boat as modern art studio and exhibition space on the go. Before founding ASA, Ahmadreza Schricker graduated from Harvard University in 2008 and later oversaw multiple projects at Rem Koolhaas's OMA in New York, USA, and at Herzog & de Meuron in Basel, Switzerland.

AWARDS

Aga Khan Award for Architecture - 2019-2022 cycle (Argo: one of Six award recipients)

Dezeen - Cultural Building of the Year, Winner: Argo 2022

Dezeen - Architectural Building of the Year, Winner: Argo 2022

Archdaily- Best New Practices of 2023, Ahmadreza Schricker Architecture - North | South | East | West

SELECTED PRESS

Le Monde (December 2022) - Interview with Roxana Azimi, Un Fragile Ecrin Pour L'Art Contemporain, Digital

Inclusive Architecture, Aga Kan Award For Architecture, Edited by Sarah M. Whiting, 2022

PIN_UP (December 2021 - Issue 31) - Interview with Ian Volner, 2021, Print & Digital

CASABELLA January 2022 - Issue 929) - Interview with Francesco Dalco, 2021, Print Wallpaper (March 2022) —, Interview with Ellic Stathaki, Digital

CNN Arabia (March 2022) - Interview with Yasmeen Awaya, Digital

ArchDaily (March 2022) - Argo Muscum by ASA North, Digital

Dezeen (May 2022) - Interview with Lizzie Crook, Digital

CNN style (September 2022) - Agha Khan Award, Digital

Identity June 2022) – Contemporary Art Muscum, Print & Digital

Forbes (November 2022) - Creating An Entrepreneurial Vision For Design, Architecture & Sustainability

Stir World (October 2022) - Interview with Zehra Khan, Digital

Beaux Arts (November 2022 - Issue 461) -  Print